Roger McGuinn couldn’t get a record deal. Then a hotel-room session with Tom Petty changed everything
Roger McGuinn was without a record deal when a hotel-room songwriting session with Tom Petty and Mike Campbell helped revive his recording career. The episode grew from McGuinn and Petty’s longstanding musical connection, rooted in Petty’s admiration for The Byrds and their influence on his sound.
During a day off in Sweden on Bob Dylan’s 1986–87 Temple in Flames tour, McGuinn played Petty an unfinished tune; they wrote “King of the Hill” together, and Campbell recorded a demo on a four-track cassette recorder. The article says the demo reached music executive Clive Davis, leading to a new deal and McGuinn’s first album since 1976’s *Thunderbyrd*. McGuinn had first met Petty after mistaking “American Girl” for a song he had recorded himself.
In short
- A hotel-room session produced “King of the Hill”.
- Mike Campbell recorded the demo on a four-track cassette machine.
- The demo helped McGuinn secure a new record deal.
Explained simply
Roger McGuinn is an American musician best known as a founding member of The Byrds, whose folk and rock sound influenced later artists. Tom Petty, the singer and songwriter behind Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, admired the band’s music; guitarist Mike Campbell was a key member of Petty’s group.
A record deal is an agreement with a record company to release and promote an artist’s music. Without one, McGuinn had not made a solo album for years, so a new deal could help him return to recording and reach listeners again.