The King of Country is a huge fan of the legendary Tom Petty. On Monday, July July 20 at 8:00 a.m. ET, George Strait will serve as a guest DJ on Tom Petty Radio on Sirius XM (Channel 31). (You can also hear the full special on the SiriusXM app and it will be available On Demand on the SiriusXM app after its debut.) During the George Strait Guest DJ program, Strait will play the "best of everything" from Petty and reflect on his memories of meeting the late singer-songwriter and seeing Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers in concert.
The program will span Petty's career, from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers tracks, Petty's solo career, the Traveling Wilburys (the supergroup made up of Petty, George Harrison, Roy Orbison, Jeff Lynne and Bob Dylan) and Petty's early band Mudcrutch.
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In the clip below, Strait reflects on meeting Petty after performing "You Wreck Me," a track from Petty's 1994 album Wildflowers.
"The only time I ever met Tom was when I went out to his tribute for MusiCares. I was invited to sing 'You Wreck Me.' I was nervous as a cat," Strait says. "I was kind of a fish out of water, I guess you'd say. But I was excited about it and nervous because I was singing 'You Wreck Me' in front of Tom Petty. The Heartbreakers were all there too. Anyway, I thought it went great. Later on, I got to meet Tom and his wife. That was awesome. He couldn't have been nicer to me and thanked me for being a part of it. That was a very special night for me and I'll never forget that."
In another sneak peek from the show, Strait recalls flying out to Los Angeles with friends to see Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers live.
"Me and some friends of mine just packed up here from San Antonio, flew out to L.A. and went to the show that night. It was amazing. I'm so happy that I did that. I remember it like it was yesterday — most of it," Strait said, laughing. "The band and Tom were great, of course. And the crowd, wow, they were lit up, so to speak."
See Strait cover Petty's "You Wreck Me" below.
Petty, who passed away in 2017, was born in Gainesville, Florida in 1950. The prolific singer-songwriter rose to fame with his band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. The band released their self-titled debut album in 1976. The band recorded numerous timeless rock hits, such as "American Girl," "Breakdown," "You Got Lucky," "Learning to Fly," "I Won't Back Down," "Runnin' Down a Dream" and more.
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