In a 2006 Rolling Stone interview, Tom credits Ron Blair’s return as being pivotal for the band saying, “The band has a good family atmosphere that wasn't there for a while. It came back about a year or two ago. I think when Ron Blair returned, it really bonded us back together in a weird way. If he hadn't been there, I am sure it would have been the end of the whole thing when Howie died. Ron stepped in and had this huge enthusiasm through the whole thing.” He goes on to say “When he first quit, he didn't quit the band, he quit the whole music thing. He was fed up. But we were all young boys then. When he got interested in music again, he started playing with Mike quite a bit, and so he was just there when we needed a bass player for the last two tracks we did for The Last DJ.”

Song and links mentioned in the episode:

Song : https://youtu.be/7VfxdQMfP0g

Live at the Olympic : https://youtu.be/yLl2_JIlKps?t=1947

The Blue Stingrays - Surf n Burn : https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kAnAc1Opi44iPchcIFZKjyN5lw_i8rR1g

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The theme song is provided by my very best friend Randy Woods. Check him out at https://www.randywoodsband.com

The Tom Petty Project is not affiliated with the Tom Petty estate in any way and when you’re looking for Tom’s music, please visit the official YouTube channel first and go to tompetty.com for official merchandise.

A last very special thanks to Paul Zollo. Without his book, "Conversations with Tom Petty", this podcast wouldn't be nearly as much fun to research. And further thanks to Warren Zanes for his outstanding book "Petty, the Biography".

Producer: Kevin Brown

Executive Producer: Paul Roberts

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