Rock Moment: Bob Dylan and Tom Petty, 1986
With just a few words, Bob Dylan started a movement. At the end of the big 1985 Live Aid concert he said something like “It would be great if some of this money could help the farmers in this country.” Thus, Farm Aid was born. In September of that year, he appeared at the first Farm Aid concert with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers as his backing band.
Dylan apparently liked the matchup so much that we went on tour with Petty. The next year he released Knocked Out Loaded, with the Heartbreakers playing behind him, and came up with an odd title song for a movie, Band Of The Hand.
The “True Confessions” tour was a rockin’ experience and a kick in the pants for the careers of both performers. Two years later, Petty and Dylan would have a hit on their hands when the first album from the Traveling Wilburys scaled the charts. But that’s another story.
30 Days Out 
May 31, 2008 at 2:42 pm
Yeah, I was there but not. I was shooting the concert for the wire services on stage all day. UPI had a second photographer backing me up but it was hard to get me off stage. I’d been there all day and was starting to feel guilty. So after Petty and crew finished a couple songs, I looked over at the other shooter and waved him up on stage in my spot. Just missed the moment the duo joined on stage and to this day, I’m still pissed about it. It should be my photo above on this post! There are photos of Petty from FarmAid on my site @ artmeripol.com. (shameless, I know)