Goo Goo Dolls kick off their The Big Night Out Summer Tour with O.A.R. on July 24. Ahead of the tour, Goos frontman John Rzeznik and O.A.R. singer Marc Roberge [roe-BAIRGE] teamed up to record a version of Tom Petty‘s 1989 classic “I Won’t Back Down,” which the two bands will play together during the tour. Goo Goo Dolls have made a habit of covering Petty over the last few years; John says that’s because the late rocker is timeless.
In addition to “I Won’t Back Down,” Goo Goo Dolls covered Petty’s “Runnin’ Down A Dream” on their 2022 tour. They also covered Petty’s “Christmas All Over Again” on their 2020 holiday album, It’s Christmas All Over.
“Tom Petty is one of those artists that, y’know, even though he’s gone, the music never aged. It’s timeless,” John tells ABC Audio. “It’s always going to be amazing. And it’s as important in my mind as The Beatles and Bob Dylan and, you know, all the people that are evergreen. His music is evergreen, right?”
John says choosing “I Won’t Back Down” came about when he, Roberge and their producer were in the studio together.
“You know, it’s just a great song. And we were hanging out, just having fun and somebody just started playing it,” he recalls. “And we were like, ‘That sounds awesome. Let’s record it and put it out."”
“I Won’t Back Down” isn’t the only thing that came out of that session: Marc, John and the producer also co-wrote Goo Goo Dolls’ new single, “Run All Night,” which they also plan to add to the set list.
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