I’ve already covered this song by the Searchers, but I love it so much that I wanted to revisit it with another version. This time it’s Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, with a little help from Stevie Nicks. The song was written by Sonny Bono and Jack Nitzsche and was first recorded by Jackie DeShannon in 1963. The Searchers took it to another level the following year with their hit version. I’ve always thought this was one of those songs that helped lay the groundwork for power pop. Those jangling guitars, great harmonies, and catchy melody have everything I love about the genre.
Petty and the Heartbreakers recorded their version live at the Forum in Los Angeles in 1981, and it was later included on their 1985 album Pack Up the Plantation: Live! Stevie Nicks joins Tom on vocals, and the two work wonderfully together. Their voices complement each other, and the band gives the song a little more rock and roll muscle without losing what made the original so good. Petty was a big fan of the music that influenced him, and this was another example of him tipping his hat to an earlier generation, which he did quite often.
I love the Searchers’ version, but this is another one that deserves attention. Tom Petty had a great ear for a song, and he knew how to make an older recording sound fresh without trying to change everything about it. Having Stevie Nicks along makes it even better. It’s a great song that has been recorded by several artists over the years, but these two certainly did it justice. Sometimes you don’t need to reinvent a song…just know what made it special in the first place.
Needles and Pins
I saw her today, I saw her face
It was the face I loved and I knew
I had to run away
And get down on my knees and pray
That there’d come a day
And still it begins
Because of all my pride
The tears I gotta hide
Oh, I thought I was smart, I wanted her
Didn’t think I’d do, but now I see
She’s worse to him than me
Let her go ahead, take his love instead
And one day she will see
Just how to say please
And get down on her knees
Yeah, that’s how it begins
She’ll feel those needles and pins
A-hurtin her, a-hurtin her
Why can’t I stop and tell myself I’m wrong, I’m wrong, so wrong
Why can’t I stand up and tell myself I’m strong
Because I saw her today, I saw her face
It was the face I loved and I knew
I had to run away
And get down on my knees and pray
That there’d come a day