Rock star Tom Petty is under additional pressure to prove the origins of his 2002 hit song 'The Last DJ'.
Orange County songwriter Jim Wagner, who wrote a song called 'The Last Great Radio DJ', alleges Petty has used his work as the template for 'The Last DJ'.Wagner wrote his song as a tribute to Los Angeles DJ Jim Ladd. After sending the song to Ladd, a veteran of radio station KLOS, Ladd asked Wagner if he could use the song on his radio show. However, before that eventuated, Tom Petty came out with a similar song and released it as the title track to his 2002 album.
Ladd and Petty have been longtime friends dating back more than 20 years.
Wagner has been gathering evidence of the link between his song and Petty's for a number of years and has now gathered an explosive document of evidence showing how the similarities could be more than just coincidental.
Although Petty denies that his song is about Jim Ladd, he credited Ladd on his album. "for his inspiration and courage".
In a document given to Undercover, Ladd denies the song is written about him. He also denies that he passed on Wagner's song to Petty. "I can assure you that there is absolutely no connection between your song and the one by Mr. Petty" Ladd writes in a letter to Wagner dated December 4, 2002.
"The Tom Petty tune was written well before you sent me your song" Ladd says. "I know the timing of the release of the new album probably seems the reverse to you, but in fact, Tom had been working on the album for several years".
While it may truly have been the case that Petty was working on the album for a number of years, just 2 months before release the album had the working title of 'The Golden Circle'. No mention of the title 'The Last DJ' had even appeared in print until just before release. One month before the release of 'The Last DJ', Rolling Stone magazine was referring to it still as 'The Golden Circle'.
Ladd denies that the song 'The Last DJ' is even about him, but on his own website, as well as the official website for KLOS, he is called The Last DJ.
Likewise, Petty says that the character in the song is fictitious although he referred to Ladd as The Last DJ on October 30, 2000 at the Museum of Television and Radio in Beverly Hills.
Wagner's previous attempt to get justice for his song were thwarted by Petty's lawyers who used the "man with the deepest pockets" legal philosophy to soak up Wagner's ability to be heard.
Now, with an arsenal of evidence handed to Undercover, Wagner is ready for a second round of having his side of the story heard.
Undercover will bring you the further story of the origins of The Last Great Radio DJ over this week and next.
