Taylor Swift Credits Tom Petty for Her Learning How to Play Guitar

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In the days that have passed since Tom Petty's unexpected death, celebrities from all walks have come forward to pay tribute to the rock legend. Most recently, country crooner-turned-pop princess Taylor Swift spoke to Rolling Stone about the influence the man behind timeless hits like "American Girl," and "Free Fallin'" had on her own musical genesis.

"To me, Tom Petty represented a kind of songwriting I idolized: complex simplicity," she told the magazine.

And it's not just songwriting. If it weren't for Petty, Swift may never have learned how to play the guitar.

"It said so much in the lyrics, the concepts, the stories, the message, the nuances...but always brought you back to a hook that got stuck in everyone's head," she continued. "He motivated thousands of guitarists to learn to play just because they wanted to be able to play 'Free Fallin.' Count me as one of them."

Thank you for everything, Tom. You will be greatly missed.