Warren Zanes, Ph.D. is the author of Petty, The Biography (Henry Holt & Co.) and the book is unique from other rock and roll biographies in that Zanes isn’t just a fan. He was a member of The Del Fuegos, a college rock band that was an opening act for Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers in the late 1980’s. Even that only scratches the surface of who Warren Zanes is. In this episode, Zanes talks about Tom Petty and his own life’s journey in which he earned his doctorate and a place on the faculty at New York University, as well as working at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and running the Rock and Roll Forever Foundation, a nonprofit started by Steven Van Zandt that works with educators to create a History of Rock and Roll curriculum for middle school and high school students. All the while, he has continued to make music and raise his two boys in the suburbs of New Jersey.
