Clayton Bellamy Returns With First Solo Release in Over a Decade, “I Miss Tom Petty”
Multi-platinum, JUNO and five-time CCMA Award-winning songwriter Clayton Bellamy is back with “I Miss Tom Petty,” his first solo release in over a decade.
Co-written with Dan Davidson and Tim Hicks, the reflective single offers the first glimpse of Bellamy’s forthcoming solo album. We caught up with Clayton to chat about the new single, returning to solo music, and what’s next.
First off, how have you been since we last chatted?
I have been amazing. I have been busier than ever and having more fun in the music business than I think I ever have!
“I Miss Tom Petty” marks your first solo release in more than a decade. Why did this feel like the right song—and the right moment—to step back into the spotlight as a solo artist?
Well I have been so busy the last decade writing and recording with The Road Hammers, The Congregation and Black Mountain Whiskey Rebellion, and all of those bands are amazing but I was really looking for a space to record some of the more heartfelt songs I’ve written and that’s where the album title “Soft Kind of Loud” came from. And “I Miss Tom Petty” was a natural first single as it plays hand in hand with the north American tour this fall as well it’s one of my favorite songs I’ve ever been a part of writing.
The song was inspired in part by your work on The Legendary Life of Tom Petty. What was it about spending so much time with Tom Petty’s music and story that reconnected you with the emotional core of your own songwriting?
I think playing those songs every night just reminded me of the simplicity of Tom’s approach. He told amazing stories and never let the music get in the way of the song. It inspired me to strip everything back and try and make something very raw and emotional for the first time ever in my career.
“I Miss Tom Petty” goes beyond missing an artist and touches on growing older and realizing that people, places, and moments we thought would always be there eventually become memories. How did your own experiences shape that perspective in the song?
I think many things have brought me to that place, when you grow older you realize how fleeting life is, and the importance of really holding on to moments when they are happening and taking in all the hugs and all the laughs because in a flash everything can change and you can’t get those moments back. Kids growing up, losing friends and family, these all gave me a depth of perspective on this tune I never had before.
You co-wrote the track with Dan Davidson and Tim Hicks. What did each of them bring to the writing room, and was there a particular lyric or idea that unlocked the direction of the song?
I have written many great songs with Tim and Dan. They are both incredible talents. Tim brought the title because he was drinking from a giant coffee mug that said I love Tom Petty, and Dan brought the amazing guitar signature that really sets the whole thing off. But really it’s just being in a room with great writers you can trust to be vulnerable and to bounce ideas off, that’s what makes it so easy. But honestly that day was very special. That one is what I like to call a sky song. It just fell out of the sky into our hands. The spirit was moving the pen.
After more than 20 years as a songwriter, performer, producer, and member of The Road Hammers, do you approach vulnerability differently now than you did earlier in your career?
Honestly I have made a great career avoiding it! It’s easy to write songs about drinking and rocking and partying but it takes a lot of guts to really pour your heart out on the page. But I always approach vulnerability the same, I try my best not to filter it. I want the listener to be cut to the bone just like me when I’m singing about loss. And I want them to feel joy the same way I do when I’m singing about love.The trick to me is to try not to get in the way of the feeling.
You’ve experienced the music industry from many different perspectives, including now as co-founder of Skysong Records. How has having greater control over the business side of your career affected the kind of music you want to make?
I have to say not just taking control of my own destiny with this label but building something this cool with my friends has been amazing. My partners Craig Senyk, Jason McCoy and Dan Davidson are all incredibly talented and getting the opportunity to discover new artists and build a label for artists by artists with them has been an amazing journey.
You’ll continue bringing The Legendary Life of Tom Petty to audiences across North America this fall and into 2027. What has the audience response to the production taught you about the lasting connection people have with Tom Petty and his songs?
The show has been growing at an amazing pace and we are all over Canada and The U.S.A in the next 6 months. I just want to show how deeply Tom and the Heartbreakers touched people with their music. Those songs are part of the fabric of so many people’s lives including my own and I am proud to be able to perform them.
With a new solo chapter beginning after more than a decade, what are you most excited for listeners to discover about Clayton Bellamy through this album that they may not have heard from you before?
I am excited for people to hear the new music from “Soft Kind of Loud” and also maybe to discover a softer side of me and maybe dive into all the songs they didn’t know I wrote by other artists or bands!
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