In terms of population and total surface area, the world is an enormous place. However, some mysterious forces make it small and make coincidences ever so surprising. That notion itself is a complex one, but one famous time where it has come into play is when a teenage Don Felder gave a young Tom Petty guitar lessons in Gainesville, Florida.

Don Felder and Tom Petty both grew up in Gainesville, Florida. Felder was born in 1947, and Petty in 1950, so they shared a three-year age difference. That being said, when Felder was a teenager, he took up a job giving lessons at a music store, and coincidentally, one of his clients just happened to be a young Tom Petty.

In an interview with WMMR, Felder recalled the general details of his early relationship with Tom Petty. However, he didn’t reveal how old he was, how old Petty was, or what music store in Gainesville, Florida, these lessons transpired in. Regardless, Felder’s comments are a fascinating piece of rock history and the epitome of how the world has the power of making might fine coincidences.

Felder told WMMR, “[Petty] was playing bass at the time in this band, which I think was called The Epics. I remember them as the Rucker Brothers Band. It had two guitar players that both just flailed artlessly on the electric guitar, and Tommy was playing bass and singing and fronting the band, and he really didn’t want to be the singing bass player. He wanted to play guitar, so I started teaching him guitar in this music store, and going out to see him and teaching him at his house.”

While Tom Petty certainly would have transitioned to guitar without Felder’s help, it’s interesting to learn that Felder helped the “Free Fallin’” hitmaker take his baby steps on the instrument.

After these lessons, Felder helped Petty seemingly gain the confidence to perform live, and he did. Recalling Petty’s early performance in the Gainesville music scene, Felder stated, “Tommy was very charismatic on stage. He had a great stage presence and a commitment that he could sell on his presence which was great, and a lot of people might have the talent, they just don’t have the commitment and charisma to get it across, and Tom has it in spades.”

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