In 1989, we, glued to the television, awaited the final act. Questions abound. Was it going to be Aerosmith? The Chili Peppers and the Beastie Boys were possibilities, though nothing of theirs were nominated. The Traveling Wilburys did have a nomination, but they didn't win. No way they all get in the same room for a live show. Ice T was there and hadn't played yet. Who would it be? It was the time where rumors ruled the day. You clung to the 20-inch box TV that weighed more than your mother with baited breath, not even leaving during the commercials.
Then Arsenio gave the nod to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.
Tom and the Heartbreakers were a staple on MTV, grasping its music video power early on with hits on repeat like "Don't Come Around Here No More" where Tom played the Mad Hatter to an actor's Alice; they were Mad Max-like men in the stellar "Refugee"; Tom even appeared in cartoon form as himself in "Runnin' Down a Dream," a fast-paced hit if there ever was one.
Seeing Petty and the Heartbreakers wasn't as big of a surprise for a last performance in 1989 to close out the decade of the VMAs. But it was predictable. Still, "Free Fallin'" was one everyone knew and those opening chords on the twin Rickenbakers were a beautiful sound on a live stage. No one denies that.
But then. Then. Shortly after Tom reminds us that she loves horses and her boyfriend, too, the drums kick in and the crowd reacts. This isn't a reaction to the uptick of the song where you add your full set of instruments. Something's happening. The camera angle isn't on Tom Petty.
From behind Stan Lynch, longtime Heartbreakers drummer, the camera sits and you note a familiar swagger. There's no way in hell that's Axl Rose.
But it is.
Axl Fuckin' Rose.
Carrying his own microphone pole, of course, attached to no grounding stand.
Tom looks ecstatic and after seeing Axl play at times annoyed with the rest of Guns n' Roses at times, he actually looks like he could be having fun. He's certainly taking in the cheers.
Axl takes some of the verses and he could very well be Tom. It's transcendental. Tom looks, then points, to Axl when he sings "And all the bad boys are standing in the shadows." It's the culmination of rock music in the 1980s that no one knew they needed and weren't even sure in the moment if they liked. Guns n' Roses' fans thought it was too weak of a band for Axl to show up with; Heartbreakers fans' were confounded on where Bob Dylan, George Harrison, or Neil Young was, especially since Young had won an award earlier.
But looking back, it's a moment we won't ever get in music again.
The juxtaposition of Petty with the smooth guitar playing, boots, and blazer with a scarf. Axl with the painted-on pants, sunglasses, tattos, and backwards cap. His deep baritone unlike the recorded version singing the background of "free fallin'/free fallin'."
Once Rose adds his traditional fills of "oh, oh, oh, aw!" you know you've hit nirvana. That swagger. That mic sharing.
But, wait. If you stuck around for the credits, which some of us did not because, you know, bedtime, you got the wildest, weirdest, uncalled for version of "Heartbreak Hotel" made famous by Elvis Presley. It was as if the two superstars were kicking back to where it really belonged anyway. This is all entertaining. This is all of a moment. Just do a swagger, call it a dance, and have fuckin' fun.