Songwriting can be such an agonizing pursuit that the rare wave of inspiration that takes an idea from conception to reality in a matter of hours feels like a divine gift.
Former Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers guitarist and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Mike Campbell has gotten to know well both sides of the creative coin over his career as a hit-making six-stringer.
One of Campbell's latest miracle tracks is a timely one called "Lockdown," which he released last month to benefit Feeding America during the COVID-19 crisis. He tells Q104.3 New York's Jim Kerr and Shelli Sonstein that the song was written and recorded in no time and just as quickly started raising money for a great cause.
"It was in the blink of an eye," Campbell said. "I just got up one morning and I thought, you know, lockdown's a great idea. I threw the song together, recorded it in an hour or two. My wife suggested we do a video for charity. It really is straight from the desk to the airwaves in a matter of hours."
In just a few days, the song had raised over $20,000 for charity and counting. People shouldn't be going hungry in the middle of a pandemic when others are throwing out food, Campbell says.
Campbell is taking the pandemic seriously but he's also not the type to stress about it. He says he only leaves the house to walk his dogs and he spends most of the rest of his time working on songs for his band The Dirty Knobs in his home studio or watching TV and movies.
Like the rest of the music industry, he's not sure when we'll get to enjoy concerts again, but he's sure musicians will find a way to make the most out of the situation, and fans will be keen to support them.
"I'm not too worried about it, but I think in the long run, and hopefully not too long run, we'll get back to normal concerts and people will be really happy to be back in that realm again," he added.
Download "Lockdown" and donate to Feeding America here.
Listen to the full interview in the player above!
Photo: Getty Images