If you didn’t know already, in 2024, Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg pulled off a wild 90s rock cover. The pair teamed up for a rendition of “Mary Jane’s Last Dance” by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. The story behind the track is pretty fascinating, with Dre revealing that the idea originally came from Tom Petty himself.
During a podcast interview, Dre explained that the seed was planted when “the great Tom Petty” teased the cover concept in a documentary film. “He said, ‘The day that Dr Dre does a version of ‘Mary Jane’s Last Dance’, it’s going to be an instant hit,’” Dre recalled Petty saying.
Tom Petty died in 2017, so it clearly took some years for the idea to get to Dre
Luckily, Petty’s family was on board with the idea, too. “Fortunately, his family blessed us with the [original audio] files and all of his vocals,” Dre shared. He then produced “a whole new beat and put [Petty’s] vocals on the chorus,” as well as the late musicina’s “harmonica playing.” Next, he brought Jelly Roll onto the track, who “sang the second verse” in Dre’s home studio.
The result is “Last Dance with Mary Jane”. A wild homage to Tom Petty’s legacy, and the metaphorical “Mary Jane” they all love so much.
As for the original tune, “Mary Jane’s Last Dance“, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers lead guitarist Mike Campbell previously told SongFacts that they first began writing the song in his garage. “That song took on a few shapes,” he said. “It was written in my garage.”
“I didn’t write it,” he continued. “But we were jamming in the garage, and Tom was playing one of my guitars. It was called ‘Indiana Girl’. The first chorus was ‘Hey, Indiana Girl, go out and find the world.’”
Campbell revealed that famed music producer Rick Rubin ‘suggested we cut it,’ though the song wasn’t quite done yet
“It had actually been around for a while, just the basic riff and that chorus,” Campbell shared. “We cut the song, and he was singing the chorus, and he decided he just couldn’t get behind singing about ‘Hey, Indiana Girl,’ so we went back, and about a week later, he came in and said, ‘I’ve got a better idea,’ so he changed the chorus to ‘Last Dance with Mary Jane.’ In the verse, there is still the thing about an Indiana girl on an Indiana night, just when it gets to the chorus, he had the presence of mind to give it a deeper meaning.”
“My take on it is it can be whatever you want it to be,” Campbell finally added. “A lot of people think it’s a drug reference, and if that’s what you want to think, it very well could be, but it could also just be a goodbye love song.”
The post Dr. Dre Revealed Why He and Snoop Dogg Chose To Cover a Beloved 90s Rock Song: ‘It’s Gonna Be an Instant Hit’ appeared first on VICE.
