This is… definitely very different from the original.
Today, Snoop Dogg released a new album called Missionary, which was produced by the legendary Dr. Dre and includes country star, and former rapper, Jelly Roll on a song called “Last Dance With Mary Jane” which yes, interpolates the Tom Petty classic “Mary Jane’s Last Dance.”
Snoop has actually been really into country music lately, talking about knowing Chris Stapleton, recording a verse for a Zach Bryan song, and he even played some shows with Koe Wetzel a couple years ago, which naturally led to him forming a relationship with one of mainstream’s biggest stars right now, Jelly Roll.
But before you get upset that they used Petty’s song in this way, you should know that it was actually his idea… in a video on Snoop’s Instagram, you see a vintage interview with the late Tom Petty, where he’s talking about wanting Dre to get his hands on it one day, saying ti would be “a big hit” if he did:
“I’ll tell you, the day Dre does a version of ‘Mary Jane’s Last Dance,’ he’s gonna have a big hit. That one’s just waiting to explode. But you need somebody like Dre to do it.”
Dre explained that the Petty family sent him the files with the original Tom Petty vocal and harmonica, and he took it from there:
“So the family sent me the files, so I actually have Tom Petty’s voice and harmonica playing on the hook. and then we had the opportunity to get Jelly Roll to come in the studio and do the second verse.”
Check it out:
Of course, “Mary Jane’s Last Dance” was written by Tom Petty while he was recording his iconic Wildflowers album, and was first released as part of the Greatest Hits album in 1993. It rose to #14 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming Petty’s first Billboard top-20 hit of the 1990’s, and also topped the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart for two weeks.
It’s a classic, and obviously, anytime you interpolate and use such an iconic song for a completely different purpose, it’s a risk… even if Tom Petty himself approved of it. Though, this version only uses his voice and the chorus from the original, the rest of it is very different.
I can’t say I’m in love with the new rendition, and the comments on Instagram showed a pretty mixed reaction in terms of what fans think of the rapping legend’s take on a Petty masterpiece:
“Should’ve left out jelly roll”
“Sounded good till I heard Jelly Roll.”
“Terrible song.”
“Jesus Christ. Thank the OGs for showing the younger generation what the work was supposed to look like. Get inspired. Lets get it!!”
“Was down with it till jelly roll appeared.”
“Jelly roll is wack.”
“This is going to be amazing. If only Tom Petty was still around for this!’
“Did I miss the law that was passed where Jelly Roll must be included in every recorded song going forward?”
“Sounded good till I heard Jelly Roll.”
“If Tom Petty says Dre needs to cover ‘Mary Jane,’ ya gotta cover ‘Mary Jane.’”
“Coolest rockstar ever, no contest. Simply because he was HIMSELF.”
“HOLY F****** MASTERPIECE .”
“Oh my my, oh hell yes.”
“I love absolutely everyone here and everything about this.”
“This is insane. The losers win again.”
“Tom Petty was a big deal!!! If he endorses you like that, you use it. Class act by Snoop and Dre.”
“I can’t stand Jelly Roll…he’s the Matt Rife of music.”
“Tom Petty forever!”
“Now that’s Hard! Jelly Roll stayed true to his sound.”
“Hard pass.”
“Love me some Tom Petty.”
Again, it’s pretty hard to say they shouldn’t have done it, because years ago, Petty at least wanted Dre to have creative freedom with it for whatever reason, but you can listen to it for yourself here and see what you think here:
“Mary Jane’s Last Dance”