And as Mike Scully put it in his interview with EW, the original pitch was to get second-tier rock musicians as guests, but Jagger and Richards were eager and willing to take part in it to promote a Rolling Stones tour they were kicking off at the time.
Beyond Tom Petty, the episode also sported guest spots from Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Elvis Costello, Lenny Kravitz and Brian Setzer.
Even fans that largely tuned out of The Simpsons after its Golden Era should remember “How I Spent My Strummer Vacation,” which featured cameos from some of the biggest musicians of all time.
So it would have been silly to scoop up some one hit wonder-makers after getting those two behemoths, so Scully said he immediately thought about Petty as being the next person to call.