The Ocala City Council has approved a request to designate a historic marker at an Ocala intersection to commemorate the day that a young Tom Petty met Elvis Presley in 1961, forever changing the 10-year-old’s life at the time.
The application for the marker, which was filed by the Ocala Sunset Rotary Club, was approved during the council’s regular meeting on Tuesday evening.
Paul Stentiford, representing the club, submitted the application for the marker titled “Elvis in Ocala, Tom Petty Inspired.” The new historical marker will be installed at the northwest corner of State Road 40 and Osceola Road.
The designation formally recognizes Presley’s visit to Ocala in July 1961 to the former Commercial Bank and Trust Company at 117 East Silver Springs Boulevard, during which Presley recorded scenes for the film Follow That Dream.
Petty’s uncle, Earl Jernigan, was working on the set of that movie and invited his nephew and family to watch the filming.
A Gainesville resident at the time, Petty would describe the account when he was 10 years old as a pivotal moment in his life. In interviews years later, Petty recanted that he was “dumbstruck” by Presley’s “supernatural presence,” noting that he went home a “changed man” and immediately began seeking out Elvis records.
Despite having no previous interest in music, Petty stated that his brief meeting with “The King” left him “hooked” on rock ‘n’ roll.
Petty went on to have a Hall of Fame career in rock ‘n’ roll. After forming the Heartbreakers in 1976, the artist went on to sell over 80 million records across the world, winning three Grammy Awards for his efforts.
Petty died in 2017, just a few weeks shy of his 67th birthday.
Although the Ocala scene in Follow That Dream was filmed in 1961, the movie officially premiered on April 11, 1962.
Based on Richard P. Powell’s 1959 novel “Pioneer, Go Home!,” the film follows the Kwimper family, who break down on highway and decide to claim squatter’s rights.