1981 Hit Ranked Among 'Top Romantic Duets' Became an Underrated Anthem

Over the decades, Tom Petty and Stevie Nicks were often rumored to be more than friends, largely due to their close working relationship. In reality, however, the two shared a deep and genuine friendship - though Nicks made no secret of her admiration for Petty, once calling him her "favorite rock star."

Within just a few years of meeting in 1978, the two were already making music together. While their iconic duet "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" is the collaboration most fans know, there is an arguably even greater love duet between the two.

"Insider" may not have reached the top of the charts, but it deserves just as much recognition - and according to Ultimate Classic Rock, it ranks among the "Top Romantic Duets" in rock history.

Related: 1957 No. 1 Hit Inspired Dozens of Covers But the Original Remains Untouchable

Released in 1981 as part of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' album Hard Promises, "Insider" marked the pair's first official duet. At the time, Nicks' infatuation with the band had become something of a running joke.

"I just fell in love with his music and his band," Nicks said in Petty: The Biography. "I would laughingly say to anyone that if I ever got to know Tom Petty and could worm my way into his good graces, if he were ever to ask me to leave Fleetwood Mac and join Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, I'd probably do it."

While Petty had a strict "no girls in the band" policy, he was more than willing to write a song for her. He sat down and created "Insider," an intimate tune originally intended for Nicks' debut solo album, Bella Donna.

"When I wrote that song, I wrote it very quickly – I mean maybe in 10, 15 minutes," Petty told Melody Maker in 1981. "I just picked up the guitar and tried to sing each line out. It took me maybe an hour to do that. It don't happen every day, fans! But the lyrics were real quick."

Petty sensed immediately that he had written something special. "I thought it was one of my best songs to that point," he later reflected in Conversations With Tom Petty (2005). He initially felt the track was a perfect fit for Nicks, but when recording began, something made him hesitate to let it go.

"She really liked the song, so we went to do the vocal and she started to sing harmony every time," Petty told Musician in 1981. "Because my track was playing in her headphones as a guide. So she said, 'Just let me sing the harmony one time.' So she did, and when it was over, I just sat there, in awe."

Related: 1986 Power Ballad Named No. 1 Hit Song Became a Timeless Anthem

When Nicks walked back in and asked how it sounded, Petty's expression said it all. "She said, 'I can tell by the look on your face, you don't wanna give me this song. I'm giving it back to you right now.'" he recalled. "I really thought a lot of her for that."

Feeling guilty for taking the track back, Petty kept Nicks' vocals on "Insider" and offered her another song in return, "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around."

Not everyone agreed it was a fair trade, though. Drummer Stan Lynch was particularly skeptical. "I didn't think it was a good bargain at all," he said.

As it turned out, Lynch wasn't entirely wrong - at least commercially. "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" became a hit, peaking at #3 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in 1981 and holding that spot for six consecutive weeks.

"Insider," meanwhile, remained just an album track. Still, Hard Promises was a success, reaching No. 5 on the Billboard 200 and eventually going platinum.

With time, the song's legacy has grown even stronger. Live performances of "Insider" have accumulated millions of online views, and loyal fans have long argued the song never got its due.

As one listener put it, "Sad when you think of Stevie & Tom singing together ‘Stop Dragging My Heart' is the first song that came to mind, & this one is the obscure tune that never gets airplay. Don't get me wrong, ‘Stop Dragging My Heart' is a phenomenal song, but this is equally superb."

Copyright 2026 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved

This story was originally published April 15, 2026 at 8:30 AM.