Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were an American rock band formed in Gainesville, Florida, in 1976.[1] The band originally comprised lead singer and rhythm guitarist Tom Petty, lead guitarist Mike Campbell, keyboardist Benmont Tench, drummer Stan Lynch and bassist Ron Blair. In 1982, Blair, weary of the touring lifestyle, departed the band. His replacement, Howie Epstein, remained with the band for the next two decades. In 1991, Scott Thurston joined the band as a multi-instrumentalist, primarily on rhythm guitar and secondary keyboard. In 1994, Steve Ferrone replaced Lynch on drums. Blair returned to the Heartbreakers in 2002, the year before Epstein's death. The band had a long string of hit singles, including "Breakdown", "American Girl" (both 1976), "Refugee" (1979), "The Waiting" (1981), "Learning to Fly" (1991), and "Mary Jane's Last Dance" (1993), among many others, that stretched over several decades of work.
Although Petty was insistent that the band's musical style be referred to as simply rock and roll,[2] the Heartbreakers' music was characterized as both Southern rock[3] and heartland rock,[4] cited alongside artists such as Bruce Springsteen, Bob Seger, and John Mellencamp as progenitors of the latter genre, which arose in the late 1970s and early 1980s. While the heartland rock movement waned in the 1990s, the band remained active and popular, touring regularly until Petty's death in 2017, after which the Heartbreakers disbanded. Their final studio album, Hypnotic Eye, was released in 2014.
The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002, their first year of eligibility. Although most of their material was produced and performed under the name "Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers", Petty released three solo albums, the most successful of which was Full Moon Fever (1989). In these releases, some members of the band contributed as collaborators, producing and performing as studio musicians.
As a teenager, Tom Petty joined or formed several bands in his hometown of Gainesville, Florida, included the Sundowners and the Epics, with Petty playing guitar and bass and singing as needed. In 1970, he and fellow North Central Florida resident Mike Campbell (lead guitar) formed Mudcrutch, with Benmont Tench (keyboards) joining in 1972. The band was a local success, eventually playing gigs across Florida, enjoying regular residences at popular clubs, and organizing music festivals at "Mudcrutch Farm", a large empty lot adjacent to the small house where most band members lived.[5] In 1974, Mudcrutch relocated to Los Angeles, California in attempt to gain the attention of a major record label. Leon Russell signed them to Shelter Records, but their 1975 debut single "Depot Street" failed to chart, and after failing to record another single to their label's satisfaction, Mudcrutch disbanded.[5]
Though Mudcrutch had dissolved, Petty remained attached to Shelter Records as a songwriter and solo artist, and in 1976, he reunited with Mike Cambell and Benmont Tench to form "Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers" along with fellow Gainesville expatriates Stan Lynch on drums and Ron Blair on bass.[1] The Heartbreakers began their recording career with a self-titled album. Initially, the Heartbreakers did not gain much traction in the U.S., although they achieved early success in the UK after playing "Anything That's Rock 'n' Roll" on Top of the Pops.[6] While subsequent singles "Breakdown" and "American Girl" failed to sell in the US, the band continued to gain attention in the UK. Recalling the band's brief British tour in 1976, Petty stated, "The audience just jumped up and charged the stage and were boogieing their brains out. It was such a rush. Wow, we had never seen anything like that, man."[6] "Breakdown" was re-released in the U.S. and became a Top 40 hit in 1978, after word filtered back of the band's massive success in Britain, and perhaps more importantly after it featured on the extremely popular soundtrack to the 1978 film, FM. "American Girl" was covered in 1977 by Roger McGuinn on his "Thunderbyrd" LP.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' second album, You're Gonna Get It! (1978), was their first gold record, and featured the singles "I Need to Know" and "Listen To Her Heart". In 1979, the band was dragged into a legal dispute when ABC Records, Shelter's distributor, was sold to MCA Records. Petty refused to be transferred to another record label and held fast to his principles, which led to his filing for bankruptcy as a tactic against MCA.
Mainstream success (1979–1984)
In 1979, after their legal dispute was settled, the Heartbreakers released their third album Damn the Torpedoes through MCA's Backstreet label. The album rapidly went platinum. It included "Don't Do Me Like That" (#10 U.S., the group's first Top Ten single) and "Refugee" (#15 U.S.), their U.S. breakthrough singles.
Although he was already extremely successful, Petty again ran into record company trouble when he and the Heartbreakers prepared to release Hard Promises (1981), the follow-up album to Damn the Torpedoes. MCA wanted to release the record at the list price of $9.98. This so-called "superstar pricing" was a dollar more than the usual list price of $8.98. Petty voiced his objections to the price hike in the press, and the issue became a popular cause among music fans. Non-delivery of the album or naming it Eight Ninety-Eight were considered, but eventually MCA decided against the price increase. The album became a Top Ten hit, going platinum and spawning the hit single "The Waiting" (#19 U.S.). The album also included the duet "Insider", with Stevie Nicks.
On their fifth album, Long After Dark (1982), bass player Ron Blair was replaced by Howie Epstein (formerly of Del Shannon's backing band), giving the Heartbreakers their lineup until 1991. Long After Dark features the hits "You Got Lucky" (U.S. #20) and "Change of Heart" (U.S. #21), and was to feature a track called "Keeping Me Alive", but producer Jimmy Iovine vetoed it from the album. Petty had expressed that he felt the album would have been more successful if "Keeping Me Alive" had been included.[7]
Southern Accents and Let Me Up (I've Had Enough) (1985–1988)
On the sixth album, Southern Accents (1985), the Heartbreakers picked up where they had left off.[clarification needed] The recording was not without problems; Petty became frustrated during the mixing process and broke his left hand when punching a wall. The album included the psychedelic-sounding hit single "Don't Come Around Here No More" (#13 U.S.), which was produced by and co-written with Dave Stewart. The video for the single, which starred Stewart, featured Petty dressed as the Mad Hatter, mocking and chasing Alice from the book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, then cutting and eating her as if she were a cake. This caused minor controversy after it was criticized by feminist groups,[citation needed] but the video did win an MTV Video Music Award.
A successful concert tour led to the live album Pack Up the Plantation: Live! (1985). The band's live capabilities were also showcased when Bob Dylan invited the Heartbreakers to join him on his True Confessions Tour through Australia, Japan and the U.S. (1986) and Europe (1987). Petty praised Dylan, saying, "I don't think there is anyone we admire more."
Also in 1987, the group released Let Me Up (I've Had Enough), a studio album made to sound like a live recording, using a technique they borrowed from Dylan. It includes "Jammin' Me" (#18 U.S.), which Petty wrote with Dylan and Campbell. Dylan recorded a version of the Petty composition "Got My Mind Made Up" on his album Knocked Out Loaded, which was credited as being written by Dylan and Petty.
In 1993, Petty released Greatest Hits, which included the hit single "Mary Jane's Last Dance". Stan Lynch had moved to Florida, but was persuaded to return for his last session with the band.
In 1994, Lynch left the band. Drummer Dave Grohl, formerly of the band Nirvana, sat in on a number of performances, but declined to join the band, instead choosing to pursue his own solo work which eventually grew into the band Foo Fighters. The band was now and for the next several years officially a quartet with no permanent drummer, but beginning in 1995 for live shows Steve Ferrone, formerly a session and touring musician who had played with numerous other acts, served as drummer. He had worked with Petty, Campbell, Tench, and Epstein on Petty's solo album Wildflowers.
In 1995, a six-CD box-set titled Playback was released. Approximately half of the tracks were previously available on albums, and the rest were B-sides, demos and live tracks. Two notable tracks are a "solo" version of Petty's 1981 duet with Stevie Nicks, "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around", and the song "Waiting for Tonight", which features vocals by the Bangles. The latter song also appeared on the two-CD anthology released in 2000, Anthology: Through the Years.
In 1999, Petty and the Heartbreakers released the album Echo, produced by Rick Rubin. The album reached number 10 in the U.S. album charts and featured, among other singles, "Room at the Top". The band was still officially a four-piece (Petty, Campbell, Tench and Epstein), augmented by Ferrone on drums and Scott Thurston on various guitars, lap steel and ukulele. Both Ferrone and Thurston were promoted to full band membership after the album was released, and would remain Heartbreakers for the rest of the band's existence.
On April 28, 1999, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, located at 7018 Hollywood Boulevard, for their contributions to the recording industry.[8]
In 2002, the group released The Last DJ. Many of the tracks' lyrics contain stinging attacks on the music industry and major record companies. The album reached number 9 in the U.S. charts. Bassist Ron Blair played on two of the tracks. He replaced Epstein, who had previously been Blair's replacement, on the band's 2002 tour as a result of Epstein's deepening personal problems and drug abuse. Epstein died in 2003 at the age of 47.
Final years (2006–2017)
Keyboardist Benmont Tench performs with the band at the Hollywood Bowl in 2010.
In the band's thirtieth anniversary year, 2006, they headlined the fifth annual Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival. In addition to Bonnaroo, Petty was on tour throughout the summer of 2006. The tour started in Charlotte, North Carolina, on June 9 and ended in Randall's Island, New York on August 19. Stops included major cities such as New York, St. Louis, Indianapolis, and Denver. Supporting acts during the tour included Pearl Jam, the Allman Brothers Band, and Trey Anastasio. Additionally, Stevie Nicks joined the band onstage during the first eight concerts as well as subsequent second-leg dates to perform various songs from the Heartbreakers' catalog. For the Highway Companion Tour, they offered a Highway Companion's Club which allowed fans to receive priority seating, discounts at the Tom Petty Store, a complimentary CD of Highway Companion and a personalized email address.
In 2006, the ABC U.S. television network hired Petty to do the music for its NBA Playoffs coverage.
On September 21, 2006, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers received the keys to the city of Gainesville, Florida, where he and his bandmates either lived or grew up. Petty quipped, when questioned about the key he received from Gainesville's mayor, "It's a lot nicer than the one we got in Chicago."[9]
From July 2006 until 2007, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio featured an exhibit of Tom Petty items. Much of the content was donated by Petty himself from a visit to his home by some of the Rock Hall curatorial staff.
The Heartbreakers in August 2017, less than two months before Petty's death
In 2008, the Heartbreakers were also featured as the Super Bowl XLII halftime show. In April that year, the members of Petty's previous band, Mudcrutch—Petty, Tench, and Campbell, along with Randall Marsh and Tom Leadon—released a Mudcrutch album. In late 2008, they released a live EP.
The band issued The Live Anthology, a collection of live recordings, on November 23, 2009, and announced a new studio album, Mojo, for release in the spring of 2010.[10] The band released Hypnotic Eye on July 29, 2014, and archive recordings from their Playlist box set Nobody's Children and Through the Cracks digitally in 2015.
In 2017, the band embarked on a 40th Anniversary Tour of the United States.[11] The tour began on April 20 in Oklahoma City and ended on September 25 with a performance at the Hollywood Bowl in Hollywood, California.[11][12] The Hollywood Bowl concert, which became the Heartbreakers' final show, ended with a performance of "American Girl".[13]
Petty's death and aftermath (2017–present)
Early in the morning on October 2, 2017, Petty was found unconscious in his home, not breathing, and in full cardiac arrest. Following premature media reports of his death, Petty later officially died at the UCLA Medical Center in Santa Monica, California. He was 66.[14][15]
Though the group did not formally disband, Petty stated in his final interview, with the Los Angeles Times a few days before his death, that the Heartbreakers would probably disband if one of its members died or became too ill to perform.[16]
In April 2018, Campbell, Tench and Ferrone acted as the house band for the Light Up the Blues benefit concert in Los Angeles, backing Beck, Neil Young, Patti Smith, and Stephen Stills, with whom they performed Petty's "I Won't Back Down".[17] That same month, it was announced that Campbell (along with Neil Finn) had joined Fleetwood Mac to replace lead guitarist Lindsey Buckingham.[18]
In September 2023, Campbell, Tench and Ferrone backed Bob Dylan for a surprise performance at Farm Aid.[19]
During the course of the band, the various members did session work for other notable artists. In 1981, Petty and Campbell wrote the lyrics to "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around", which was intended as a Heartbreakers song. However, their producer Jimmy Iovine, who was also producing Stevie Nicks, suggested it be turned into a duet with her, and the band agreed, so the song ended up on her album Bella Donna.[20] All the Heartbreakers except Ron Blair had performed on the track.
In the mid-1980s, former EagleDon Henley teamed up with Campbell, Tench and Lynch for his 1984 album Building the Perfect Beast. Campbell wrote a demo version of the track "The Boys of Summer" and showed it to Petty, who both felt it did not fit Southern Accents, the album they were working on at the time. Iovine suggested recording it with Henley, with whom they re-recorded it after Henley changed the key.[20] Henley collaborated with Campbell and Lynch for his 1989 album The End of the Innocence, with the two Heartbreakers producing it alongside the likes of Danny Kortchmar and Bruce Hornsby. Campbell again wrote one of the hits from the album, "The Heart of the Matter".
In 1986, Bob Dylan wrote and recorded the track "Band of the Hand" as the theme song for the Paul Michael Glaserfilm of the same title. On the recording, Dylan is backed by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, with a group of backing singers including Stevie Nicks, and the track is credited to "Bob Dylan and the Heartbreakers".
Stan Lynch went on to produce Henley's 2000 album Inside Job and 2015 album Cass County. He also contributed to the Eagles' 1994 reunion album, Hell Freezes Over, playing percussion and having a hand in its production.[21]
Mike Campbell played slide guitar on "6th Avenue Heartache", released in 1996 by the Wallflowers. He recorded his guitar part without even meeting the band.
In the mid-1990s, members of the Heartbreakers teamed up to perform on Johnny Cash's American Recordings series of albums. The entire band played on Unchained, save for Lynch, who had left in 1994. For Volume III, only Campbell and Petty contributed, the latter performing a duet with Cash on a cover of "I Won't Back Down". Tench and Campbell then contributed to Volume IV, Volume V, and Volume VI. In March 2014, Cash's son had hinted that four or five more American albums may be released.[22]
Live performances
Mike Campbell (left) and Tom Petty at Bonnaroo in 2013
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (May 2016)
In 1985, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers participated in the international charity rock concert Live Aid.[23]
In 1986, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers released a live record, Pack Up the Plantation: Live!, primarily recorded at the Wiltern Theatre during their 1985 tour, along with some songs from previous concerts.[24]
In 1994, they played on Saturday Night Live, featuring former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl. Petty offered Grohl to join the Heartbreakers full-time after the show but Grohl declined as he was working on his new project, Foo Fighters. The two remained friends.
Tom Petty, the band's primary vocalist and songwriter. He also had a successful solo career and served as a member of the supergroup the Traveling Wilburys
The Heartbreakers were dismayed by Petty's decision to go solo. Nevertheless, Campbell played guitar solos on every track, Tench contributed piano to one track, and Epstein provided backing vocals to two tracks.
Petty's final solo album was Highway Companion. As with Full Moon Fever, it was produced by Jeff Lynne. Campbell was the lead guitarist for the album, but no other Heartbreaker participated in the recording, as all instruments and vocals were performed by Petty, Campbell, and Lynne.
Relationship with music industry
Petty fought against his record company on more than one occasion: first in 1979 over transference to another label,[34] and then again in 1981 over the price of his record, which was (at that time) considered expensive.[35] He was also outspoken on the current state of the music industry and modern radio stations, a topic that was a center concept of the lyrics of his 2002 album The Last DJ and its respective limited edition DVD.[36]
In an interview with Billboard magazine, Petty described himself as "not really [being] involved in the business side of music".
Members
Tom Petty– lead vocals, rhythm and lead guitar, bass, harmonica, keyboards (1976–2017; his death)
Mike Campbell– lead and rhythm guitar, bass, keyboards, mandolin (1976–2017)
Blue Stingrays, a band featuring Campbell, Tench, and Blair
Related Research Articles
Thomas Earl Petty was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He was the leader and frontman of the rock bands Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Mudcrutch and a member of the late 1980s supergroup the Traveling Wilburys. He was also a successful solo artist.
Benjamin Montmorency "Benmont" Tench III is an American musician and singer, and a founding member of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.
Michael Wayne Campbell is an American guitarist and vocalist. He was a member of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and co-wrote many of the band's hits with Petty, including "Refugee", "Here Comes My Girl", "You Got Lucky", and "Runnin' Down a Dream". Outside of The Heartbreakers, he has worked as a session guitarist and songwriter with a number of other acts, including composing and playing on the Don Henley hits "The Boys of Summer" & "The Heart of the Matter" as well as working on most of Stevie Nicks's solo albums. Campbell, along with Neil Finn, joined Fleetwood Mac to replace lead guitarist Lindsey Buckingham on their world tour in 2018–2019. After the end of that tour, he has been involved in his own band, the Dirty Knobs. As of 2024, the Dirty Knobs have released three albums.
Echo is the tenth studio album by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Released in April 1999, the album reached number 10 on the Billboard 200 aided by singles "Free Girl Now", "Swingin'" and "Room at the Top", which hit numbers 5, 17 and 19 respectively on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks in 1999. The album was the band's last collaboration with producer Rick Rubin, and was also the last to feature contributions from longtime bassist/vocalist Howie Epstein, who died of a heroin overdose in 2003. Despite still being a member of the band, Epstein is missing from the album's cover photo because he failed to show up for the photo shoot, and Petty ordered it to commence without him. It also marks the first to feature longtime touring member Scott Thurston, as well as the first to credit drummer Steve Ferrone as an official member. Echo was certified Gold by the RIAA in July 1999, only three months after it was released. Echo is the only Heartbreakers' album to feature a lead vocal from another member of the band, namely lead guitarist Mike Campbell on "I Don't Wanna Fight".
The Last DJ is the 11th studio album by American rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. The title track, "Money Becomes King", "Joe" and "Can't Stop the Sun" are all critical of greed in the music industry, which led to a song boycott by some radio stations.
Southern Accents is the sixth studio album by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, released on March 26, 1985, through MCA Records. The album's lead single, "Don't Come Around Here No More", co-written by Dave Stewart of Eurythmics, peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song "Southern Accents" was later covered by Johnny Cash for his Unchained album in 1996.
Playback is a box set compilation by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, released in 1995. It contains popular album tracks, B-sides, previously unreleased outtakes, and early songs by Petty's previous band Mudcrutch.
Let Me Up (I've Had Enough) (styled on the cover with quotation marks) is the seventh studio album by the American band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, released on April 27, 1987. It features the most songwriting collaborations between Petty and lead guitarist Mike Campbell on any Petty album. It is the first album without then-former bassist Ron Blair on any tracks, as well as the first since Damn the Torpedoes not produced by Jimmy Iovine.
Ronald Edward Blair is an American musician notable for being the bassist for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. He was originally the band's bassist from 1976 to 1981. In 2002, he returned to the group after a 20-year hiatus, replacing his own replacement, the late Howie Epstein.
Stanley Joseph "Stan" Lynch is an American musician, songwriter and record producer. He was the original drummer for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers for 18 years until his departure in 1994.
Live at the Olympic: The Last DJ is a live DVD by American musician rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, first released in September 2003. The film features the band's 2002 album The Last DJ performed in its entirety. Also featured are several of the band's other songs, and "You Wreck Me" from Petty's 1994 solo album Wildflowers. It was directed by Martyn Atkins.
Tom Leadon was an American musician. He was one of the founding members of Tom Petty's original band, Mudcrutch, and remained its guitarist following its revival in 2007. He was the brother of Bernie Leadon, the former banjoist and guitarist of the Eagles.
Anthology: Through the Years is a double compilation album featuring the best of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. It contains a new song, "Surrender," written by Petty in 1976 and recorded during sessions for the band's first album but left off the record, recorded again in 1979 but left off "Damn The Torpedoes," and finally recorded again in 2000 for this release. "Surrender" is also the last studio recording of Howie Epstein before his death in 2003. The 1976 version of the song was included on the 2018 box set An American Treasure.
Pack Up the Plantation: Live! is the first official live album by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, released in November 1985 by MCA Records. It was released as a double LP and, in slightly truncated form, a single cassette or compact disc. A concert film of the same name was released on home video in 1986. Stevie Nicks sings on two songs, including the US single "Needles and Pins", which reached No. 37 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Mudcrutch was an American rock band from Gainesville, Florida, whose sound touched on southern rock and country rock. They were first active in the 1970s and reformed in 2007, and are best known for being the band which launched Tom Petty to fame.
Runnin' Down a Dream is a 2007 documentary film about Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, directed by Peter Bogdanovich. The 4-hour documentary chronicles the history of the band, from its inception as Mudcrutch, right up to the 30th-anniversary concert in Petty's home town of Gainesville, Florida, on September 21, 2006, at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center, University of Florida. The film features interviews with George Harrison, Eddie Vedder, Stevie Nicks, Dave Grohl, Jeff Lynne, Rick Rubin, Johnny Depp, Jackson Browne and more. Petty's solo career is also touched on, as is his time with The Traveling Wilburys.
The Live Anthology is a live box set by American rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. The box set was released by Reprise Records on November 23, 2009, in a number of formats, with the standard CD and download formats, composed of 48 tracks.
An American Treasure is a 2018 compilation album and box set of Tom Petty, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Mudcrutch released by Reprise Records on September 28, 2018. The set includes several rare and unreleased songs alongside more obscure album tracks that showcase Petty's songwriting. The majority of the content is Heartbreakers material but there are also several solo songs and some recordings by Mudcrutch. Critical reception has been positive.
The Best of Everything is a 2019 greatest hits album with recordings made by Tom Petty, with his backing band The Heartbreakers, as a solo artist, and with Mudcrutch. It was released on March 1.
"Surrender" is a song by American rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. The song has been recorded multiple times over the years but has never been included on a studio album. The song was first released in 2000 as a radio single from the compilation Anthology: Through the Years, and then a live version was available on The Live Anthology. A studio recording from the Damn the Torpedoes sessions was made available on the reissue of the album in 2010. In 2018, a version originally recorded in 1976 was released on the deluxe version of An American Treasure.
References
1 2 Zanes, Warren (2005). Petty: The Biography Paperback. New York: Henry Holt. p.105. ISBN0805099689.
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