Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
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| Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers | |
|---|---|
 Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers performing live in Indianapolis June 23, 2006
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Genre(s) | Rock , Hard Rock , |
| Years active | 1976–present |
| Label(s) | Shelter, Backstreet, MCA, Warner Bros. |
| Associated acts | Tom Petty, Traveling Wilburys |
| Members | |
| Tom Petty Mike Campbell Benmont Tench Ron Blair Scott Thurston Steve Ferrone |
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| Former members | |
| Stan Lynch Howie Epstein |
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Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers are an American rock band, formed in 1975 by Tom Petty, Mike Campbell, and Benmont Tench and known for their album-oriented, classicist rock n' roll. They have also recorded numerous hit singles, such as "American Girl", "Breakdown" and "Mary Jane's Last Dance", most of which remain heavily played on mainstream radio. Despite this success, Petty is a vocal critic of the modern recording industry and the disintegration of independent radio stations (i.e. The Last DJ).
Contents |
[edit] Career
[edit] Early Years
Pettys early bands included The Sundowners, The Epics and Mudcrutch (the latter with ace drummer Randall Marsh and future Heartbreakers members Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench). Mudcrutch released records under shelter however Petty admitted they were 'an overwhelming flop'. Petty began recording with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers who began their recording career with a self titled album . Still, it took America a full year to catch up to the album. However, they were having success in the UK playing Anything That's Rock 'n' Roll on Top Of The Pops.Their singles included Breakdown and American Girl. "Breakdown" was re-released to radio in USA and became a Top 40 hit in 1977. This was after word filtered back to the States that the band was creating a firestorm in the UK.
Their 1978 second album You're Gonna Get It! proved the debut album's intensity was no fluke. Marking the band's first gold album, it featured the singles "Listen To Her Heart" and "I Need To Know". Shortly after its release, the band was dragged into a legal dispute, when ABC Records was sold to MCA Records.
Petty refused to simply be transferred to another record label without his consent. He held fast to his principles for nine long months, which eventually led to him filing for bankruptcy.
[edit] Breakthrough
After the dispute was settled, the Heartbreakers released their third album Damn the Torpedoes (1979) which rapidly became triple-platinum. It includes "Don't Do Me Like That" and "Refugee", their U.S. breakthrough singles.
Petty was appealing to a wide a range of musical tastes as New Wave, punk and rock and roll fans alike were taking notice.
Though he was already extremely successful, Petty ran into record company trouble again 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, which was considered a high price for a record album at the time. Petty refused to comply to their wishes, threatening to change the album title to "The 8.98 Album." He actually withheld the album from the label.
The Heartbreakers' next album, Hard Promises became a Top Ten hit, going platinum and spawning the hit single "The Waiting." Tom also recorded his first duet "Insider," with Stevie Nicks.
On their fifth album Long After Dark (1982) bass player Ron Blair was replaced by Howie Epstein, giving the Heartbreakers their line-up until 1991. Long after dark features You Got Lucky. Petty made plans for a track called keepin' me alive to be included on it but producer Jimmy Iovine did not want it. Petty had problems coping with the stress of success and decided to slow things down.
On their comeback album, Southern Accents (1985), the Heartbreakers picked up where they had left off. The recording was not without problems — Petty became frustrated during the mixing process and broke his left hand after punching through a wall. The album includes the hit single "Don't Come Around Here No More," which was produced by Dave Stewart. The video for the single, featuring Tom 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 some controversy after it was criticized by feminist groups.
A successful concert tour led to the live album Pack Up the Plantation: Live! (1986). The band's live capabilities were put to the test when Bob Dylan invited the Heartbreakers to join him on his True Confessions tour through the U.S., Australia, Japan (1986) and Europe (1987).
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 Bob Dylan. It includes "Jammin' Me", which Petty wrote with Dylan.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' 1989 tour featured college rock band The Replacements opening every show. Petty eventually borrowed Paul Westerberg's line "rebel without a clue" from "I'll Be You" for the title track of the Into the Great Wide Open album.
[edit] Heartbreakers reaction to Tom Petty going solo
In 1989, Petty released his first solo album, much to the dismay of other bandmates. Petty said he admitted to them that he was enjoying his time away from the band. Lynch claimed that there was more than a couple songs on it he didn't like. Tench said that working alongside Petty on a track was not fun. Epstein admitted to Petty his dissatisfaction with "Free Fallin'". Mike Campbell was a musician on the album.
[edit] Move to Warner Bros. Records
In 1991 the band released Into the Great Wide Open. An album produced by Jeff Lynne. Songs included the title track itself and "Learning to Fly". In 1993 , Petty released Greatest Hits which included hit single "Mary Jane's Last Dance" A six CD box-set was released, entitled Playback. Approximately half of the tracks were previously available on albums, while the rest were B-sides, demos and live tracks. Two notable tracks are a solo version of Tom's 1981 duet with Stevie Nicks, "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" and the song "Waiting For Tonight," which features vocals from The Bangles. The latter song also appeared on the two CD anthology released in 2000.
In 1996, Petty "reunited" with the Heartbreakers and released a soundtrack to the movie She's the One, starring Cameron Diaz and Jennifer Aniston (see Songs and Music from "She's the One"). Three singles were released from this album; these were "Walls (Circus)" (featuring Lindsey Buckingham), "Climb that Hill" and a song written by Lucinda Williams, "Change the Locks". The album also included a cover of a song by Beck, "Asshole".
In 1999, Petty and the Heartbreakers released their final album with producer Rick Rubin at the helm, Echo. Two songs were released as singles in the U.S., "Room at the Top" and "Free Girl Now". The album reached number 10 in the U.S. album charts. A Tom Petty Anthology was released in 2000, compiled by film director Cameron Crowe.
In 2002, Petty and the Heartbreakers released The Last DJ. Many of the tracks are stinging attacks on the music industry, criticizing the greediness inherent within it, as well as the tendency of record companies to water down popular rock acts and release throwaway pop music made by scantily-clad young girls. The album reached number 9 in the U.S. charts. In 2007, a film titled Runnin' Down a Dream was released, documenting the career of the band. The Heartbreakers were also featured as the Super Bowl XLII Halftime Show.
[edit] Other works and recognition
In 1985, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers participated in the world-spanning charity rock concert Live Aid. They also played at the 2001 America: A Tribute to Heroes benefit concert.
In 1994, a tribute album of alternative bands covering Petty songs was released called You Got Lucky.
In 1999 Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7018 Hollywood Blvd., an honor that acknowledges both their musical achievements and their humanitarian involvement with such organizations as Greenpeace, the National Veteran's Foundation, USA Harvest, Rock And Wrap It Up, AmFAR (the American Foundation for AIDS Research), and his anti-nuclear activism. In 2002. the band played at a special Concert for George Harrison who had died a year previouly
[edit] 30th anniversary year (2006)
In February 2006 Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers agreed to be the headline act at the fifth annual Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival. In addition to Bonnaroo, Petty was on tour throughout the summer in 2006. The tour started in Charlotte, North Carolina on June 9 and end in Randalls Island, NY 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 & Trey Anastasio. Additionally, Stevie Nicks joined Tom Petty onstage during the first eight concerts as well as subsequent second leg dates to perform various songs from the Heartbreakers vast catalog. For the Highway Companion Tour they offered a Highway Companion's Club which allowed fans to recevie priority seating, discounts at the Tom Petty Store, a complimentary CD of Highway Companion and a personalized email address.
Some have claimed that the Red Hot Chili Peppers single Dani California, released in May 2006, is very similar to Petty's Mary Jane's Last Dance single. [1]. While the songs do sound alike, it is unknown whether Dani California was an intentional copy. The two songs are compared here [1]. Petty himself might be guilty of the same crime though. In 1992 The Jayhawks released a song called Waiting For The Sun. A year later Petty released "Mary Jane's Last Dance" which sounds very similar to The Jayhawks song. However it is important to note that "Mary Jane's Last Dance" was in fact composed in 1989 during sessions for "Full Moon Fever" with different lyrics but the familiar chord structure in place. At the time, Petty was calling the song "Indiana Girl" and footage of the session can be seen in various documentaries on the band.
Petty tells Rolling Stone, "I seriously doubt that there is any negative intent there. And a lot of rock 'n' roll songs sound alike. Ask Chuck Berry. The Strokes took American Girl (for their song Last Nite), and I saw an interview with them where they actually admitted it. That made me laugh out loud. I was like, 'OK, good for you'.
"If someone took my song note for note and stole it maliciously, then maybe (I'd sue). But I don't believe in lawsuits much. I think there are enough frivolous law suits in this country without people fighting over pop songs."
In 2006, the ABC U.S. television network hired Petty to do the music for its NBA Playoffs coverage.
On September 22, 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. Tom 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.". [2]
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 curatatorial staff.
[edit] Runnin Down a dream
In 2007 a filmmaker called Peter Bogdanovitch released a documentary about Petty and the Heartbreakers titled runnin down a dream. The film is split over two discs and a special live concert in gainesville takes up disc 3. Interviews from Stevie Nicks , George Harrison and a selection of toms producers are included. Petty can be seen talking about some of his best known songs .
[edit] Band members
| 1975-1982 | |
|---|---|
| 1982-1991 | |
| 1991-1994 | |
| 1994-2002 | |
| 2002-present |
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
| Year | Album | U.S. | UK | Additional information |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers | 55 | 24 | debut album |
| 1978 | You're Gonna Get It! | 23 | 34 | - |
| 1979 | Damn the Torpedoes | 2 | - | - |
| 1981 | Hard Promises | 5 | 32 | - |
| 1982 | Long After Dark | 9 | - | - |
| 1985 | Southern Accents | 7 | 23 | - |
| 1986 | Pack Up the Plantation: Live! | 22 | - | live album |
| 1987 | Let Me Up (I've Had Enough) | 20 | - | - |
| 1991 | Into the Great Wide Open | 13 | 3 | - |
| 1993 | Greatest Hits | 5 | 10 | hits compilation album |
| 1995 | Playback | - | - | 6-disc box set |
| 1996 | Songs and Music from "She's the One" | 15 | 37 | film soundtrack |
| 1999 | Echo | 10 | - | - |
| 2000 | Anthology: Through The Years | 132 | 14 | compilation album |
| 2002 | The Last DJ | 9 | - | - |
| 2003 | Live at the Olympic: The Last DJ | - | - | live album |
| 2006 | Highway Companion | 4 | - | - |
[edit] Singles
| Year | Song | U.S. Hot 100 |
U.S. MSR* |
UK singles |
Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | "Breakdown" | 40 | - | - | Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers |
| 1977 | "Anything That's Rock N' Roll" | - | - | 36 | Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers |
| 1977 | "American Girl" | - | - | 40 | Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers |
| 1978 | "I Need To Know" | 41 | - | - | You're Gonna Get It! |
| 1978 | "Listen To Her Heart" | 59 | - | - | You're Gonna Get It! |
| 1979 | "Don't Do Me Like That" | 10 | - | - | Damn The Torpedoes |
| 1979 | "Refugee" | 15 | - | - | Damn The Torpedoes |
| 1980 | "Here Comes My Girl" | 59 | - | - | Damn The Torpedoes |
| 1981 | "The Waiting" | 19 | 1 | - | Hard Promises |
| 1981 | "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" (with Stevie Nicks) | 3 | 2 | 50 | Bella Donna (Stevie Nicks album) |
| 1981 | "A Woman In Love (It's Not Me)" | 79 | 5 | - | Hard Promises |
| 1982 | "You Got Lucky" | 20 | 1 | - | Long After Dark |
| 1983 | "Change of Heart" | 21 | 10 | - | Long After Dark |
| 1985 | "Don't Come Around Here No More" | 13 | 2 | 50 | Southern Accents |
| 1985 | "Make It Better (Forget About Me)" | 54 | 12 | - | Southern Accents |
| 1985 | "Rebels" | 74 | 5 | - | Southern Accents |
| 1986 | "Needles and Pins" (with Stevie Nicks) | 37 | 17 | - | Pack Up The Plantation: Live! |
| 1987 | "Think About Me" | - | 36 | - | Let Me Up (I've Had Enough) |
| 1987 | "Runaway Trains" | - | 6 | - | Let Me Up (I've Had Enough) |
| 1987 | "Jammin' Me" | 18 | 1 | - | Let Me Up (I've Had Enough) |
| 1987 | "All Mixed Up" | - | 19 | - | Let Me Up (I've Had Enough) |
| 1991 | "Out In The Cold" | - | 1 | - | Into The Great Wide Open |
| 1991 | "Learning to Fly" | 28 | 1 | 46 | Into The Great Wide Open |
| 1991 | "Into The Great Wide Open" | 92 | 4 | - | Into The Great Wide Open |
| 1992 | "Too Good To Be True" | - | - | 34 | Into The Great Wide Open |
| 1992 | "Makin Some Noise" | - | 30 | - | Into The Great Wide Open |
| 1992 | "King s Highway" | - | 4 | - | Into The Great Wide Open |
| 1993 | "Mary Jane's Last Dance" | 14 | 1 | 52 | Greatest Hits |
| 1994 | "Something in the Air" | - | 19 | 53 | Greatest Hits |
| 1996 | "Walls (Circus)" | 69 | 6 | - | Songs And Music From "She's The One" |
| 1996 | "Waiting For Tonight" | - | 6 | - | Anthology: Through the Years (Disc 2)" |
| 1996 | "Climb That Hill" | - | 6 | - | Songs And Music From "She's The One" |
| 1997 | "Change The Locks" | - | 20 | - | Songs And Music From "She's The One" |
| 1999 | "Room At The Top" | - | 19 | - | Echo |
| 1999 | "Free Girl Now" | - | 5 | - | Echo |
| 2002 | "The Last DJ" | - | 22 | - | The Last DJ |
| 2005 | "Square One" | - | - | - | Elizabethtown |
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Official Site
- Mudcrutch Farm - Fan Community
- Gone Gator - Fansite
- Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers at the Internet Movie Database
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