Tom Petty
Advertisement
Advertisement
Top Related Artists
Biography
A gifted songwriter as well as a rock star of the highest order, Tom Petty bridged the gap between new wave and classic rock and became one of the most well-liked and successful musical artists of his time. Born October 20, 1950 in Gainseville, Florida, he decided to be a rock and roll star after the one-two punch of meeting Elvis Presley in 1961 and seeing The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964. After a number of early bands including Mudcrutch, he solidified a backing group dubbed The Heartbreakers with guitarist Mike Campbell, keyboardist Benmont Tench, drummer Stan Lynch, and bassist Ron Blair. That line up recorded 1977âs Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, which broke first in the UK, a country that gave them a pair of top 40 hits, âAmerican Girlâ and âAnything Thatâs Rock ânâ Rollâ. 1978âs Youâre Gonna Get It! fared better on the charts, but it was 1979âs Damn the Torpedoes that broke them by hitting number 2 and spawning a pair of top 20 singles, Donât Do Me Like Thatâ and Refugeeâ. 1981âs Hard Promises returned him to the top 10 and the lead single âThe Waitingâ topped the newly inaugurated Mainstream Rock chart. Howie Epstein replaced Ron Blair on bass for 1982âs Long After Dark. After difficult recording sessions for 1985âs Southern Accents, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers toured with Bob Dylan who ended up co-writing the groupâs 1987 hit âJamminâ Meâ from Let Me Up (Iâve Had Enough). Taking a break from the Heartbreakers, Tom Petty became one-fifth of the supergroup The Traveling Wilburys alongside Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Roy Orbison, and Jeff Lynne. Lynne would produce Tom Pettyâs first solo album, 1989âs Full Moon Fever, which would spin off three of his biggest hits, âFree Fallinââ, âI Wonât Back Downâ, and âRunninâ Down a Dreamâ. He brought back all The Heartbreakers for 1991âs Into the Great Wide Open. His 1993 greatest hits collection included two new tracks including the hit âMary Janeâs Last Danceâ. After a period of personal turmoil when his marriage ended, he teamed with producer Rick Rubin for the solo album Wildflowers in 1994. The album earned rave reviews yet again and produced the single âYou Donât Know How It Feelsâ, which became his tenth top 20 pop single as well as his tenth single to top the Mainstream Rock chart. He wrote songs for the film Sheâs the One and released a soundtrack in 1996 that included the hit âWallsâ. Tom Petty finished up the decade with 1999âs Echo. Though he toured regularly throughout the next century, his singles stopped charting. The albums, including 2002âs The Last DJ, 2010âs Mojo, and 2014âs Hypnotic Eye continued to do well with Hypnotic Eye becoming his first LP to top the album chart. During that period, he also reunited his old band Mudcrutch for a pair of albums in 2008 and 2016. Tom Petty unexpectedly passed away on October 2, 2017 leaving behind a rich discography that stands alongside those of the many legends that he worked with throughout his forty-year career. Posthumous releases from his estate include Wildflowers and All the Rest, as well as 2021âs Angel Dream, which revisited the songs he wrote for Sheâs the One.
Read All
Read Less
Albums
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers
Turning Point / Between Two Worlds / Straight Into Darkness
FEATURED
Top Tracks
- Track Popularity
- Free Fallin' by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
- I Won't Back Down by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
- Runnin' Down A Dream by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
- You Don't Know How It Feels by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
- Listen To Her Heart by Tom Petty
- Learning To Fly by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
- Into The Great Wide Open
- Wildflowers by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
- Don't Do Me Like That
- Yer So Bad by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
- You Got Lucky
- You Wreck Me by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
- Change Of Heart by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
- Love Is A Long Road by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
- Jammin' Me
- Last Dance With Mary Jane featuring Tom Petty
- Kings Highway
- Out In The Cold by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
- Think About Me
- Rebels
- Feel A Whole Lot Better
- It's Good to Be King
- Saving Grace by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
- A Face In The Crowd
