 Tom Petty Thomas Earl Petty (born October 20, 1953 in Gainesville, Florida) is an American musician. Petty did not have any musical aspirations before Elvis Presley visited his hometown. After working with his early bands The Sundowners, The Epics, and Mudcrutch (which also included future Heartbreakers members Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench) he began his recording career with Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers when the band broke onto the national music scene with their 1976 self-titled debut album.
After releasing their second album You're Gonna Get It! in 1978, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers are dragged into a legal debat when their record company Shelter is sold. This eventuelly leads to Tom Petty filing for bankruptcy.
When everything is finally settled, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers realease their third album 'Damn The Torpedoes'. It includes "Refugee", their US breakthrough single.
On their fifth album Long After Dark (1982) bass player Ron Blair is replaced by Howie Epstein, giving The Heartbreakers their final line-up. However, frontman Tom Petty has problems coping with the stress and success and decides to slow things down.
On their come-back album Southern Accents (1985) Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers pick up where they left off. The album includes the hit single "Don't Come Around Here No More" which is produced by Dave Stewart (The Eurythmics).
A successful concert tour leads to the live album Pack Up The Plantation-Live! (1985). Their live capabilities are really put to the test when Bob Dylan invites Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers to join him on his True Confessions-tour through the US, Australia, Japan ('86) and Europe ('87).
In 1987, the group releases Let Me Up (I've Had Enough), a studio album that sounds as if it was recorded live, a technique they borrowed from Bob Dylan. It includes jammin' Me, which Tom Petty wrote with Dylan.
In 1989, Tom Petty releases his debut solo album, Full Moon Fever. Actually, it's hardly a solo album since The Heartbreakers all join in. Mike Campbell even co-produces the album, together with Jeff Lynne of Electric Light Orchestra (ELO).
Lynne and Petty already worked together in the all-stars band Traveling Wilburys that also included Bob Dylan, George Harrison and Roy Orbison). Traveling Wilburys started as a joke in order to record a B-side for a George Harrison single but the song Handle Me With Care is such a success that the group decides to record a full album Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 (1988). Roy Orbison's sudden death casts a shadow on the success and shortly afterwards Del Shannon, whom the remeaning Wilburys had in mind as a replacement, comittes suicide. A second Wilburys album, mysteriously called Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3 (1990), follws but doesn't live up to the expectations.
Petty earned a Grammy Award in 1989 for Best Rock Performance By A Duo or Group With Vocal for his work with the Traveling Wilburys. His Full Moon Fever was in the Billboard Top Ten chart for over 34 weeks and earned triple-platinum status, along the way spawning such hits as "I Won't Back Down," "Free Fallin'", and "Runnin' Down A Dream."
Petty rejoined with the Heartbreakers for his next album, Into the Great Wide Open in 1991. It's again produced by Jeff Lynne and includes the hit singles "Learning To Fly" and "Into The Great Wide Open".
In 1994, Petty released his second solo album, Wildflowers, which earned Petty many Grammy Awards and nominations. Among the hits from this album were "You Don't Know How it Feels", "You Wreck Me", "It's Good to Be King", "A Higher Place", and "Honey Bee".
He also has been honored with 10 nominations since 1981 when he received his first nomination for his collaboration with Stevie Nicks, "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" in the category of Best Rock Performance By A Duo or Group With Vocal. As a songwriter, Tom Petty was acknowledged in May 1996 with the prestigious Golden Note Award from ASCAP.
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7018 Hollywood Blvd. and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002, their first year of eligibility.
 Left to Right: Howie Epstein, Benmont Tench, Tom Petty, Stan Lynch, Mike Campbell
Discography
Quotes - "Everybody's had to fight to be free. You see you don't have to live like a refugee."
- "I slept in your treehouse, my middle name is 'Earl'."
- "It's alright if you love me, It's alright if you don't. I'm not afraid of you runnin' away honey, Iv'e got this feeling you won't."
- "There's a southern accent, where I come from. The young 'uns call it country, the yankees call it dumb."
- "I'm learning to fly, but I ain't got wings. Coming down is the hardest thing."
- "I don't mind workin', but I'm scared to suffer"
- "And she made a vow to have it all. It became her new religion."
- "Some days are diamonds. Some days are rocks."
External links |
Feeds |
Contact