Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were a band from Gainesville, Florida. They released their debut album in 1976 and remained active until the death of Tom Petty in 2017.
Besides Petty, the only musicians to play in every line up of the group were keyboardist Benmont Tench (real name Benjamin Montmerency Tench) and lead guitarist Mike Campbell, both of whom had previously worked with Petty in the country-rock outfit Mudcrutch (who would reform for two albums in the 21st Century).
The band's connection with Fleetwood Mac began when Stevie Nicks became a big fan. She begged Petty to allow her to join, despite the fact that Petty was the singer/main songwriter. He conceded by allowing her to sing on two tracks on the Heartbreakers' fourth album Hard Promises in 1981: Insider, where she sang harmony with him, and You Can Still Change Your Mind where she sang background with her future sister-in-law Lori Perry. Nicks had wanted to include Insider on her debut solo album Bella Donna but Petty and Campbell instead gave her Stop Draggin' My Heart Around which Nicks and Petty duetted on. The band also backed her on the song Outside the Rain while Tench played on most of Bella Donna, gaining a composer credit on Kind of Woman, and Campbell featured on closing track The Highwayman. When Nicks began touring as a solo artist she frequently included Petty's I Need To Know (from 1978's You're Gonna Get It) in the set list.
The connection continued when Petty contributed I Will Run to You to Nicks' second solo album The Wild Heart (1983). She also guested on Petty's 1985 live album Pack Up the Plantation duetting with him on Insider and the old Jackie DeShannon hit Needles and Pins.
From 1985 onwards, Mike Campbell would frequently co-compose with Nicks. Most of their collaborations were released on her solo albums although one, Freedom, featured on Fleetwood Mac's 1990 effort Behind the Mask. After Petty's death from an overdose of prescription pills, Campbell would join Fleetwood Mac in 2018.
Lindsey Buckingham also appeared on two Heartbreakers tracks doing backing vocals - Walls, from Songs and Music from "She's the One" (1996) and The Man Who Loves Women from The Last DJ (2002).
Away from the Heartbreakers, Tom Petty had an occasional solo career, although Mike Campbell still played on most of these recordings. This spawned the song Free Fallin' which Nicks covered for the soundtrack of Party of Five (1996) and was performed by her and Campbell with Fleetwood Mac on their 2018 An Evening with Fleetwood Mac tour. He was also part of the occasional supergroup the Traveling Wilburys along with Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne (of the Electric Light Orchestra) and Roy Orbison.
Personnel[]
Tom Petty - vocals, guitar, occasional bass (throughout)
Mike Campbell - lead guitar (throughout)
Benmont Tench - keyboards (throughout)
Ron Blair - bass (1976-81, 2002-17)
Stan Lynch - drums (1976-93)
Howie Epstein - bass (1982-2002)
Steve Ferrone - drums (1996-2017)
Scott Thurston - guitar (1996-2017)
Studio albums (including Petty solo)[]
- Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (1976)
- You're Gonna Get It (1978)
- Damn the Torpedoes (1979)
- Hard Promises (1981)
- Long After Dark (1982)
- Southern Accents (1985)
- Let Me Up (I've Had Enough) (1987)
- Full Moon Fever* (1989)
- Into the Great Wide Open (1991)
- Wildflowers* (1994)
- Songs and Music from "She's the One" (1996)
- Echo (1999)
- The Last DJ (2002)
- Highway Companion* (2006)
- Mojo (2010)
- Hypnotic Eye (2014)
- An American Treasure** (2018)
- The Best of Everything** (2019)
- Wildflows & All The Rest** (2020)
*Tom Petty solo
**Posthumous compilations
Mudcrutch albums[]
- Mudcrutch (2008)
- 2 (2016)
Appearances on Stevie Nicks albums[]
Stop Draggin' My Heart Around (Bella Donna, 1981) - Nicks/Petty duet
Outside the Rain (Bella Donna, 1981) - backup only
I Will Run to You (The Wild Heart, 1983) - Petty/Nicks duet
Songs with key Fleetwood Mac connections[]
| Title | Writer(s) | Album | Fleetwood Mac connection |
|---|---|---|---|
| Insider | Tom Petty | Hard Promises (1981) | Harmony vocals by Stevie Nicks |
| You Can Still Change Your Mind | Tom Petty/Mike Campbell | Hard Promises (1981) | Backing vocals by Stevie Nicks |
| Free Fallin' | Tom Petty/Jeff Lynne | Full Moon Fever (1989) | Covered by Stevie Nicks - later performed live by Fleetwood Mac |
| Walls (Circus) | Tom Petty | Songs and Music from "She's the One" (1996) | Backing vocals by Lindsey Buckingham |
| The Man Who Loves Women | Tom Petty | The Last DJ (2002) | Backing vocals by Lindsey Buckingham |