In the middle of 1970's, Tom Petty was just spreading his musical wings. He began with a band named the Sundowners & another called The Epics and Mudcrutch. It wasn't intil '76 that Petty & the Heartbreakers were formed. That same year, their first release debuted. Regrettably, the album wasn't wildly popular in the U.S. Later on, in '77, the single "Breakdown" was re-published and climbed up to number 40 in themusic charts.
The second & 3rd releases did alot better. The second was called "Your Gonna Get It!" It was the groups 1st Top 40 album, featuring the singles"I Need To Know" and "Listen To Her Heart". Their third album, "Damn The Torpedos", featured the singles "Don't Do Me Like That" & "Refugee". The album soared to platinum, selling almost 2 million units. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers had made it to the top of the 1970's rock charts in style.
It was not until the mid 80's that the next album "Southern Accents" was released. At the time, the video for the single "Don't Come Around Here No More" was knocked by radicals. The video depicted Petty dressed as the Mad Hatter from poor Alice In Wonderland. He and his odd friends tease and chase hapless Alice, then they feast on her like a cake. Devotees thought it was awesome though and it's a classic music video to this day!
Petty took a bit of time for a solo attempt and collaborative projects. In 1988, he founded the Travelling Willburys with Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, George Harrison and Jeff Lynne. The groups 1st song,"Handle With Care", was designated as a B-side for one of Harrisons single releases, but it was just too good. This led off to them doing a complete album they named The Travelling Willburys Vol. 1. After Orbisons death, a 2nd release titled, The Travelling willburys Vol. 3 was released. Since Harrison's demise, Petty has been incorporating the groups songs into his stage shows, perhaps as a tribute to Orbison and Harrison.
The release, "Full Moon Fever" was published in 1989. It gave rise to three hit songs that still get radio play to this day; "I Won't Back Down", "Free Fallin" & "Runnin' Down A Dream". Although this release was considered a solo effort, Tom Petty got a helping hand from a few of the Heartbreakers and other artists.
The nineties contributed three new albums from Petty. The first, named "Into the Great Wide Open" was published in '91. The lead song and "Learning To Fly" were both big hits. Then, in '94, "Wildflowers" was put out. It included the really popular "You Don't Know How It Feels" and the album continued on to sell over 3 million units in the U.s.
In 1996, Petty And The Heartbreakers collaborated once again. This time, they created the audio recording for the movie "She's The One" starring Cameron Diaz and Jennifer Aniston. There were 3 singles released from the album also a cover of a Jeff Beck song. Later that year, Petty and the band also teamed up with the great Johnny Cash on his "Unchained" release.
In 1999, they released another recording named "Echo". This release moved up to #10 in the United States music charts and two songs were released as singles in the U.S., "Room at the Top" & "Free Girl Now".
"The Last DJ", published in 2002 knocked the music industry. Petty talked about the industries developing greed, diluted music, and abuse of publishing pop music made by scantily-clad young females. The album spoke to the fans though and ultimately reached number 9 on the U.S. music charts.
Tom Petty is still out there performing live and recording. He's a household name in the rock and roll world. Rock and roll fans have loved this legendary performer for decades. After over 30 years in the business, making music and being on the road, this seasoned veteran is one of the greatest rock stars out there.
By: Vin DeWolfe
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