Tom Petty

Tom Petty

Thomas Earl "Tom" Petty (born October 20,1950) is a singer, songwriter, and guitarist. His hit singles have included "Don't Do Me Like That", "Refugee", "Runnin' Down a Dream", "The Waiting", "Don't Come Around Here No More", "I Won't Back Down", "Free Fallin'", "Mary Jane's Last Dance" and "You Don't Know How It Feels", most of which remain heavily played on adult contemporary and classic rock radio. Petty is also a vocal critic of the modern recording industry and the disintegration of independent radio stations, and recorded an album on that theme - The Last DJ.

Petty has been supported by his band, the Heartbreakers, for the majority of his career. He has occasionally released solo work, as is the case with his most recent effort, 2006's Highway Companion, on which he performed most of the backing instrumentation himself. However, members of The Heartbreakers have played on each of his solo albums and the band has always backed him when touring in support of those albums. Petty has had the same manager, Tony Dimitriades, since 1976.

Early life

Tom Petty was born and raised in Gainesville, Florida and graduated from Gainesville High School in 1968. He did not have any musical aspirations until Elvis Presley came to Ocala, Florida, 40 miles south of Petty's hometown, to work on the 1962 film, "Follow That Dream". Petty went down to watch him and was inspired.

Recording artist

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers (1976 - 1987)

After working with his early bands The Sundowners, The Epics and Mudcrutch (the third with drummer Randall Marsh and future Heartbreakers members Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench) he began his recording career with Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, the band's 1976 debut album. The album didn't receive a great deal of attention at first. The single "Breakdown" was re-released in 1977 and peaked at #40 in early 1978. This was after word filtered back to the United States that the band was creating a firestorm in the UK. The debut album was released by Shelter Records, which at that time was distributed by ABC Records.

Their second album, You're Gonna Get It!, marked the band's first gold album and featured the singles "I Need To Know" and "Listen To Her Heart". Their third, Damn the Torpedoes, quickly went platinum. It includes "Don't Do Me Like That" and "Refugee", their breakthrough U.S. singles. During the album's ensuring supporting tour, Petty came down with tonsillitis, which caused a few concerts to be canceled. In February 1980 he had the tonsils removed, and the band was back on the road a few weeks later.

In September 1979, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers performed at a Musicians United for Safe Energy concert at Madison Square Garden in New York. Their rendition of "Cry To Me" was featured on the resulting No Nukes album, but Petty declined to appear in the concert film of the event due to what he felt was a sub-par performance.

1981's Hard Promises became a top ten hit, going platinum and spawning the hit single "The Waiting." The album also featured Petty's first duet, "Insider" with Stevie Nicks.

Bass player Ron Blair quit the group, and was replaced on its fifth album - 1982's Long After Dark - by Howie Epstein; the resulting line-up would last until 1994. In 1985, the band participated in Live Aid, playing four song's at Philadelphia's John F. Kennedy Stadium. The same year, it released Southern Accents, which included the hit single "Don't Come Around Here No More," which was produced by Dave Stewart. The song's video featured Petty 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. It was criticized by feminist groups. The ensuing tour led to the live album Pack Up the Plantation: Live! and to an invitation from Bob Dylan; Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers joined him on his True Confessions tour and also played some dates with the Grateful Dead in 1986 and 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.

Traveling Wilburys, solo career, and return to the Heartbreakers (1988 - 1991)

In 1988, Petty became a founding member of the Traveling Wilburys, along with Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Roy Orbison, and Jeff Lynne. The band's first song, "Handle With Care", was intended as a B-side of one of Harrison's singles, but was judged too good for that purpose and the group decided to record a full album, Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1. A second album Wilburys album, incongruously titled Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3 and recorded without the recently deceased Orbison, followed in 1990.

In 1989, Petty released Full Moon Fever, which featured hits "I Won't Back Down", "Free Fallin'" and "Runnin' Down A Dream". It was nominally his first solo album, although several Heartbreakers and other well-known musicians participated: Mike Campbell co-produced the album with Petty and Jeff Lynne of Electric Light Orchestra, and backing musicians included Campbell, Lynne, and George Harrison (Ringo Starr appears on drums in the video for "I Won't Back Down", but they were actually performed by Phil Jones).

Petty rejoined with the Heartbreakers for his next album, Into the Great Wide Open, in 1991. It was co-produced by Lynne and included the hit singles "Learning To Fly" and "Into The Great Wide Open", the latter featuring Johnny Depp, Gabrielle Anwar, Faye Dunaway, and Matt LeBlanc in the video.

Move to Warner Bros. Records (1991 - present)

In 1989, while still under contract to MCA, Petty secretly signed a lucrative deal with Warner Bros. Records. His first album on his new label, 1994's Wildflowers, included the singles "You Don't Know How It Feels", "You Wreck Me", "It's Good to Be King" and "A Higher Place". The album, produced by acclaimed producer Rick Rubin, was a huge success and sold over 3 million copies in the U.S.

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"). The album's singles 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 "Asshole", a song by Beck. The same year, the band accompanied Johnny Cash on Unchained, for which Cash would win a Grammy for Best Country Album (Cash would later cover Petty's "I Won't Back Down" on American III: Solitary Man).

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers performing live in Indianapolis June 23, 2006.

In 1999, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers released their last album with 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.

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers played "I Won't Back Down" at the America: A Tribute to Heroes benefit concert for victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks. The following year, they played Taxman, I Need You, and Handle With Care (joined for the last by Jeff Lynne, Dhani Harrison, and Jim Keltner) at the Concert for George in honour of Petty's friend and former bandmate George Harrison.

2002's The Last DJ included several attacks on the music industry, criticizing it for greed, watering down music, and releasing pop music made by scantily-clad young women and reached number 9 on the U.S. charts.

In 2005, Tom Petty began hosting his own show "Buried Treasure" on XM Radio, on which he shares selections from his personal record collection.

In February 2006 Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers agreed to be the headline act at the fifth annual Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival. In July 2006, Petty released a new solo album titled Highway Companion. It debuted at number 4 on the Billboard charts, becoming Petty's highest chart position since the introduction of the Nielsen SoundScan system for tracking album sales in 1991. In 2006, the American Broadcasting Company hired Petty to do the music for its National Basketball Association playoffs coverage.

During the summer of 2007, Tom Petty reunited with his old bandmates Tom Leadon and Randall Marsh along with Heartbreakers Benmont Tench & Mike Campbell to reform his pre-Heartbreakers band Mudcrutch. The fivesome recorded a new album together scheduled for release during the first quarter of 2008. The disc will contain 18 old and new tracks. "We would play and then we would just talk about the old days," says Tom Leadon.

On December 2, 2007, it was announced that Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers will perform during halftime of the Super Bowl on Feb. 3 at the University of Phoenix Stadium.

Acting

Tom Petty's first appearance in film took place in 1978, when he had a cameo in FM. He later had a small part in 1987's Made In Heaven, and appeared in several episodes of It's Garry Shandling's Show between 1987 and 1990, playing himself as one of Garry Shandling's neighbors. Petty also appeared in the 1997 movie, The Postman, directed by and starring Kevin Costner.

In 2002 he appeared on The Simpsons in the episode "How I Spent My Strummer Vacation". In it, he spoofed himself as a "tutor" to Homer Simpson on the art of lyric writing, composing a brief song about a sexy girl walking down the street concerned with budget problems in public schools. Later in the episode, he lost a toe during a riot.

Petty currently has a recurring role as Lucky in King of the Hill.

Honours

Petty has been honored with 17 Grammy Award nominations since 1981. In that year he received his first nomination for "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" in the category of Best Rock Performance By A Duo or Group With Vocal. 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. In 1994 he received another two Grammy Awards: Best Male Rock Vocal Performance (for "You Don't Know How It Feels") and Best Engineered Album (Non-Classical). Wildflowers also garnered a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Album.

Other Wildflowers achievements included Best Male Video Award for "You Don't Know How It Feels" at the 1995 MTV Video Music Awards. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers won the same award in 1994 with the video for "Mary Jane's Last Dance". At the 1994 ceremony, Petty was also presented with the Video Vanguard Award, citing his longtime contributions to the field. In accepting the award though, Petty denied his work was any more important than anyone else's, saying that all artistic expression was equally valid.

In 1994, You Got Lucky, a Tom Petty tribute album featuring such bands as Everclear and Silkworm was released.

In April 1996, Petty received the UCLA's George and Ira Gershwin Award for Lifetime Musical Achievement. The next month, Petty won the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers' Golden Note Award.

Hollywood Walk of Fame star.

In 1999 Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, an honor that acknowledges both their musical achievements and their humanitarian involvement with such organizations as Greenpeace, the National Veterans Foundation, USA Harvest, Rock and Wrap It Up, and the Foundation for AIDS Research.

In 2002, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. On December 6, 2005, Petty received the Billboard Century Award for his lifetime achievements. The same year, Conversations with Tom Petty, an oral history/biography comprised of interviews conducted in 2004 and 2005 with Petty by music journalist Paul Zollo, was published (ISBN 1-84449-815-8).

On September 21, 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. 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 during a visit to his home by some of the Hall's curatorial staff. On October 14, 2007, Peter Bogdanovich's film entitled Runnin' Down A Dream premiered at the New York Film Festival.

Views on artistic control

Petty is known as a staunch guardian of his creative control and artistic freedom. In 1979, he was dragged into a legal dispute when ABC Records was sold to MCA Records. He refused to be transferred to another record label without his consent. In May of 1979, he filed for bankruptcy and was signed to the new MCA subsidiary Backstreet Records.

In early 1981, the upcoming Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers album, which would become Hard Promises, was slated to be the next MCA release with the new list price of $9.98, following Steely Dan's Gaucho and the Olivia Newton-John/Electric Light Orchestra Xanadu (soundtrack) soundtrack. This so-called "superstar pricing" was $1.00 more than the usual list price of $8.98. Petty voiced his objections to the price hike in the press and the issue became a popular cause among music fans. Non-delivery of the album and naming it Eight Ninety-Eight were considered, but eventually MCA decided against the price increase.

In 1987, Petty sued tire company B.F. Goodrich for using a song very similar to his "Mary's New Car" in a TV commercial. The ad agency that produced the commercial had previously sought permission to use Petty's song but was refused.

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. Petty told 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 lawsuits in this country without people fighting over pop songs."

"Mary Jane's Last Dance", released in 1993, is itself very similar to "Waiting for the Sun", a 1992 recording by the Jayhawks. However, "Mary Jane's Last Dance" - originally called "Indiana Girl" - was composed in 1989 during sessions for "Full Moon Fever" with different lyrics but the familiar chord structure in place.

Personal life

His first marriage, to Jane Benyo, lasted 22 years. He spent most of those years working, on the road or in the studio. He has two daughters by that marriage. Since 2001 he has been married to Dana York, whom he first met years earlier when she came to one of his concerts.

In 1987, an arsonist set fire to Petty's house in Encino, California. The fire caused $1 million in damage but firefighters were able to salvage the basement recording studio and the original tapes stored there. The only other thing left was a Gibson Dove Acoustic Guitar that was very significant to Tom. Tom Petty later rebuilt his house in the exact same spot with the same style and everything.

The Heartbreakers

1975-1982	Tom Petty - lead vocals, rhythm guitar, harmonica Mike Campbell - lead guitar Ron Blair - bass guitar Benmont Tench - keyboards, backing vocals Stan Lynch - drums, backing vocals
1982-1991	Tom Petty - lead vocals, rhythm guitar, harmonica Mike Campbell - lead guitar Howie Epstein - bass guitar, backing vocals Benmont Tench - keyboards, backing vocals Stan Lynch - drums, backing vocals Phil Jones - drums/percussion
1991-1994	Tom Petty - lead vocals, rhythm guitar, harmonica Mike Campbell - lead guitar Scott Thurston - rhythm guitar, harmonica, backing vocals, piano Howie Epstein - bass guitar, backing vocals Benmont Tench - keyboards, backing vocals Stan Lynch - drums, backing vocals
1994-2002	Tom Petty - lead vocals, rhythm guitar Mike Campbell - lead guitar Scott Thurston - rhythm guitar, harmonica, backing vocals, piano Howie Epstein - bass guitar, backing vocals Benmont Tench - keyboards, backing vocals Steve Ferrone - drums
2002-present	Tom Petty - lead vocals, rhythm guitar Mike Campbell - lead guitar Scott Thurston - rhythm guitar, harmonica, backing vocals, piano Ron Blair - bass guitar, backing vocals Benmont Tench - keyboards, backing vocals Steve Ferrone - drums

Discography

Main article: Tom Petty discography

Quotes

• "I want to give the radio back to the kids. That's one thing I'd like to see. I remember a time when you could turn on the AM radio and just set there all day and listen. Now I keep punching the button and hope something will come on that's worth listening to. There's nothing. They don't play the young bands. Boston is just MOR as far as I'm concerned. There's no threat there. And disco just ain't right." - Los Angeles Times 1977

• "I just want us to stay honest, and keep making honest records. To me, an honest record is one that you feel the artist believes in, one in which the artist actually means what he's singing. A lot of people have an image that isn't really them. But I think kids know when that happens. They can tell when it's jive. I don't want to start slagging people and naming names, but everybody knows that rock and roll got very boring the last few years." - Chicago Tribune 1978

• I've got nothing personally against MCA - except they tried to buy me without asking. When we negotiated the deal with ABC, we put in a clause that they couldn't sell the contract without my consent. I don't think the fact that you've got $35 million means you should be able to buy my business or my music or my life. So I decided to fight to the wall even though it's important to have another record out there now." - Los Angeles Times 1979

• "It's just not fair to the kids who buy records. It all comes down to greed - MCA doesn't need a new Tower. And if we don't take a stand, one of these days records are going to be $20." - Los Angeles Times 1981

• "I'll endeavor to deserve it and may I remind you that this ain't the end. I can still kick some ass." - Billboard Century Award acceptance speech.
• "This is an emergency crisis we're in. The entertainment media is affecting everything on the planet in a very negative way. I'm only interested in rock 'n' roll. Rock 'n' roll is a music that represents truth. Your TV channel has taken the word "rock" and knocked the "roll" off the end. You made rock this umbrella term for everything. That's wrong. Shakira isn't rock. These country artists with fur coats aren't rock - or country. I offered a video to VH1 of my band playing in the studio and they don't want to air it because it had musicians playing in it. They want some babe walking on the beach or whatever. I got turned onto this music by watching the Beatles and the Rolling Stones actually on TV playing their guitars. It completely took me over. When you can't see musicians playing any more, I'm not interested any more." [1] - To VH1

See also

• List of best-selling music artists
• List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Mainstream Rock chart

External links

• Official Site
• Official Fan Club
• Mudcrutch Farm - Fan Community
• Gigography - Tour History 1976 -1990
• Tom Petty at IMDb
• Tom Petty at Myspace
• Tom Petty at YouTube

Related articles and media

• Video rehearsals - 2006 Video performance of "Saving Grace" from the Highway Companion Album.
• Freshair Interview - July 27, 2006
• Rolling Stone - Review of Highway Companion
• Tom Petty is Pissed (article in Rolling Stone)
• 2002 Radio interview on occasion of release of The Last DJ