| Tom Petty |
|
| Background information |
| Birth name |
Thomas Earl Petty |
| Born |
October 20 1950 (1950--) (age 57) |
| Origin |
Gainesville, Florida |
| Genre(s) |
Rock, New Wave, Heartland rock, Southern rock |
| Occupation(s) |
Singer-songwriter, Guitarist |
| Instrument(s) |
Guitar, Vocals, Harmonica, Piano, Bass guitar,
Drums |
| Years active |
1974 – present |
| Label(s) |
Shelter Records
Backstreet Records
MCA Records
Warner Bros.
American Recordings |
Associated
acts |
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
Traveling Wilburys
Bob Dylan
Stevie Nicks
Mudcrutch |
| Website |
http://www.tompetty.com/ |
| Notable instrument(s) |
Rickenbacker 660/12
Rickenbacker 360/12
Vox Mark VI Teardrop guitar
Fender Stratocaster |
Thomas Earl "Tom" Petty (born October 20,1950) is a
singer and guitarist. A prolific songwriter, he has had numerous hit singles such as "Don't Do Me Like That", "Refugee", "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 (e.g. 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. In addition, Petty has had the same
manager, Tony Dimitriades, since 1976.
Early life
Tom Petty, known in his early years as "Tommy", was born and raised in Gainesville, Florida. Petty graduated from Gainesville
High School in 1968. Petty 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.
Career
After working with his early bands The Sundowners, The Epics and Mudcrutch (the latter 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. Still,
it took America a full year to catch up to the album. The single "Breakdown" was re-released in 1977 and peaked at #40 in early
1978. This was after word filtered back to the States that the band was creating a firestorm
in the UK. The debut album was originally released by Shelter Records, which at that time was distributed by ABC
Records.
Their 1978 second album You're Gonna Get It! proved the debut album's
intensity was no fluke. Marking the band's first gold album, it featured the singles
"I Need To Know" and "Listen To Her Heart". In early 1979, Petty was dragged into a legal dispute, when ABC Records was sold to
MCA Records. Petty refused to simply be transferred to another record label without his
consent. He held fast to his principles for nine long months, which eventually led to him filing for bankruptcy in May 1979.
Under terms of the settlement Petty was allowed to release his recordings on the new Backstreet
Records label, manufactured and distributed by MCA.
In September 1979, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers performed at one of the No Nukes concerts at Madison Square Garden in New
York. Their rendition of "Cry To Me" was featured on the 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.
After the dispute was settled, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers released their third album Damn the Torpedoes (1979) which rapidly went platinum. It includes "Don't Do Me Like That" and "Refugee", their U.S. breakthrough singles. No sooner had the supporting tour started when Petty came down with
tonsillitis which caused a few concerts to be cancelled. In February 1980, he had the tonsils removed and the band was back on
the road a few weeks later.
Petty was appealing to a wide range of musical tastes, as New Wave, Punk and Rock and Roll fans alike were taking
notice.
In early 1981 the upcoming Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers album was slated to be the next MCA release with the new list price
of $9.98, following Steely Dan's Gaucho and the Xanadu soundtrack. This so-called "superstar pricing" was $1.00 more than the
usual list price of $8.98.[1] 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 or naming it
Eight Ninety-Eight were considered but eventually MCA decided against the price increase.[2]
When eventually released, Hard Promises became a Top Ten hit, going platinum and spawning the hit single "The Waiting."
Tom also recorded his first duet "Insider," with Stevie Nicks.
On their fifth album Long After Dark (1982) bass player Ron Blair quit the group and was replaced by Howie Epstein, giving The
Heartbreakers their line-up until 1994. However, Petty had problems coping with the stress of success and decided to slow things
down.
On their comeback album, Southern Accents (1985), Tom Petty & The
Heartbreakers picked up where they had left off. The recording was not without problems — Petty became frustrated during the
mixing process and broke his left hand after punching through a wall. The album includes the hit single "Don't Come Around Here
No More," which was produced by Dave Stewart. The video for the single 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. This caused some controversy after it was criticized by feminist groups.
A successful concert tour led to the live album Pack Up the Plantation:
Live! (1985). The band's live capabilities were put to the test when Bob Dylan
invited Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers to join him on his True Confessions tour in addition to select dates with the Grateful
Dead through Australia, Japan and the U.S. (1986) and Europe (1987).
In 1987, Petty took on the corporate world again when he sued tire company B.F. Goodrich for using a song very similar to his
song "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 were refused.
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. Just prior to going on tour to support the new album, 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.
Petty also appeared in several episodes of It's Garry Shandling's
Show (1987 - 1990), playing himself as one of Garry Shandling's neighbors.
This show appeared on the then-fledgling Fox network.
Going solo
In 1989, Petty released the album Full Moon Fever. Though nominally a solo
project, other Heartbreakers and well-known musicians participated in the album's production. Mike Campbell co-produced the album with Petty and Jeff Lynne of
Electric Light Orchestra. It 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", the video of which was based on several episodes of the classic comic strip
Little Nemo in Slumberland by Winsor McCay. It can be
seen in the video for "I Won't Back Down" that backing musicians and singers include Campbell, Lynne and George Harrison. Ringo Starr appears in the video on drums;
however, they were actually performed by Phil Jones.
Prior to Full Moon Fever, Lynne and Petty worked together in the all-star band,
The Traveling Wilburys, which also counted Bob
Dylan, George Harrison and Roy Orbison as
members. The Traveling Wilburys started as a joke in order to record a B-side for a George Harrison single, but the song
"Handle With Care" was such a success that the group decided to record a full
album, Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 (1988). However, Roy Orbison's sudden
death cast a shadow on the success of The Traveling Wilburys. A second Wilburys album, called Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3, followed in 1990.
Petty rejoined with the Heartbreakers for his next album, Into the Great Wide
Open in 1991. It was 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
In 1989, while still under contract to MCA, Petty secretly signed a lucrative deal with Warner Bros. Records.[3] His first album for Warners, Wildflowers, was released in 1994. It includes 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 selling over 3 million copies in the U.S. A year later, MCA released a six CD
box-set entitled Playback. Approximately half
of the tracks were previously available on albums, while the rest were B-sides,
demos and live tracks. Two notable tracks are a solo version of Tom's 1981 duet with Stevie Nicks, "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" and the song
"Waiting For Tonight," which features vocals from The Bangles. The latter song also appeared
on the two CD anthology released in 2000.
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"). Three singles were released from this album; these 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 a song by
Beck, "Asshole".
In 1999, Petty and the Heartbreakers released their penultimate album with producer Rick
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. The two disc compilation
Anthology was released by MCA in 2000, with liner notes by film director Cameron Crowe.
In 2002, Petty and the Heartbreakers released The Last DJ. Many of the tracks are
stinging attacks on the music industry, criticizing the greediness inherent within it, as well as the tendency of record
companies to water down popular rock acts and release throwaway pop music made by scantily-clad young girls. The album reached
number 9 in the U.S. charts.
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 positioning in the SoundScan era.
Accomplishments
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, while expressing his appreciation to MTV for the award, Petty denied
his work was any more important than anyone else's, saying that all artistic expression was equally valid and implicitly
validating the work of up-and-coming and aspiring musicians.
As a songwriter, Tom Petty was acknowledged in May 1996 with the prestigious Golden Note Award from ASCAP. In April 1996, Petty received UCLA's George And Ira Gershwin Award For Lifetime Musical Achievement. In 2002,
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of
Fame.
Other works and recognition
In 1985, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers participated in the world-spanning charity rock concert Live Aid. They also played at the 2001 America: A Tribute to
Heroes benefit concert to where he played the song "I Won't Back Down" as a fitting tribute to the current post
9-11 climate.
In 1994, a tribute album of alternative bands such as Everclear and Silkworm covering Petty songs was released called You Got Lucky.
In 1996, Johnny Cash released Unchained recorded with the accompaniment of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, which won a Grammy
for Best Country Album. Cash's following album American III: Solitary Man
featured a cover of Petty's "I Won't Back Down".
Petty appeared in the 1997 movie, The Postman, directed by and starring
Kevin Costner. This was his 3rd appearance on the silver screen, having had a small part
in the 1987 movie Made In Heaven and a cameo as himself in the 1978 film
FM.
Hollywood Walk of Fame star.
In 1999 Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers received a star on the Hollywood Walk of
Fame at 7018 Hollywood Blvd., an honor that acknowledges both their musical achievements and their humanitarian
involvement with such organizations as Greenpeace, the National Veteran's Foundation, USA Harvest, Rock And Wrap It Up, AmFAR
(the American Foundation for AIDS Research), and his anti-nuclear activism.
On the evening of November 29, 2001, Petty received word
that ex-Traveling Wilburys guitarist and singer, George Harrison, had died after a long battle against cancer, and he was
one of the many people to be devastated about his friend's death. Harrison and Petty had been friends since 1988. Just one year
after his death, Petty & The Heartbreakers appeared in Concert For George,
alongside Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr,
Eric Clapton, Dhani Harrison, Ravi Shankar and Jeff Lynne.
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.
In October 2004 "Runnin' Down A Dream" appeared on the popular videogame Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, playing on fictional classic
rock station K-DST.
Petty currently has a recurring role as Lucky in King of the Hill.
In 2005, Tom Petty began hosting his own show "Buried Treasure" on XM Radio, on
which he shares selections from his personal record collection. On December 6, 2005, he received the Billboard Century Award for
his lifetime achievements. Later in the month, Petty agreed to sign on with XM Radio for a second season of his show "Buried
Treasure."
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 in 2005 (ISBN 1-84449-815-8).
Thirty years on
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers performing live in Indianapolis June 23, 2006.
In February 2006 Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers agreed to be the headline act at the fifth annual Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival.
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 single.
[4]. While the songs do sound alike, it is unknown whether
"Dani California" was an intentional copy. The two songs are compared here [1]. In addition, in 1992 The Jayhawks
released a song called "Waiting For The Sun". A year later Petty released "Mary Jane's Last Dance" which sounds very similar to
The Jayhawks song. However, it is important to note that "Mary Jane's Last Dance" was in fact composed in 1989 during sessions
for "Full Moon Fever" with different lyrics but the familiar chord structure in place. At the time, Petty was calling the song
"Indiana Girl" and footage of the session can be seen in various documentaries on the band.
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."[5]
In 2006, the ABC U.S. television network hired Petty to do the music
for its NBA Playoffs coverage.
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. When questioned about the key he received from Gainesville's Mayor, Petty quipped, "It's a lot
nicer than the one we got in Chicago."[6]
From July 2006 until 2007 The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio will feature an exhibit of Tom Petty items. Much
of the content was donated by Petty himself from a visit to his home by some of the Rock Hall curatorial staff.
Present Day
Currently Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers are taking a break from touring. However, Peter Bogdanovich's film entitled Runnin' Down A Dream about Tom and the band is set to premiere at
the New York Film Festival on October 14th. It will also be broadcast on The Sundance Channel on October 29th and available for
DVD release at Best Buy only on October 16.
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.
Personal life
His first marriage lasted 22 years, to his Kenmore High School sweetheart, Jane Benyo. 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, a long-time
partner whom he first met when she came to one of his gigs as a fan.[citation needed]
The Heartbreakers
| 1975-1982 |
|
| 1982-1991 |
- Tom Petty - lead vocals, rhythm guitar, harmonica
- Mike Campbell - lead guitar
- Howie Epstein - bass guitar, backing vocals
- Benmont Tench - organ, piano, backing vocals
- Stan Lynch - drums, backing vocals
|
| 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 - organ, piano, 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 - organ, piano, 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 - organ, piano, backing vocals
- Steve Ferrone - drums
|
Current members:
Former members:
Discography
-
Quotes
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
- "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." [2] - To
VH1
See also
References
External links
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