Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers & There Musical History Together

In the mid 1970's, Tom Petty was just spreading his musical wings. He began with a band named the Sundowners & another named 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 was not wildly popular in the U.S. Later, in 1977, the singel named "Breakdown" was re-released and climbed up to #40 in the music charts.

The 2nd & third albums did alot better. The second was called "Your Gonna Get It!" It was the groups 1st Top 40 album, boasting the singles"I Need To Know" and "Listen To Her Heart". Their 3rd album, "Damn The Torpedos", featured the singles "Don't Do Me Like That" and "Refugee". The recording skyrocketed to platinum, selling almost 2 million copies. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers had made it to the top of the 1970's rock charts with flair.

It wasn't until the middle of the 80's that the next album "Southern Accents" was released. At the time, the video for "Don't Come Around Here No More" was criticized by radicals. The music video portrayed Petty dressed as the Mad Hatter from Alice In Wonderland. He and his strange friends tease and chase hapless Alice, then they consume her like a birthday cake. Devotees thought it was amazing though and it is a classic video to this very day!

Tom took a bit of time for a solo effort and collaborative projects. In '88, he launched the Travelling Willburys with Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, George Harrison & Jeff Lynne. The groups first song,"Handle With Care", was designated as a B-side for one of Harrisons singles, but it was really too good. This started them recording a complete album they named The Travelling Willburys Vol. 1. After Orbisons death, a 2nd album titled, The Travelling willburys Vol. 3 was published. Since Harrison's death, Petty has been integrating the groups songs into his stage shows, perhaps it is a tribute to Orbison & Harrison.

The album, "Full Moon Fever" was published in '89. It produced 3 hits that still get air-play today; "I Won't Back Down", "Free Fallin" & "Runnin' Down A Dream". Although this release was believed a solo endeavor, Tom Petty got a helping hand from a few of the Heartbreakers and other artists.

The 90's brought 3 new albums from Petty. The first, called "Into the Great Wide Open" was released in 1991. The lead track 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, Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers collaborated once again. This time, they produced the audio recording for the movie "She's The One" starring Cameron Diaz and Jennifer Aniston. There were 3 singles issued from the album as well as a cover of a Jeff Beck song. Later on that year, Petty and the Heartbreakers also teamed up with Johnny Cash on his "Unchained" album.

In '99, they issued another recording called "Echo". This release reached number 10 in the United States album charts and two songs were issued as singles in the U.S., "Room at the Top" and "Free Girl Now".

"The Last DJ", published in '02 criticized the music industry. Tom Petty addressed the industries growing greed, diluted music, and abuse of publishing pop music made by scantily-clad young females. The release talked to the audience though and ultimately reached #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 fans have adored this fabled artist for decades. After over thirty years in the industry, making music and being on the road, this well traveled veteran is one of the greatest rock stars today.

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