Petty & the Heartbreakers were poised to break into the big time when they ran into severe record company problems. You're Gonna Get It, the Heartbreakers' second album, was released in 1978 and it became the group's first American Top 40 record. Prompted by the record's British success, Shelter pushed the album and the single "Breakdown" in the U.S., this time to success "Breakdown" became a Top 40 hit and "American Girl" became an album-oriented radio staple. Within a few months, the band was headlining its own British tours and the album was in the U.K. Initially, the band's debut was ignored in the United States, but when the group supported it in England with a tour opening for Nils Lofgren, the record began to take off. Petty was still under contract to Shelter, and the group assumed his deal, releasing Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers in 1976. At the time, the duo were working with bassist Ron Blair and drummer Stan Lynch soon, Petty became involved with the band, which was then named the Heartbreakers.
Over the next few years, Petty drifted through bands, eventually hooking back up with Campbell and Tench in 1975. Cordell was willing to record Petty as a solo act, but the singer's reception to the idea was tentative.
However, Mudcrutch splintered apart shortly after relocating to L.A. The fledgling Shelter Records, founded by Leon Russell and Denny Cordell, offered the group a contract. By 1970, Mudcrutch had moved to Los Angeles with hopes of finding a record contract. At the age of 17, he dropped out of school to join Mudcrutch, which also featured guitarist Mike Campbell and keyboardist Benmont Tench. His willingness to experiment with the boundaries of classic rock & roll helped Petty sustain his popularity well into the '90s.īorn and raised in northern Florida, Tom Petty began playing music while he was still in high school. Throughout his career, Petty & the Heartbreakers never departed from their signature rootsy sound, but they were able to expand it, bringing in psychedelic, Southern rock, and new wave influences they were also one of the few of the traditionalist rock & rollers who embraced music videos, filming some of the most inventive and popular videos in MTV history. While his slurred, nasal voice may have recalled Dylan and Roger McGuinn, Petty's songwriting was lean and direct, recalling the simple, unadorned style of Neil Young.
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The Heartbreakers were a tight, muscular, and versatile backing band that provided the proper support for Petty's songs, which cataloged a series of middle-class losers and dreamers. Instead, they celebrated it, culling the best parts of the British Invasion, American garage rock, and Dylanesque singer/songwriters to create a distinctively American hybrid that recalled the past without being indebted to it. As time progressed, it became clear that the band didn't break from tradition like their punk contemporaries. Compared to the heavy metal and art rock that dominated mid-'70s guitar rock, the Heartbreakers' bracing return to roots was nearly as unexpected as the crashing chords of the Clash. Upon the release of their first album in the late '70s, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers were shoehorned into the punk/new wave movement by some observers who picked up on the tough, vibrant energy of the group's blend of Byrds riffs and Stonesy swagger. Upon the release of their first album in the late '70s, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers were shoehorned into the punk/new wave movement by some observers who picked up on the tough, vibrant energy of the group's blend of