Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (alternately Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers)] were an American rock band from Gainesville, Florida. Formed in 1976, the band originally comprised Tom Petty (lead singer, guitar), Mike Campbell (lead guitarist), Ron Blair (bass guitar), Stan Lynch (drums), and Benmont Tench (keyboards). The band largely maintained this lineup, with a few exceptions. In 1981, Blair, weary of the touring lifestyle, departed the band. His replacement, Howie Epstein, stayed with the band for the next two decades. In 1991, Scott Thurston joined the band as a multi-instrumentalist—mostly on rhythm guitar and second keyboards. Blair returned to the Heartbreakers in 2002, the year before Epstein's death. In 1994, Steve Ferrone replaced Lynch on drums. The band is best known for the hit singles "American Girl", "Breakdown", "The Waiting", "Learning to Fly", "Refugee" and "Mary Jane's Last Dance".
The band was part of Southern rock, but also at the forefront of the heartland rock movement, alongside artists such as Bruce Springsteen, Bob Seger, and John Mellencamp who arose in the late 1970s and 1980s. The genre eschews the synthesizer-based music and fashion elements popular in synthpop and New Romanticism in favor of a straightforward classic rock sound, and lyrics based on relatable, blue collar issues. While the heartland rock movement waned in the 1990s, the band remained active and popular, touring regularly until Petty's death in 2017, after which the Heartbreakers disbanded. Their final studio album, Hypnotic Eye, was released in 2014.
Although most of their material was produced and performed under the name "The Heartbreakers", Petty released three solo albums, the most successful of which was Full Moon Fever (1989). In these releases, members of the band contributed as collaborators, producing and performing as studio musicians.

Band members:
Tom Petty – lead vocals, rhythm and lead guitar, bass guitar, harmonica, keyboards, ukulele (1976–2017; his death)
Mike Campbell – lead guitar, bass guitar (1976–2017)
Benmont Tench – keyboards, backing vocals (1976–2017)
Ron Blair – bass guitar, backing vocals (1976–1982, 2002–2017)
Scott Thurston – rhythm guitar, keyboards, harmonica, bass guitar, backing vocals (1991–2017)
Steve Ferrone – drums (1994–2017)

Discography:
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (1976)
You're Gonna Get It! (1978)
Damn the Torpedoes (1979)
Hard Promises (1981)
Long After Dark (1982)
Southern Accents (1985)
Let Me Up (I've Had Enough) (1987)
Into the Great Wide Open (1991)
Songs and Music from "She's the One" (1996)
Echo (1999)
The Last DJ (2002)
Mojo (2010)
Hypnotic Eye (2014)

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers in the news

	Hattie Webb - Collaborator Of Leonard Cohen, Tom Petty - Releases New Single "Golden" (09/07/2024)
	Wynonna Judd Cover Of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers Song 'Refugee' Released (21/05/2024)
	Another Planet Entertainment Announces LCD Soundsystem New Year's Eve Shows - December 30 & 31 (09/11/2023)
	Dirty Water Record Releases New Tearaways Record (02/06/2023)
	The Tearaways - And Now For Our Next Trick: Legendary California Based Rockers Featuring Blondie's Clem Burke (06/04/2023)
	Blake Shelton, Joe Walsh, Timothy B. Schmit, Matt Sorum & Tom Petty Estate Share Support For The Miraculous Love Kids Following Viral Collaborative Cover Track (04/04/2023)
	Tom Petty: Never-Before-Seen Footage Of Legendary 20-Show Fillmore Run Debuts Today! (19/10/2022)
	Sophisticated Singer/Songwriter Jeffrey Gaines Set To Perform Two Intimate NY Area Shows (23/09/2022)
	Grammy Nominee Eric Alexandrakis Releases Musical Spoken Word Album About The Benefits Of Music Therapy (05/10/2021)
	Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers' Reimagined Album 'Angel Dream' Out Today (05/07/2021)

More songs by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

Mojo (8|1|48) play video	Hypnotic Eye (5|1|27)	Greatest Hits (5|1|27)	The Best Of Everything: The Definitive Career Spanning Hits Collection (1|1|0)