History of Tom Petty, the Heartbreakers & the Travelling Willburys

In the mid 70's, Petty was just spreading his wings. He began with a band called the Sundowners & another named The Epics & Mudcrutch. It wasn't until 1976 that Petty & The Heartbreakers were formed. That same year, their first album debuted. Unfortunately, the album was not popular in the United States Later, in 1977, the single "Breakdown" was re-published and climbed up to number 40 in the charts.

The second and 3rd releases did a lot better. The 2nd was named "Your Gonna Get It!" It was the bands 1st top 40 record, boasting the singles"I Need To Know" & "Listen To Her Heart". Their third album, "Damn The Torpedos", featured the singles "Don't Do Me Like That" and "Refugee". The recording skyrocketed to platinum, selling nearly two million units. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers had made it to the top of the 1970's rock & roll charts in style.

It wasn't until the middle of the 1980's that the next album "Southern Accents" was published. At the time, the video for the single "Don't Come Around Here No More" was knocked by womens groups. The video depicted Petty dressed as the Mad Hatter from poor Alice In Wonderland. He and his curious friends tease and chase pitiful Alice, then they feast on her like a birthday cake. Devotees thought it was amazing though and it's a classic music video to this day!

Tom took some time for a solo attempt and cooperative projects. In '88, he founded the Travelling Willburys with Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, George Harrison & Jeff Lynne. The groups first song,"Handle With Care", was intended as a B-side for one of Harrisons single releases, but it was just too good. This started them doing an album they named The Travelling Willburys Vol. 1. After Orbison's 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 as a tribute to Orbison and Harrison.

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

The nineties contributed 3 new albums from Petty. The 1st, named "Into the Great Wide Open" was released in 1991. The lead track and "Learning To Fly" were both big hits. Then, in 1994, "Wildflowers" was released. It included the really popular "You Don't Know How It Feels" and the release continued on to sell over 3 million copies in the U.s.

In 1996, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers got together once again. This time, they created the soundtrack for the movie "She's The One" starring Cameron Diaz and Jennifer Aniston. There were 3 singles released from the album as well as a cover of a Jeff Beck song. Later that year, Petty and the Heartbreakers also joined up with Johnny Cash on his "Unchained" release.

In 1999, they released another album named "Echo". This release reached #10 in the United States album charts and two songs were issued as singles in the United States, "Room at the Top" and "Free Girl Now".

"The Last DJ", published in 2002 knocked the recording industry. Petty addressed the industries growing greed, diluted music, and habit of publishing pop music made by barely-clad young women. The album spoke to the audience though and ultimately reached number 9 on the U.S. charts.

Tom Petty is still out there performing live and in the studio. He has become household name in the rock and roll scene. Rock & roll fans have loved this legendary artist for decades. After over 30 years in the industry, producing music and being on the road, this seasoned veteran is one of the greatest rock stars out there.

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