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Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
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Miami Vice Performer
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Members
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Tom Petty (1950-2017, lead vocal/guitar)
Mike Campbell (born 1950, guitar) Benmont Tench (born 1953, keyboards) Ron Blair (born 1948, bass) Scott Thurston (born 1952, backing vocals/harmonica/keyboards) Steve Ferrone (born 1950, drums) |
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Active
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1976-2017
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Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were a rock band whose song "Here Comes My Girl" appeared in the episode "Little Miss Dangerous" of the series Miami Vice.
Career[]
The Heartbreakers were formed around 1976 by Tom Petty, Mike Campbell, and Benmont Tench, all of whom were in the group Mudcrutch. Their self-titled debut album came out in 1976, and while it didn't do well commercially at the time, some of its' tracks became Classic Rock staples, including "Breakdown" (the band's first Top 40 single) and "American Girl" (which was used in the movies FM, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, and Silence of the Lambs). Their second album, You're Gonna Get It, was released in 1978 and became their first gold album. Damn The Torpedoes became the group's breakthrough album, reaching #2 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums (kept from #1 by Pink Floyd's The Wall) and their singles, "Here Comes My Girl", "Don't Do Me Like That" (the group's first Top 10 single), and "Refugee" all became hits. Petty joined up with Fleetwood Mac singer Stevie Nicks and recorded "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" for her debut solo album Bella Donna, which reached the Top 5, and Nicks returned the favor, recording the song "Insider" on the band's next album, Fast Promises (featuring "The Waiting"). In 1982 bassist Ron Blair left the group and was replaced by Howie Epstein (1955-2003) for their fifth album, Long After Dark (featuring "You Got Lucky" and "Change of Heart", both Top 20 singles). 1985's Southern Accents featured the song "Don't Come Around Here No More", the video of which featured psychedelic images of Alice in Wonderland, finishing with the characters "eating" Alice like a cake, which generated some controversy, but won an MTV VMA. The group had two more albums in the 1980s; 1987's Let Me Up (I've Had Enough) and 1989's Into The Great Wide Open, neither were as successful as their earlier releases. Petty worked on some other projects--one a collaboration known as the Traveling Wilburys (including Jeff Lynne of ELO, Roy Orbison, George Harrison, and Bob Dylan), as well as his solo album Full Moon Fever (featuring "I Won't Back Down", "Running Down a Dream", and "Free Fallin'"). In 1993 the group's Greatest Hits album was released, including a new track, "Mary Jane's Last Dance". Since the Heartbreakers returned as a group in 1996, they have released three studio albums; 1999's Echo, 2002's The Last DJ, 2010's Mojo, and 2014's Hypnotic Eye. The band performed at Super Bowl XLII and in 2002 was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2017 the band went on a 40th anniversary tour across the United States, ending at the Hollywood Bowl on September 25 (which was the band's final performance), one week later on October 2, Petty died from a cardiac arrest in Santa Monica, California. Even though no "official" announcement of the group's disbanding in the wake of Petty's death was released, Petty himself said in an interview that the group would likely disband "if one of the members died or became too ill to perform." In 2018 Mike Campbell replaced Lindsey Buckingham in Fleetwood Mac.