Tom Petty BiographyTom Petty was Born and raised in northern Florida, Tom Petty began playing music while he was still in high school. At the age of 17, he dropped out of school to join Mudcrutch, which also featured guitarist Mike Campbell and keyboardist Benmont Tench. By 1970, Mudcrutch had moved to Los Angeles with hopes of finding a record contract. The fledgling Shelter Records, founded by Leon Russel and Denny Cordell, offered the group a contract. However, Mudcrutch splintered apart shortly after relocating to LA. Cordell was willing to record Tom Petty as a solo act, but the singer's reception to the idea was tenative. Over the next few years, Tom Petty drifted through bands, eventually hooking back up with Campbell and Tench in 1975. At the time, the duo were working with bassist Ron Blair and drummer Stan Lynch; soon, Tom Petty became involved with the band, who were then named the Heartbreakers. Tom Petty was still under contract to Shelter, and the group assumed his deal, releasing Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers in 1976. |
Tom Petty Biography |
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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. Within a few months, the band was headlining its own British tours and the album was in the UK Top 30. Prompted by the record's British success, Shelter pushed the album and the single "Breakdown" in the US, this time to success; "Breakdown" became a Top 40 hit and "American Girl" became an album-oriented radio staple. You're Gonna Get It, the Heartbreakers' second album, was released in 1978 and it became the group's first Amerian Top 40 record. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers were poised to break into the big-time when they ran into severe record company problems. Shelter's parent company, ABC Records, was bought by MCA Records, and Tom Petty attempted to renegotiate his contract with the label. MCA was unwilling to meet most of his demands, and half-way through 1979, he filed for bankruptcy. Soon afterward, he settled into an agreement with MCA, signing with their subsidiary Backstreet Records. Released late in 1979, Damn the Torpedoes was his first release on Backstreet. |
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