Anthology: Through the Years
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers was a rock band formed in 1976 from Gainesv… Read Full Bio ↴Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers was a rock band formed in 1976 from Gainesville, Florida, USA and led by Tom Petty.

Petty was supported by his band, The Heartbreakers, for the majority of his career. He has occasionally released solo work, as was the case with his 2006 album Highway Companion on which he performed most of the backing instrumentation himself. However, members of The Heartbreakers have played on each of his solo albums and the band has always backed him when touring in support of those albums.

After the Petty's previous band Mudcrutch disbanded, Petty, never one to give up, enlisted Mudcrutch members Tench (keyboards) and Mike Campbell (guitar), along with Gainesville musicians Ron Blair (bass) and Stan Lynch (drums) to form the now famous lineup that was dubbed Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. They released their first album, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers in November 1976. In 2006, the band celebrated the 30th anniversary of that release.

This lineup stayed intact for four records and was responsible for some of the most infectious songs ("American Girl", "Breakdown", "Listen To Her Heart", "Refugee", "I Need To Know", "Don't Do Me Like That") and one of the most critically acclaimed albums ("Damn the Torpedoes") of all time. Their tremendous success catapulted them from club band to arena rockers seemingly overnight.

Bassist Blair split the band in 1982 and was replaced by Howie Epstein, a protege of seminal rocker Del Shannon. Epstein's solid playing and soaring backing vocals further complemented the band's live attack. Without missing a beat, they headed back into the studio to record a string of successful albums, including the classic "Long After Dark". In 1994, Stan Lynch left the Heartbreakers to pursue other musical challenges and Steve Ferrone (well regarded for his work with the Average White Band and Eric Clapton) soon became the Heartbreakers' chosen drummer.

Most recently, at a time when many of their contemporaries have long since grown complacent, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers have in 2002 released one of their finest and most controversial efforts - featuring some of Petty's most moving songs. Recorded both before and following the group's 2002 induction into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame, "The Last DJ", reflected Petty's strong views about the state of the music business and the culture generally. With the departure of Howie Epstein, "The Last DJ" marked another notable return: after two decades away, founding Heartbreaker Ron Blair returned to the band's rhythm section. In 2010, The Heartbreakers released the well received album "Mojo".

Petty died on 2 October 2017 following a cardiac episode earlier that day at his home in Malibu, California. Although some media outlets incorrectly reported his death following an erroneous police report, his death was confirmed later that day by his publicist and manager.
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Anthology: Through the Years
Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers Lyrics


A Woman in Love (It's Not Me) She laughed in my face, told me good-bye Said don’t think…
American Girl Well, she was an American girl Raised on promises She couldn…
Breakdown It's alright if you love me It's alright if you don't I'm…
Change of Heart Well I fought for you I fought too hard To do it…
Don't Come Around Here No More Don't come around here no more Don't come around here no…
Don't Do Me Like That I was talking with a friend of mine Said a woman…
Even the Losers Well, it was nearly summer we sat on your roof…
Free Fallin' She's a good girl, loves her mama Loves Jesus, and America…
Here Comes My Girl You know sometimes, I don't know why, But this old town…
Hometown Blues Baby can't wait Baby gotta go Got do a number…
I Need to Know Well the talk on the street Says you might go solo A…
I Won't Back Down Well, I won't back down No, I won't back down You can…
Into the Great Wide Open Eddie waited till he finished high school He went to Hollywo…
It'll All Work Out She wore faded jeans and soft black leather She had…
Jammin' Me You got me in a corner You got me against…
Learning to Fly Well I started out down a dirty road Started out all…
Listen to Her Heart You think you're gonna take her away With your money and…
Love Is a Long Road There was a girl I knew She said she cared about…
Mary Jane's Last Dance She grew up in an Indiana town Had a good lookin'…
Rebels Honey don't walk out, I'm too drunk to follow You know…
Refugee We got somethin' we both know it We don't talk too…
Runnin' Down a Dream It was a beautiful day, the sun beat down I had…
So You Want To Be A Rock 'N' Roll Star So you you want to be a rock 'n' roll…
Stop Draggin' My Heart Around Baby you'll come knocking on my front door Same old line…
Straight Into Darkness There was a little girl, I used to know her I…
Surrender Don't talk crazy now Take it easy You just can't hold out…
The Best Of Everything She probably works in a restaurant That's what her mamma did…
The Waiting Oh baby don't it feel like heaven right now Don't it…
The Wild One, Forever Well the moon sank, as the wind blew. And the street…
Too Much Ain't Enough Looks like you got a little more to lose Now little…
Two Gunslingers Two gunslingers, walked out in the street And one said "I…
Waiting For Tonight I went walking down the Boulevard Past the skateboards and t…
Yer So Bad My sister got lucky, married a yuppie Took him for all…
You Got Lucky You better watch what you say. You better watch what you…


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