Tom Petty Lyrics

(1971 — Present)

Gainesville, Florida

Thomas Earl Petty (born 20 October 1950 in Gainesville, Florida) is an American musician. Petty is a graduate of Gainesville High School. Petty did not have any musical aspirations before Elvis Presley visited nearby Ocala. After working with his early bands The Sundowners, The Epics, and Mudcrutch (which also included future Heartbreakers members Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench) he began his recording career with Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers when the band broke onto the national music scene with their 1976 self-titled debut album. Still, it took America a full year to catch up to the album. “Breakdown” was re-released to radio and became a Top 40 hit in 1977 after word filtered back the band was creating a firestorm in England. He was also a member of The Traveling Wilburys for a brief time. Petty and the Heartbreakers also toured as a backing band for Bob Dylan, another “Wilbury”.

Petty is a vocal critic of the modern recording industry, including the disintegration of independent radio stations....