With a solid band, a love of ’60s rock and a chip on his shoulder, he’s a revivalist who has stayed relevant for three decades.
Tom Petty left Florida in the mid-’70s asking the musical question,
What if Bob Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde was actually a blonde? An angrily phlegmatic voice and a love of roots music aren’t the only traits Petty shares with Dylan, his hero and eventual pal. Both have found longevity by slipping in and out of pop moments while always seeming like the same old crank. When Southern pals Petty, guitarist Mike Campbell and keyboardist Benmont Tench hit L.A., they were the scrappy newcomers in a laid-back scene. In the ’80s, Petty was an MTV staple who couldn’t shut up about how videos were ruining music. In the ’90s, he was worshipped by Eddie Vedder, appeared on
The Simpsons and
King of the Hill and covered Beck. He may be the only guy who can make an album about mass-media mediocrity (
The Last DJ), then play the Super Bowl.
The Heartbreakers have sold 40 million albums, despite drama that has included Petty’s divorce and battles with his label, even the heroin-related death of bassist Howie Epstein in 2003. But a thread runs through Petty’s best work: As an abused kid who grew up in the post–Civil Rights South, he likes it when people get along. Where Dylan rends the American fabric, Petty mends it. His best songs and biggest hits—about breakdowns, hard promises, refugees, L.A. wannabes and good girls who never get what they deserve—turn harsh experiences into something friendly and durable.
Essential:Damn The TorpedoesGreatest HitsGreat:Tom Petty and the HeartbreakersHard PromisesFull Moon FeverAnthology: Through the YearsCheck It Out:Southern AccentsLet Me Up (I've Had Enough)Into The Great Wide OpenWildflowersBe Careful:You're Gonna Get It!Echo
The Last DJHighway CompanionFor Fans Only:Long After DarkPack Up The Plantation—Live!Songs and Music from She's The One