In the mid 1970's, Petty was just spreading his musical wings. He began with a band named the Sundowners & another called The Epics & Mudcrutch. It wasn't intil '76 that Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers was forged. That very same year, their first release debuted. Regrettably, the recording wasn't wildly popular in the U.S. Later on, in '77, the single "Breakdown" was re-released and climbed up to #40 in the charts.



The second & third albums did much better. The second was called "Your Gonna Get It!" It was the bands first Top 40 record, boasting the singles"I Need To Know" & "Listen To Her Heart". Their third release, "Damn The Torpedos", had the singles "Don't Do Me Like That" & "Refugee". The album soared to platinum, selling nearly 2 million units. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers had made it to the top of the 1970's rock charts in style.

It was not until the mid 1980's that the next recording "Southern Accents" was released. At the time, the video for the single "Don't Come Around Here No More" was criticized by radicals. The music video portrayed Petty dressed as the Mad Hatter from poor Alice In Wonderland. Petty and his curious friends mock and chase hapless Alice, then they consume her like a birthday cake. Devotees thought it was amazing though and it is a classic music video to this day!

Tom took a bit of time for a solo effort and cooperative projects. In '88, he launched the Travelling Willburys with friends Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, George Harrison and Jeff Lynne. The groups first song,"Handle With Care", was designated as a B-side for one of Harrisons single releases, but it was just too good. This started them recording an album they named The Travelling Willburys Vol. 1. After Orbisons death, a 2nd release titled, The Travelling willburys Vol. 3 was released. Since Harrison's demise, Petty has been incorporating the groups songs into his stage shows, perhaps it is a tribute to Orbison and Harrison.

The release, "Full Moon Fever" was published in 1989. It produced three hit songs that still get air-play today; "I Won't Back Down", "Free Fallin" and "Runnin' Down A Dream". Although this album was considered a solo endeavor, Tom Petty got a hand from several of the Heartbreakers and other artists.

The nineties brought 3 new albums from Petty. The first, named "Into the Great Wide Open" was published in 1991. The title track and "Learning To Fly" were both hits. Then, in '94, "Wildflowers" was put out. It included the wildly popular "You Don't Know How It Feels" and the album continued on to sell over 3 million copies in the U.s.

In '96, Petty and the Heartbreakers collaborated once again. This time, they produced the audio recording for the movie "She's The One" starring Cameron Diaz and Jennifer Aniston. There were 3 singles issued from the album also a cover of a Jeff Beck song. Later on that same year, Petty and the band also teamed up with Johnny Cash on his "Unchained" album.

In '99, they released another album named "Echo". This album reached number 10 in the United States music charts and two tunes were released as singles in the United States, "Room at the Top" & "Free Girl Now".

"The Last DJ", released in 2002 criticized the music industry. Petty spoke about the industries developing greed, diluted music, and habit of publishing pop music made by barely-clad young ladies. The album spoke to the audience though and ultimately reached number 9 on the U.S. charts.

Petty is still out there doing live shows and recording. He's a household name in the rock and roll world. Rock & roll fans have loved this fabled artist for decades. After over thirty years in the industry, making music and touring, this well traveled veteran is one of the greatest rock stars out there.