Benjamin Montmorency "Benmont" Tench III is an American musician and singer, best known as a founding member of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were an American rock band from Gainesville, Florida. Formed in 1976, the band originally comprised Tom Petty, Mike Campbell, Ron Blair, Stan Lynch (drums), and Benmont Tench (keyboards). In 1981, Blair, weary of the touring lifestyle, departed the band. His replacement, Howie Epstein, stayed with the band for the next two decades. In 1991, Scott Thurston joined the band as a multi-instrumentalist—mostly on rhythm guitar and second keyboards. Blair returned to the Heartbreakers in 2002, the year before Epstein's death. In 1994, Steve Ferrone replaced Lynch on drums. The band is best known for the hit singles "American Girl", "Breakdown", "The Waiting", "Learning to Fly", "Refugee" and "Mary Jane's Last Dance".
Full Moon Fever is the debut solo studio album by Tom Petty, released on April 24, 1989, by MCA Records. It features contributions from members of his band the Heartbreakers, notably Mike Campbell, as well as Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison, and George Harrison, Petty's bandmates in the Traveling Wilburys. The record shows Petty exploring his musical roots with nods to his influences. The songwriting is mainly collaborations between Petty and Lynne, who was also a producer on the album. The album became a commercial and critical success peaking at No. 3 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and being certified 5× platinum in the United States and 6× platinum in Canada.
Michael Wayne Campbell is an American guitarist, songwriter, and record producer. Campbell was a member of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and co-wrote many of the band's hits with Petty, including "Refugee", "Here Comes My Girl", "You Got Lucky", and "Runnin' Down a Dream". His work outside the group includes composing and playing on the Don Henley hit "The Boys of Summer". On April 9, 2018, Fleetwood Mac announced that Campbell would be joining the band along with Neil Finn to replace lead guitarist Lindsey Buckingham.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers is the debut album by the band of the same name, released on November 9, 1976 by Shelter Records. The album was recorded and mixed at the Shelter Studio in Hollywood, California.
Southern Accents is the sixth studio album by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, released on March 26, 1985, through MCA Records. The album's lead single, "Don't Come Around Here No More", co-written by Dave Stewart of Eurythmics, peaked at #13 on the Billboard Hot 100. Its music video featured Alice in Wonderland imagery. The song "Southern Accents" was later covered by Johnny Cash for his Unchained album in 1996.
Playback is a box set compilation by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, released in 1995. It contains popular album tracks, B-sides, previously unreleased outtakes, and early songs by Petty's previous band Mudcrutch.
Songs and Music from the Motion Picture "She's the One" is the ninth studio album by American rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, first released in August 1996. The album served as the soundtrack for the 1996 film She's the One, written and directed by Edward Burns.
"Free Fallin'" is the opening track from Tom Petty's debut solo album, Full Moon Fever (1989). The song was written by Petty and his writing partner for the album, Jeff Lynne, and features Lynne on backing vocals and bass guitar. The duo wrote and recorded the single in two days, making it the first song completed for Full Moon Fever.
Tom Leadon is an American musician. He is one of the founding members of Tom Petty's original band, Mudcrutch, and is still its lead guitarist, following its revival in 2007. He is the brother of Bernie Leadon, the former lead guitarist of the Eagles.
Anthology: Through the Years is a double compilation album featuring the best of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. It contains a new song, "Surrender," written by Petty in 1976 and recorded during sessions for the band's first album but left off the record, recorded again in 1979 but left off "Damn The Torpedoes," and finally recorded again in 2000 for this release. "Surrender" is also the last studio recording of Howie Epstein before his death in 2003. The 1976 version of the song was included on the 2018 box set "An American Treasure".
Pack Up the Plantation: Live! is the first official live album by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, released in November 1985. It was primarily recorded at the Wiltern Theatre during their 1985 tour but also includes several tracks from previous tours. It was released as a double LP or single cassette and compact disc.
Runnin' Down a Dream is a 2007 documentary film about Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, directed by Peter Bogdanovich. The 4-hour documentary chronicles the history of the band, from its inception as Mudcrutch, right up to the 30th-anniversary concert in Petty's home town of Gainesville, Florida, on September 21, 2006, at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center, University of Florida. The film features interviews with George Harrison, Eddie Vedder, Stevie Nicks, Dave Grohl, Jeff Lynne, Rick Rubin, Johnny Depp, Jackson Browne and more. Petty's solo career is also touched on, as is his time with The Traveling Wilburys.
"Scare Easy" is a song written and sung by Tom Petty. It featured on the debut album by rock band Mudcrutch featuring Petty and Mike Campbell. The song was used in a 2008 commercial for My Name is Earl.
The Live Anthology is a live box set by American rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. The box set was released by Reprise Records on November 23, 2009, in a number of formats, with the standard CD and download formats, composed of 48 tracks.
Mudcrutch 2 is the second and final studio album by American rock band Mudcrutch, released on May 20, 2016. The album was the last full-length work by Tom Petty before his death in 2017.
An American Treasure is a 2018 compilation album and box set of Tom Petty, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Mudcrutch released by Reprise Records on September 28, 2018. The set includes several rare and unreleased songs alongside more obscure album tracks that showcase Petty's songwriting. The majority of the content is Heartbreakers material but there are also several solo songs and some recordings by Mudcrutch. Critical reception has been positive.
