Rebels (song)

Last updated
"Rebels"
TP - Rebels single.png
Single by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
from the album Southern Accents
B-side "Southern Accents"
ReleasedMarch 25, 1985
Recorded1984
Genre Heartland rock
Length5:21 (4:12 single version)
Label MCA
Songwriter(s) Tom Petty
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers singles chronology
"Don't Come Around Here No More"
(1985)
"Rebels"
(1985)
"Make It Better (Forget About Me)"
(1985)

"Rebels" is a song by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. It appeared on the 1985 album Southern Accents and was released as a single in the same year. Although it only reached #74 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart, it fared much better on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart, where it peaked at #5.

Contents

"Rebels" and Petty's broken hand

The track was recorded in 1984. It was during the recording of this track that Petty broke his hand. Petty remembers being so high on drugs that he could not get an arrangement he liked. Petty went into the control room, and put the original demo tape on, which featured just him and a Rickenbacker 12-string guitar. He believed that they had yet to record an arrangement better than this demo, which made him so furious that he stormed up the stairs into his house, and punched the wall, causing severe damage to his left hand. After taking time off for his hand to heal, Petty called Jimmy Iovine in to help him finish "Rebels" along with some other tracks on Southern Accents. Alan "Bugs" Weidel, Tom's roadie, considers "Rebels" a least favorite of his due to Petty's broken hand. [1]

Reception

Cash Box said that it's "another strong outing from Petty And The Heartbreakers" and highlighted "Petty’s urgent vocal and lyrics of alienation." [2]

Personnel

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers

Additional musicians

Cover versions

The Drive-By Truckers released a cover version of Rebels on their compilation The Fine Print: A Collection of Oddities and Rarities in 2009.

Charts

Chart (1985)Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Album Rock Tracks5
U.S. Billboard Hot 10075

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References

  1. Zollo, Paul. Conversations With Tom Petty (2005): 95-97
  2. "Single Releases" (PDF). Cash Box. August 17, 1985. p. 11. Retrieved 2022-08-01.