"I Want to Thank
Sean for keeping such a great site [gonegator.com] up and running while this one [tompetty
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languished away. He does quite an amazing job."
Adria Petty
- December 2002
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Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers History
The '70s, '80s, '90s, '00s
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1970
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Ex Epics Form Mudcrutch
- Former Epics members, Tom Petty (bass) & Tom Leadon (guitar) decided
to form their own band called Mudcrutch. According to Leadon, the name was chosen
"because it just sounded sort of dirty and decrepit."
- TP recruits Randall Marsh on drums.
- Randall Marsh suggests hiring his roommate,
Mike Campbell, as a 2nd guitarist. Mike is recruited
after Petty and Leadon hear him play "Johnny B. Goode".
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Mudcrutch
Gainesville Newspaper Shot
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1970 World News Highlights
 On September 25, 1970 ABC premiered The Partridge Family, a half-hour sitcom about five kids and their mother who decided to form a rock 'n' roll band (the premise, of course, was stolen directly from the real-life story of a sixties family act, the Cowsills). As in another Screen Gems production, The Monkees, an integral part of each episode was the performance of new songs, released concurrently by Bell Records. The first Partridge Family single, "I Think I Love You," sold over four million copies, and there were ten more hits before the series was cancelled in 1974.
President Nixon sends combat units into Cambodia.
At Kent State University, National Guardsmen fire into a crowd protesting the Vietnam War, killing four and wounding eight.
In New York, the nation's most liberal abortion law goes into effect.
A parade of 10,000 women in New York celebrate the 50th anniversary of the passing of the 19th Amendment.
FBI agents arrest American Communist Angela Davis at a midtown Manhattan motel.
Anwar Sadat is elected president of the United Arab Republic (Egypt).
One million cans of tuna are recalled by the FDA because of mercury contamination.
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1970 Music Highlights
Religious themes start to appear in songs like "Spirit In The Sky" by Norman Greenbaum, "Let It Be" by the Beatles, "My Sweet Lord" by George Harrison, and the play Jesus Christ Superstar.
Rumors begin to circulate that the Beatles will be breaking up because of differences between Paul and John. Paul releases a homemade album titled McCartney that goes on to become a number one hit.
Rod Stewart and Ron Wood leave the disintegrating Jeff Beck Group to join the Small Faces, now simply called the Faces.
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young record "Ohio" to draw attention to the wasteful killing of four young students of the Ohio National Guard at a Kent State University war protest rally.
American Top 40, a syndicated radio show counting down the Top 40 singles each week as ranked by Billboard magazine, debuts. Host Casey Kasem will remain with the show for 18 years.
On Wednesday, May 20, the Beatles' last film, Let It Be, premieres in London at the Palladium.
The Rolling Stones leave London Records to form their own label, Rolling Stones Records.
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1970 Popular Albums
Abraxas - Santana
Bridge Over Troubled Water - Simon and Garfunkel
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid - Soundtrack
Chicago II - Chicago
Cosmo's Factory - Creedence Clearwater Revival
Deja Vu - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
Easy Rider - Soundtrack
Get Ready - Rare Earth
Hey Jude - The Beatles
Joe Cocker! - Joe Cocker
Led Zeppelin II - Led Zeppelin
Let It Be - The Beatles
McCartney - Paul McCartney *
Captured Live at the Forum - Three Dog Night
Woodstock - Soundtrack
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1970 Top 10 Songs
- "Bridge Over Troubled Water" - Simon & Garfunkel (First chart appearance: 2/14/70; Highest position.: #1)
- "American Woman" - The Guess Who (3/28/70; #1)
- "Get Ready" - Rare Earth (4/4/70; #4)
- "Band Of Gold" - Freda Payne (5/30/70; #3)
- "Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head" - B.J. Thomas (11/22/69; #1)
- "ABC" - The Jackson 5 (3/21/70; #1)
- "Let It Be" - The Beatles (3/21/70; #1)
- "(They Long To Be) Close To You" - Carpenters (6/27/70; #1)
- "Mama Told Me Not To Come" - Three Dog Night (6/6/70; #1)
- "War" - Edwin Starr (7/25/70; #1)
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1971
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- Jim Lenahan is lead singer for Mudcrutch temporarily. He left the band to go to college in
another town. Leadon & Petty handled vocals. Lenahan later comes back to become the Heartbreakers'
lighting director.
- Mudcrutch builds a name and local following by playing covers and their originals in Gainesville
pubs, campus pubs, concerts in the park and the drive-in theatre. They
even occassionally split the bill with another local band, Lynyrd Skynyrd.
- TP, MC and Marsh organize the 1st "Mudcrutch Farm Festival". They invited other
bands to play, put up posters around town and so many people showed up that they closed
down the highway. Mudcrutch caught hell, but they became famous in Gainesville.
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1972
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- 2nd "Mudcrutch Farm Festival"
- Evicted from the farm.
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1973
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- Evicted anyway, the band decides to do the 3rd "Mudcrutch Farm Festival". This time people
come in from Georgia, Alabama and all over Florida.
- Audition at Capricorn Records in Macon, Georgia. They were told they sounded
too English and their songs were too short.
- Mudcrutch borrowed money from a friend to record "Up In Mississippi" and
"Cause Is Understood" at Criteria Studios in Miami. Produced by Ron Albert
who also recorded Eric Clapton's "Layla". Has several boxes of 45s printed up.
- Tom Leadon kicked out of band since he got them banned from performing
at Dub's.
- Benmont joins band - quits band - goes to college - joins band again after Tom
successfully argues, to Ben's Father the judge, that young Benmont is wasting his
musical talents going to school.
- Band recruits Danny Roberts on guitar.
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1974
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- Made demo tape of best material in Judge Tench's living room.
- TP, Danny Roberts and roadie Keith McAllister head to LA.
- Within a week Tom had several offers from different record labels. He decides to go with London Records
- They drive back to Gainesville with a pitstop in New Orleans to pick up Benmont.
- Tom marries Jane Benyo
- Tom receives phone call from Denny Cordell. Denny offers Mudcrutch a place to stay and recording time. Tom agrees.
- April 1, 1974 - Rock 'N Roll Caravan leaves for LA via Tulsa, OK.
- By the time the band got to LA they were Shelter Artists.
- Mudcrutch records "Depot Street". Released on the same day as
Elton John's "Philadelphia Freedom". One of those songs made the charts, it wasn't
"Depot Street".
- Denny focuses on TP's songs.
- Danny Roberts quits.
- Charlie Sousa recruited from Gainesville on Bass.
- Mudcrutch records songs that are never released.
- TP leaves band after Charlie wanted to record a
song about a space ship. Mudcrutch breaks up.
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1975
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- The Heartbreakers are formed. Named by Denny Cordell. Tom wanted to call them
The King Bees. Stan Lynch on Drums, Ron Blair on Bass, Benmont Tench on Keyboards,
Mike Campbell and Jeff Jourard on Guitar.
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1976
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- March 19 - First gig at a Valley Recreation Center,
billed as Tom Petty and Nightro. This was one of
the few (maybe only ) gigs Jeff Jourard played with them.
- Jeff Jourard leaves band to form The Motels with his brother Marty.
- Tony Dimitriades becomes the manager for Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
- November - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers is released.
Only 6,500 copies sold after three months.
- US Club tour. The band also played supporting gigs for Bob Seger,
The Runaways and Roger McGuinn.
- "Anything That's Rock 'N Roll" became a hit single in the UK.
- December 12th - Paul's Mall in Boston, MA.
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1977
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- April 23rd - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers perform as a radio concert
at the Record Plant in Sausalito, CA. Al Kooper joined them on
stage to perform a few songs starting off with "Fooled Again (I Don't Like It)".
- April 24th - perform the same set at Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco.
The concert is reviewed in the June issue of BAM magazine.
- May - Roger McGuinn records "American Girl"
- May 14th - First UK gig as opening act for Nils Lofgren.
- June - The band quickly moves from opening act to headliners
- August - kicked off US tour of the West coast. By the end of the year
the band had performed over 200 shows around the US, Europe and UK.
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1978
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- May - The band appears on the "Midnight Special" TV show performing
"I Need To Know", "American Girl" and "Listen To Her Heart".
- You're Gonna Get It is released.
They insist that the cover be a BAND shot.
- Tom appears in the movie "FM", which is about a California
radio station. "American Girl" and "Breakdown" are heard in the movie.
The soundtrack is realeased featuring "Breakdown".
- June - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers appear on the BBC's "Old Grey
Whistle Test" in England.
- June 24th - The band replaces Jeff Beck at The Knebworth Festival in Knebworth, England.
- July 7th - You're Gonna Get It goes gold selling over 500,000 copies.
- December - Tom is pulled into crowd by enthusiastic fans during their show at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco.
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1979
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- May 23rd - Tom Petty files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy therefore making the Shelter contract null and void.
The problems began when Shelter was bought by MCA. MCA claimed that TP owes MCA $575,000.
This could only be paid if Tom cut another 6 albums under MCA. A compromise is made
under MCA runned Backstreet Records.
- July - Short tour of California dubbed "Why MCA?/The Lawsuit Tour". Setlist: "When The Time Comes", "Anything That's Rock 'N Roll",
"Fooled Again", "I Need To Know", "Wild One Forever", "Listen To Her Heart",
"Here Comes My Girl", "Even The Losers", "Cry To Me", "American Girl", "Strangered In The Night",
"Too Much Ain't Enough" and "Shout". The Encore consisted of "Dog On The Run", "I Fought The Law (And The Law Won)", "Anyway You Want It" and "Route 66".
- September - The band performs during the MUSE (Musician's United For Safe Energy)
concerts at Madison Square Garden in NY. A 3-album set is later released with the band playing "Cry To Me".
- Radio stations in LA & Philadelphia obtain copies prior to the official release and begin playing Damn The Torpedoes generating one of the most immediate and sensational
responses in radio history.
- October 19th - Damn The Torpedoes is released.
- November 10th - First appearance on Saturday Night Live. They perform "Don't Do Me Like That" and "Refugee"
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BAND HISTORY '70s, '80s, '90s, '00s
Click decade for more information!
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