Guitarist Mike Campbell came up with the original song idea after being inspired through listening to Mick Taylor playing guitar in John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers. “Refugee” was a hit from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ third album Damn the Torpedoes which was released in 1979. The title was “Indiana Girl” but the lyrics wouldn’t gel and it took time before it took on a “deeper meaning.” Since Petty’s divorce proceedings from his wife Jane were going on at the time it could be a goodbye song about that or it could be about the pain numbing effect that smoking pot can have. The song itself evolved over a period of time and was first written in its seminal form in Campbell’s garage. The song was recorded with Petty and Nicks co-singing the song with the Heartbreakers as the backup band.Įveryone assumes that Mary Jane is a euphemism for marijuana but in an interview, Mike Campbell explained that there are multiple interpretations. “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” was a composition that Petty co-wrote with guitarist Mike Campbell which became the hit song that appeared on Nicks’s solo album Bella Donna. She was a huge fan of the band and even wanted to join them but settled for Tom Petty writing a song for her. In 1980 when Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were recording their Hard Promises album, Stevie Nicks, who was a member of Fleetwood Mac, recorded her first solo album.
According to Petty, the story of a girl that “was looking for the strength to move on, and she found it.” The song was never a hit but it became one of his most popular songs and was used in films and TV programs as well as performed by other artists. Interpretations of the song’s lyrics vary from a suicide at the University of Florida. It was the last song that he performed at the Hollywood Bowl concluding his final concert on September 25, 2017. “American Girl was on Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers’ first album that was released in 1976. Tom easily came up with the chorus which was inspired by the Byrds but it was a painstaking effort trying to make the verses work until he began to half talk like the “Shangri-Las” doing “Leader of the Pack.” Mike Campbell wrote and recorded the demo for both “Refuge” and “Here Comes My Girl” the same week and gave the tape to Petty. “Here Comes My Girl”ĭamn the Torpedoes was Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ third album but it was the first to be released on a major record label. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2002. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers released 13 studio albums along with 3 solo albums and additional albums with the Traveling Wilbury’s and Mudcrutch before his untimely death in 2017 at the age of 66. Inspired by 1960s artists ranging from the Beatles to the Byrds, the band played hard-edged rock & roll with infectious hooks.
It was during the disco craze when rock was being reinvented by the popularity of punk. The duo was in a band with Ron Blair (bass) and Stan Lynch (drums) at the time which they named Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and released their self-titled debut album in 1976. After Mudcrutch disbanded, Petty was offered a solo recording contract and recruited former band members Mike Campbell (guitar) and Benmont Tench (keyboards). When he was 17 he quit school to join Mudcrutch and ended up being the front man and songwriter. After being inspired by Elvis Presley and the Beatles he began playing guitar to cope with an abusive home life. Tom Petty was born in Gainesville, Florida, October 20, 1950.
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