Artist:Tom Petty & The HeartbreakersSong:Don't Come Around Here No More
Album:Greatest Hits
When Tom Petty first surfaced in the late 70s, he was lumped in with the New Wave movement of the time. But Petty has had longevity because his music isn't trendy. He's always acknowledged 60s rock as his main influence. Don't Come Around Here No More was a hit in 1985 mainly because of the video. It was one of his bigger hits but not his first hit. He was born Oct. 20, 1950 in Gainesville, FL. He got to meet Elvis Presley when his uncle was working on the set of Follow That Dream in 1961. And watching The Beatles on Ed Sullivan in 1964 convinced Petty to pursue music. So he learned to play guitar. By the mid-70s, his band Mudcrutch signed with Shelter Records. But they disbanded before they could record an album. Petty and Mudcrutch guitarist Mike Campbell and pianist Benmont Tench formed a new band with bassist Ron Blair and drummer John Lynch. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers released their first two albums on Shelter Records. They did well but when ABC Records sold Shelter to MCA, Petty refused to go to MCA. He wanted to renegotiate his deal. Eventually they relented and Damn The Torpeoes went Platinum when released in 1979 and Don't Do Me Like That was his first top ten single. When MCA wanted to sell Petty's 1981 album Hard Promises at a higher list price, Petty refused to deliver the master tapes for pressing. They backed down and the album was a hit. Ron Blair was replaced by Howie Epstein in 1982 and the album Long After Dark did well but not as well as Hard Promises. So Petty brought in Dave Stewart of The Eurythmics to produce the 1985 album Southern Accents and they got back on track. Don't Come Around Here No More reached #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 but the Alice In Wonderland themed video got them a lot of attention and it won an MTV Video Award. Then the band went on tour with Bob Dylan. They continued to have a lot of success and Petty also recorded solo and with The Traveling Wilburys. This comp is a good intro to his music. Petty moved to Warner Bros. in 1991 and the latest Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers CD Mojo was released June 2010. So the band has been around for 30 years and is still going strong today. Here's the video for Don't Come Around Here No More by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers.
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