In 1974, Tom Petty, Mike Campbell, and the rest of their band Mudcrutch entered Leon Russell’s the Church Studio in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to record their first demo tape with producer Denny Cordell. It was a crucial moment that led to the formation of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers two years later. In late April of this year, Campbell returned to the studio for the first time in 50 years.
“It was spiritual,” Campbell tells Rolling Stone via Zoom from the “man cave” of his Los Angeles home. “I got a little...
“It was spiritual,” Campbell tells Rolling Stone via Zoom from the “man cave” of his Los Angeles home. “I got a little...
- 5/7/2024
- by Andy Greene
- Rollingstone.com
Around 10:20 p.m. on Saturday night, a shadowy group of figures walked onto the Farm Aid stage at the Ruoff Music Center in Noblesville, Indiana. This was supposed to be the moment where Wille Nelson wrapped up the night, but there was no sign of the Red Headed Stranger or his band. Instead, another act was plugging in instruments on the darkened stage. There was no announcement of any kind, and the large screens on both sides of the stage went completely blank for the first time all day.
- 9/24/2023
- by Andy Greene
- Rollingstone.com
When Mike Campbell and the Dirty Knobs take the stage Saturday evening at the Fox Theater in Boulder, Colorado, they’ll be joined by original Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers drummer Stan Lynch. He’s going to stay on the road with them through late June, marking the first time they’ve toured together since the Into The Great Wide Open run in 1992.
“[He is] an old friend who I love dearly,” Campbell wrote on Instagram. “We’ve had the best time reconnecting and we can’t wait to get out there and play music together again.
“[He is] an old friend who I love dearly,” Campbell wrote on Instagram. “We’ve had the best time reconnecting and we can’t wait to get out there and play music together again.
- 4/23/2022
- by Andy Greene
- Rollingstone.com
In the last few years, I’ve happily watched and reviewed documentaries about Lady Gaga and Billie Eilish, both of which were presented on major streaming services and made with the full cooperation of the artists in question. So it wouldn’t have been shocking if either of those films turned out to be a glorified promotional tool. On the other hand, “Tom Petty, Somewhere You Feel Free,” which premiered today at SXSW, is built around a trove of 16mm footage discovered in 2020 in the Tom Petty archive. The film was shot by Petty’s filmographer Martyn Atkins while Petty was recording his second solo album, “Wildflowers” (1994), and performing on the concert tour that followed its release.
In 2021, just saying the phrase “16mm” can give you a tingle. It sounds so raw and private, so home-movie analog. But here’s an irony for you. Both the Lady Gaga and Billie Eilish docs are,...
In 2021, just saying the phrase “16mm” can give you a tingle. It sounds so raw and private, so home-movie analog. But here’s an irony for you. Both the Lady Gaga and Billie Eilish docs are,...
- 3/18/2021
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
There are times when it is still hard to fathom that Tom Petty is gone. Turn on his SiriusXM station, and there is a good chance you’ll hear Petty’s inimitable drawl on his “Buried Treasures” program, sounding vivid and cheerful. Recorded work is still being released, including last year’s massive, 25-song version of his classic album Wildflowers. And now comes Tom Petty, Somewhere You Feel Free, a vivid, compelling documentary chronicling the creation of that aforementioned album. As the film’s opening explains, in early 2020 a collection of 16mm film was discovered in the Petty archive, all shot between 1993-95 by filmographer Martyn Atkins. Never before released, the footage offers a unique view inside the process of making a masterpiece.
The Tom Petty in Somewhere You Feel Free is both joyful and devastated, powerful and wounded. This dichotomy exists in many of Petty’s greatest songs, and as Somewhere shows,...
The Tom Petty in Somewhere You Feel Free is both joyful and devastated, powerful and wounded. This dichotomy exists in many of Petty’s greatest songs, and as Somewhere shows,...
- 3/18/2021
- by Christopher Schobert
- The Film Stage
With his second solo album, Tom Petty wanted to step away from the Heartbreakers, his band of musical brothers for almost 20 years at the time. The beautiful paradox is that, player by player, the people with whom he chose to record Wildflowers turned out to be those very same musicians (the exception being a new drummer, Steve Ferrone, who would go on to become a full-fledged Heartbreaker of long standing). That Petty ultimately viewed the 1994 release, perhaps his most openly personal, as a band album is one of the delectable and illuminating takeaways from a new documentary that delves ...
- 3/17/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
With his second solo album, Tom Petty wanted to step away from the Heartbreakers, his band of musical brothers for almost 20 years at the time. The beautiful paradox is that, player by player, the people with whom he chose to record Wildflowers turned out to be those very same musicians (the exception being a new drummer, Steve Ferrone, who would go on to become a full-fledged Heartbreaker of long standing). That Petty ultimately viewed the 1994 release, perhaps his most openly personal, as a band album is one of the delectable and illuminating takeaways from a new documentary that delves ...
- 3/17/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
In the latest episode of Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums, our new podcast on Amazon Music, we go inside the emotional true story of Tom Petty’s Wildflowers, a 1994 solo album that Petty thought was the best work of his career. Long after he released it, Petty never could stop thinking about Wildflowers; in fact, it was on his mind right before he died.
Mike Campbell, Benmont Tench and Steve Ferrone of the Heartbreakers along with Petty’s daughter Adria, wife Dana and Wildflowers Executive Producer George Drakoulias, join host...
Mike Campbell, Benmont Tench and Steve Ferrone of the Heartbreakers along with Petty’s daughter Adria, wife Dana and Wildflowers Executive Producer George Drakoulias, join host...
- 11/24/2020
- by Andy Greene
- Rollingstone.com
Whether it’s coming out of Nashville, New York, L.A., or points in between, there’s no shortage of fresh tunes, especially from artists who have yet to become household names. Rolling Stone Country selects some of the best new music releases from country and Americana artists.
Ross Cooper, “South of the Angels”
Bona fide cowboy Ross Cooper pays tribute to his remote slice of West Texas in this moody new ballad off his upcoming album Chasing Old Highs, due February 26th. Cooper’s voice is defiant and haunting...
Ross Cooper, “South of the Angels”
Bona fide cowboy Ross Cooper pays tribute to his remote slice of West Texas in this moody new ballad off his upcoming album Chasing Old Highs, due February 26th. Cooper’s voice is defiant and haunting...
- 10/26/2020
- by Jon Freeman and Joseph Hudak
- Rollingstone.com
Rolling Stone interview series Unknown Legends features long-form conversations between senior writer Andy Greene and veteran musicians who have toured and recorded alongside icons for years, if not decades. All are renowned in the business, but some are less well known to the general public. Here, these artists tell their complete stories, giving an up-close look at life on music’s A list. This edition features drummer Steve Ferrone.
The first time Tom Petty asked Steve Ferrone to join the Heartbreakers on tour, the drummer said he wasn’t sure it was a good idea.
The first time Tom Petty asked Steve Ferrone to join the Heartbreakers on tour, the drummer said he wasn’t sure it was a good idea.
- 10/21/2020
- by Andy Greene
- Rollingstone.com
In the final years of his life, Tom Petty spoke often about his plan to re-release his 1994 masterpiece Wildflowers as a double album and then play it straight through on a special tour. “I probably haven’t even told the band about this yet,” Petty said in 2016, “but they can read about it in Rolling Stone.” His focus on the LP is easy to understand; song-for-song, it is perhaps Petty’s single greatest achievement. “That was where I was really at the top of my game as far as craft...
- 11/1/2019
- by Angie Martoccio
- Rollingstone.com
As Mark Knopfler proved this year by not even showing up when his band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Dire Straits are never, ever getting back together. However, that’s not stopping past members, including keyboardist Alan Clark, percussionist Danny Cummings, saxophonist Mel Collins and guitarist Phil Palmer, from hitting the road in late September for a tour under the banner Dsl Dire Straits Legacy. The group will be joined by Heartbreakers drummer Steve Ferrone and the Buggles’ Trevor Horn on bass along with Marco...
- 8/29/2018
- by Andy Greene
- Rollingstone.com
The 5th Annual Light Up The Blues Concert will return in April.
Neil Young, Stephen Stills, Burt Bacharach, Judy Collins, Sheryl Crow, Chris Stills, Oliver Stills, Benmont Tench, Mike Campbell, Steve Ferrone, and emcee Jack Black, plus many special guests, will return to Los Angeles on Saturday, April 21 at the Dolby Theatre for the 5th Annual Light Up The Blues Concert—An Evening of Music to Benefit Autism Speaks.
The event will also feature performances by three artists with autism.
The April 21 event spotlights Light It Up Blue, Autism Speaks’ annual global campaign for understanding and acceptance, which begins on April 2, World Autism Awareness Day, and continues throughout April, World Autism Month. Light Up The Blues will celebrate the many gifts of individuals with autism, while supporting Autism Speaks in its mission to promote solutions, across the spectrum and throughout the life span, for children, adults and families affected by autism spectrum disorder.
Neil Young, Stephen Stills, Burt Bacharach, Judy Collins, Sheryl Crow, Chris Stills, Oliver Stills, Benmont Tench, Mike Campbell, Steve Ferrone, and emcee Jack Black, plus many special guests, will return to Los Angeles on Saturday, April 21 at the Dolby Theatre for the 5th Annual Light Up The Blues Concert—An Evening of Music to Benefit Autism Speaks.
The event will also feature performances by three artists with autism.
The April 21 event spotlights Light It Up Blue, Autism Speaks’ annual global campaign for understanding and acceptance, which begins on April 2, World Autism Awareness Day, and continues throughout April, World Autism Month. Light Up The Blues will celebrate the many gifts of individuals with autism, while supporting Autism Speaks in its mission to promote solutions, across the spectrum and throughout the life span, for children, adults and families affected by autism spectrum disorder.
- 1/24/2018
- Look to the Stars
Stevie Nicks is opening up about the final moments she spent with the late Tom Petty — and the last time she watched him perform.
In a revealing interview with Rolling Stone, 69-year-old Nicks recalled performing with Petty and The Heartbreakers in July at London’s Hyde Park before sitting with Shania Twain to watch Petty own the stage.
“Shania and I watched Tom’s show and sang at the top of our lungs,” the legendary singer told the publication. “I look back on that and what a magical moment that was: Shania got to stand there with me and watch my boys.
In a revealing interview with Rolling Stone, 69-year-old Nicks recalled performing with Petty and The Heartbreakers in July at London’s Hyde Park before sitting with Shania Twain to watch Petty own the stage.
“Shania and I watched Tom’s show and sang at the top of our lungs,” the legendary singer told the publication. “I look back on that and what a magical moment that was: Shania got to stand there with me and watch my boys.
- 10/13/2017
- by Char Adams
- PEOPLE.com
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers have been one of America’s greatest live bands since their first club tours and opening-act jobs, in 1976 and ’77. Lethal garage-rock modernists with pop-hook savvy, they’ve always had the chops and empathy to make a studio record like Mojo: everybody in one room, going for the master take together and getting it fast. They just took 34 years to work up the nerve.
It was worth the wait. Mojo is dynamite — Petty and the Heartbreakers’ matured return to the elementary fury of their first golden-twang era,...
It was worth the wait. Mojo is dynamite — Petty and the Heartbreakers’ matured return to the elementary fury of their first golden-twang era,...
- 6/15/2010
- by David Fricke
- Rollingstone.com
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers will be releasing a new effort, "Mojo," via Reprise Records some time this spring. It marks the group's first studio set since 2002's "The Last DJ," though Petty released his third solo effort "Highway Companion" in 2006. The first peak into the album, the slow-churning, blue-tinged "Good Enough," is streaming now on tompetty.com. What do you think? Along with the album release, The Heartbreakers -- Petty, Mike Campbell, Benmont Tench, Ron Blair, Scott Thurston, Steve Ferrone -- are going on tour, naturally. Tapping My Morning Jacket, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Joe Cocker, Zz Top and Drive-By...
- 2/25/2010
- by Katie Hasty
- Hitfix
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