Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (album)

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers is the debut album by the band of the same name, released on November 9, 1976 by Shelter Records. The album was recorded and mixed at the Shelter Studio in Hollywood, California.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Studio album by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Released	November 9, 1976 (1976-11-09)
Recorded	1976
Studio	Shelter Studio, Hollywood, CA
Genre	Rock and roll[1]
Length	30:35
Label	Shelter
Producer	Denny Cordell
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers chronology
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (1976) Official Live 'Leg (1977)
Singles from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
"Breakdown" Released: November 1976 "American Girl" Released: February 1977 "Anything That's Rock 'n' Roll" Released: April 1977 (UK only) "Rockin' Around (With You)" Released: August 1977 (Germany only)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Blender	[3]
Chicago Tribune	[4]
Christgau's Record Guide	B+[1]
The Essential Rock Discography	6/10[5]
MusicHound	[6]
Pitchfork	7.0/10[7]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[8]
The Daily Vault	A-[9]

Release and promotion

Initially following its release, the album received little attention in the United States. Following a British tour, it climbed to No. 24 on the UK albums chart and the single "Anything That's Rock 'n' Roll" became a hit in the UK. After nearly a year and many positive reviews, the album reached the U.S. charts, where it peaked at No. 55 in 1978 and eventually went Gold.

"Breakdown" was released as the lead single and cracked the Top 40 in the U.S. and "American Girl" became one of the band's signature songs.[10]

Critical reception

Reviewing in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981), Robert Christgau said, "Addicts of updated nostalgia and rock and roll readymades should find this a sly and authentic commentary on the evolving dilemma of Harold Teen. The songs are cute, the riffs executed with more dynamism than usual, and the singing attractively phlegmy. And like they say at the end of other cartoons, that's all, folks."[1]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Tom Petty, except where noted.

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Rockin' Around (With You)"	Petty, Mike Campbell	2:29
2.	"Breakdown"		2:43
3.	"Hometown Blues"		2:14
4.	"The Wild One, Forever"		3:03
5.	"Anything That's Rock 'n' Roll"		2:24

Side two

No.	Title	Length
6.	"Strangered in the Night"	3:34
7.	"Fooled Again (I Don't Like It)"	3:50
8.	"Mystery Man"	3:03
9.	"Luna"	3:58
10.	"American Girl"	3:34

Personnel

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

• Tom Petty – vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, synthesizer
• Mike Campbell – electric guitar, acoustic guitar
• Benmont Tench – piano, Hammond organ, synthesizer
• Ron Blair – bass guitar on tracks 1–2, 4–5, 7–10, cello on track 4
• Stan Lynch – drums on tracks 1–2, 4–5, 7–10, synthesizer on track 9

Additional musicians

• Jeff Jourard – electric guitar on tracks 2, 6, 7, 8
• Donald "Duck" Dunn – bass guitar on track 3
• Emory Gordy – bass guitar on track 6
• Randall Marsh – drums on track 3
• Jim Gordon – drums on track 6
• Noah Shark – maracas, tambourine, sleigh bells
• Charlie Souza – saxophone on track 3
• Phil Seymour – backing vocals on tracks 2, 10
• Dwight Twilley – backing vocals on track 6

References

1. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: P". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 10, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
2. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers at AllMusic. Retrieved 3 January 2005.
3. Blender review Archived June 15, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
4. Kot, Greg (September 1, 1991). "Through The Years With Tom Petty". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
5. Strong, Martin C. (2006). The Essential Rock Discography. Edinburgh, UK: Canongate. p. 816. ISBN 978-1-84195-827-9.
6. Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel (eds) (1999). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Farmington Hills, MI: Visible Ink Press. p. 870. ISBN 1-57859-061-2.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
7. Kandell, Steve (10 October 2017). "Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers". Pitchfork. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
8. Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian, eds. (2004). "Tom Petty > Album Guide". The Rolling Stone Album Guide. London: Fireside. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8. Archived from the original on 2011-07-14. Retrieved 13 September 2011.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
9. Warburg, Jason (2019). "The Daily Vault Music Reviews : Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers". dailyvault.com. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
10. Whitburn, Joel. Rock Tracks (2002): 331

External links

• Lyrics