Heartbreaker by Mike Campbell
The book club met in early September 2026 at Tall Oaks Brewery in Farmingdale NJ. It was a nice afternoon and we hung out and enjoyed the nice weather accompanied by delicious beers and a pizza food truck. Allan, Ron, Dave, and myself were in attendance and chatted about the many great songs that were written by Mike Campbell and Tom Petty and how influential they were to many people. The book club rating was 4.5 out of 5 stars. Here’s my two cents...
Heartbreaker is a great collection of stories told by the man that lived them. A trek through the early childhood years learning guitar and listening to records as a lonely kid from a broken home to rock n roll stardom. Mike speaks from the heart and takes the reader on an emotional journey of the past 50 years of his life. The stories put things into perspective from his modest beginnings, relationships with his bandmates, joining Mudcrutch, and the emotions of working with Tom Petty. It’s not easy to find your place in life and Mike successfully navigated that by understanding early on that Tom was a leader and a force that will achieve the goals that he set.
That relationship helped Mike understand how he can use his passion for guitar and song writing to partner with Petty to create some of the most memorable songs of the last 50 years. Seeing the big picture of how the puzzle pieces could fit together with their skills and personalities and of course to put ego aside during the tough decisions about the band hierarchy. Heartbreaker is one of my favorite stories to read as Mike’s guitar riffs have influenced me as a player growing up on his music. Tom was the voice. Mike was the sound. The two combined have given me a huge palette of material to learn, love, play, and strive to master. After 30 years, I’m still trying.
Early Years
Mike was a poor kid from Jacksonville Florida he had an army dad and a broken home. His mom worked hard and moved around a lot so it was a tough childhood for a shy kid. Guitar saved him and so did the guidance counselor in high school who helped him get into the University of Florida in Gainesville in 1968.
Mike was a loner, shy, introverted so it was hard for him to make friends.In college Mike had met Hal and Randall and they started jamming together in a band called Dead or Alive. Then he saw a band called Mudcrutch and it turned out they needed a new drummer. So when he saw the post for a new Drummer he took it to Randall. Now the band Mudcrutch came out to The Farmhouse to jam and as luck would have it, the second guitarist just quit. So they asked Mike to play with them. just like that they were in mudcrutch with Tom Petty.
The guys would practice all the time at The Farmhouse and eventually they got a gig a dub’s steer room six nights a week for a hundred bucks a week each. They would play from 9:00 to 2:00 a.m. They were living off of anything they could get their hands on food wise. The farm house had no heat either so it was quite an adventure living there.
Mike started hanging out with Tom Petty a lot at his apartment to write songs. Tom seems so much more mature. He had a girlfriend, lived in an apartment, they had a car and he played in bands for years. Mudcrutch started branching out playing original songs and traveling out of state. They honed their skills playing live at the farmhouse and at Dub’s constantly. They learned tons of new songs and worked in some of their original music that they would play at the University. At this point Mike decides to drop out of college which is a problem because the Army is knocking, and Mike was worried about getting drafted. Tom had convinced Mike that everything was going to be okay and that the band was going to be successful. I’m not sure how Tom Petty was going to save Mike from being drafted but he had an air of confidence about him that convinced Mike to go all in on the music.
Mudcrutch looks for a contract
Mudcrutch was getting a good reputation in the Gainesville area. There were several members of Mudcrutch with multiple singers. Petty played bass and sang. Jin Lenahan on vocals. Randall on drums, Mike on guitar. Tom Leadon was the other guitarist in the band and Mike learned a lot from him. It also turns out that Tom’s brother Bernie was in LA playing with the Eagles and was giving advice about coming out to LA. The band decided to record a demo in 1971 and they went to Miami to Criteria Studios. They even got a song on the radio which was a big success for the group.
In 1972 Benmont Tench joined on keys along with Danny Roberts on bass, guitar, and vocals. Benmont was a musical prodigy. He was younger than the other members and he followed the band closely. In 1974, the group recorded another demo in Benmont’s parent’s house. That set them in motion to head west to LA. There was interest from London records in LA but on the way west the band stopped in Oklahoma and met with Denny Cordell from Shelter Records. They ended up signing a contract for 10 grand. The band fell apart though and Mike and Tom stayed on as songwriters. Mudcrutch was over!
Heartbreaking begins
Now Benmont started jamming with Stan Lynch and Ron Blair from Gainesville as they came out to LA. In need of a guitar player Benmont asked Mike to join them at a studio session. He also asked Petty to come. Boom! Just like that the Heartbreakers formed. There was another guitarist called Jeff, but Tom fired him. Now Tom got the record deal so he insisted that it was his name for the band. They recorded their first record. It was a slow start but they became popular in the UK so they toured there and Europe but back in the US, it was slow going. In 1977 though Breakdown was hitting the radio and the album cracked the Billboard top 200. Enough for a 2nd album in 1978! After that, Tom realized his contract was terrible and there was a huge legal dispute. Basically declaring bankruptcy because he could never live off the pay and he could never pay back the record company.
Bumps in the road
After that finally was resolved, they could concentrate on the next record. (which they were scared was going to be confiscated during the lawsuits) I like that there were some similar characters and places as the previous books. Jimmy Iovine enters as a producer. Of course he knows Stevie Nicks. (remember from “Making Rumours” and “Tonight in Jungleland”) Sound city studios is a familiar backdrop as well and referenced in the Rumours book. Tensions flare as Tom is the only one pictured on the album cover and the band has to accept that Tom is the person people want, especially the record company and that they are “participants” in this journey. Some do not like that, especially Stan. These tensions are exasperated throughout the Heartbreakers career.
Mike’s success
As Tom Petty’s success continued, the band was playing larger venues, bigger tours, traveling the world and Mike was struggling with his personal life. He married and had 2 children, so on the road it was a completely different lifestyle. At home, he had to take the kids to school and put the garbage out and he was struggling with the 2 separate lives. With the help of his wife, he realized that he must accept the duality of his life and be able to provide for his family. Eventually, with the help of his accountant he realized that the money lies in songwriting as he almost lost his house and not pay the mortgage. The other band members each found success in their own rite. Mike wrote songs for Don Henley, worked with Del Shannon, George Harrison, Bob Dylan, and Johnny Cash. The Heartbreakers even went out on tour with Dylan as his backing band in the late 80s. They also backed Cash on his 2nd album with Ric Rubin. Benmont and Stan also found success of their own and even Tom Leadon back in FL.
The later years
Tom’s success continued to grow. During the early 90s he met Jeff Lynne and they ended up recording Full moon fever in Mike’s garage studio. It was a massive hit and it accidentally was a solo album. They didn’t mean for it to happen. The songs were just flowing and they were recording several a day. Next thing you know, they had a record. Of course this added to the tensions with the band members. There were of course problems with drugs. Not only with Tom but the other guys too. Benmont and Howie as well with Howie eventually passing away.
Mike continued to grow as a guitarist and songwriter. He was amassing tapes in his house of songs and eventually started writing lyrics. As the years went on Petty reconnected with the guys in Mudcrutch and even recorded 2 albums with them. They also went out on tour giving the original members the chance to enjoy the cheering crowds and stardom of being a rock n roller. The 2000s were very successful for the band. They played the super bowl and released several albums. 2009 Mojo and 2014 Hypnotic Eye (which went to #1) Until of course the end. Tom was playing gigs with the band and he had a broken hip. He suffered an accidental overdose.
MIke was swirling at this point and didn’t know what to do. The loss of his best friend for 40 years was crushing but music saved him once again. He got a call to fill in for Lindsay Buckingham on the Fleetwood Mac tour. Stevie encouraged him to sing and even had her vocal coach work with him. This helped Mike build more confidence and eventually to forming the “Dirty Knobs”. Mike is 70+ years old and he is still out there playing guitar making memories and playing songs that he loves. The Heartbreakers just did a show with Chris Stapleton as a tribute to Tom Petty and all their great hits. I am lucky enough to be able to play and sing some of the hits that Mike and Tom wrote over the years and it makes me smile every time. Keep rocking Mike.
