Wednesday, February 1: Tig’s Rock Birthdays
Happy Birthday today (Feb. 1) to Mike Campbell. The guitarist for Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers is 66. In remembrance, singer Jani Lane of Warrant would have been 53 today.
In 1975, Mike Campbell joined Tom Petty to form the original Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers along with bassist Ron Blair and drummer Stan Lynch. The band experienced great success throughout the 1970’s and 1980’s with songs like “American Girl”, “Breakdown”, “The Waiting”, “Learning to Fly”, “Refugee”, and “Mary Jane’s Last Dance”. Tom Petty’s most successful release was his first solo album, 1989’s Full Moon Fever. Although a solo album, it features contributions form members of the Heartbreakers including Mike Campbell. Singles include “I Won’t Back Down”, “Free Fallin'”, and “Running Down a Dream ( a song co-written with Campbell). The album went five times platinum in the U.S. and Rolling Stone magazine named it one of the top 100 best albums of the 1980’s. Campbell is a incredible guitarist and I've had had the opportunity to see him perform in concert on several occasions with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Looking forward to seeing the band at Mountain Jam at Hunter Mountain on June 17.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers 13th studio album Hypnotic Eye was released in 2014. Check out the top 10 Mike Campbell songs courtesy of Ultimate Classic Rock here.