Tom Petty Guitar Tabs.

Click here to see more artists with Guitar Tabs Tom Petty Guitar Tabs The songs are: * A Face in the Crowd * A Woman in Love (It's Not Me) * American Girl * Breakdown * Don't Come Around Here No More * Don't Do Me Like That * Free Fallin' * Here Comes My Girl * Learning to Fly * Refugee * The Waiting * You Got Lucky. See More Tom Petty Guitar Tabs

Tom Petty was born and raised in Gainesville, Florida, USA.  His interest in rock and roll music began at age 10 when he met Elvis Presley and in a 2006 interview, Petty said that he knew he wanted to be in a band the moment he saw The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

After working with his early bands -The Sundowners, The Epics and Mudcrutch (the third with drummer Randall Marsh, and future Heartbreakers members Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench) he began his recording career with the Heartbreakers (Mike Campbell, Benmont Tench, Ron Blair, Stan Lynch).

They released the self-titled Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, the band's 1976 debut album, which was initially unpopular in the United States. The single "Breakdown" was re-released in 1977 and peaked at #40 in early 1978 after the band toured in the United Kingdom in support of Nils Lofgren.

Their second album, You're Gonna Get It!, marked the band's first Top 40 album and featured the singles "I Need To Know" and "Listen To Her Heart."

Their third album, Damn the Torpedoes, quickly went platinum, selling nearly two million copies; it includes their breakthrough singles "Don't Do Me Like That" and "Refugee." 1981's Hard Promises became a top-ten hit, going platinum and spawning the hit single "The Waiting." The album also featured Petty's first duet, "Insider" with Stevie Nicks.

Bass player Ron Blair quit the group, and was replaced on the fifth album (1982's Long After Dark) by Howie Epstein; the resulting line-up would last until 1994.

In 1985, the band participated in Live Aid, playing four songs at Philadelphia's John F. Kennedy Stadium. The same year, it released Southern Accents, which included the hit single "Don't Come Around Here No More," which was produced by Dave Stewart. 

The ensuing tour led to the live album Pack Up the Plantation: Live! and to an invitation from Bob Dylan; Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers joined him on his True Confessions tour and also played some dates with the Grateful Dead in 1986 and 1987. Also in 1987, the group released Let Me Up (I've Had Enough). It includes "Jammin' Me," which Petty wrote with Dylan.

 The Travelling Wilburys

In 1988, Petty became a founding member of the Traveling Wilburys, along with Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Roy Orbison, and Jeff Lynne. The band's first song, "Handle With Care," was intended as a B-side of one of Harrison's singles, but was judged too good for that purpose and the group decided to record a full album, Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1. A second Wilburys album, incongruously titled Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3 and recorded without the recently deceased Orbison, followed in 1990.

In 1989, Petty released Full Moon Fever, which featured hits "I Won't Back Down," "Free Fallin'" and "Runnin' Down A Dream". It was nominally his first solo album, although several Heartbreakers and other well-known musicians participated.

Mike Campbell co-produced the album with Petty and Jeff Lynne of Electric Light Orchestra, and backing musicians included Campbell, Lynne, and fellow Wilburys Roy Orbison and George Harrison (Ringo Starr appears on drums in the video for "I Won't Back Down," but they were actually performed by Phil Jones). Since all the original Traveling Wilburys except Bob Dylan participated on the album, it is sometimes considered the unofficial second Wilbury record.

Petty rejoined with the Heartbreakers for his next album, Into the Great Wide Open, in 1991. It was co-produced by Lynne and included the hit singles "Learning To Fly" and "Into The Great Wide Open," the latter featuring Johnny Depp, Gabrielle Anwar, Faye Dunaway, and Matt LeBlanc in the video.

In 1989, while still under contract to MCA, Petty secretly signed a lucrative deal with Warner Bros. Records. His first album on his new label, 1994's Wildflowers, included the singles "You Don't Know How It Feels," "You Wreck Me," "It's Good to Be King" and "A Higher Place". The album, produced by acclaimed producer Rick Rubin, was a huge success and sold over 3 million copies in the U.S.

In 1996, Petty reunited with the Heartbreakers and released a soundtrack to the movie She's the One, starring Cameron Diaz and Jennifer Aniston (see Songs and Music from "She's the One"). The album's singles were "Walls (Circus)" (featuring Lindsey Buckingham), "Climb that Hill" and a song written by Lucinda Williams, "Change the Locks." The album also included a cover of "Asshole," a song by Beck.

In 1999, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers released their last album with Rubin at the helm, Echo. Two songs were released as singles in the U.S., "Room at the Top" and "Free Girl Now." The album reached number 10 in the U.S. album charts.

In 2005, Tom Petty began hosting his own show "Buried Treasure" on XM Radio, on which he shares selections from his personal record collection.

In July 2006, Petty released a new solo album titled "Highway Companion", which included the hit "Saving Grace". It debuted at number 4 on the Billboard charts, becoming Petty's highest chart position since the introduction of the Nielsen SoundScan system for tracking album sales in 1991.

During the summer of 2007, Tom Petty reunited with his old bandmates Tom Leadon and Randall Marsh along with Heartbreakers Benmont Tench & Mike Campbell to reform his pre-Heartbreakers band Mudcrutch. In April 2008, Mudcrutch released an album that had been recorded after they reunited in 2007.

The band featured Petty on bass guitar and vocals, future Heartbreakers Mike Campbell on guitar and Benmont Tench on keyboards plus others. The band supported the 2007 album with a brief tour of California in early 2008 before Petty resumed a scheduled tour with the Heartbreakers during June-August 2008.

Petty has been honored with 18 Grammy Award nominations since 1982.  In April 1996, Petty received the UCLA's George and Ira Gershwin Award for Lifetime Musical Achievement. The next month, Petty won the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers' Golden Note Award. In 1999 Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for their contribution to the recording industry. In 2002, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Tom Petty owns and has used a number of guitars over the years. From 1976-1982, his main instrument was a sunburst 1963 Fender Stratocaster. He has also used a number of Rickenbacker guitars from 1979 onwards, notably the Rose Morris 1993 and 1997 models and the 360/12 and 660/12 models. The Rickenbacker 660/12 was designed by Petty (specifically the neck) and featured his signature from 1991-1998.

Petty has also used various Gibson Firebirds, Fender Telecasters, Gibson SGs, a Vox Mark III and a number of different Gretsch guitars. For acoustic guitars, Petty has had a signature C.F. Martin HD-40, and has written virtually all of his songs on a Gibson Dove acoustic. Petty currently uses a Vox AC-30 and Vox Super Beatle amp.