Into the Great Wide Open

Into the Great Wide Open: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, “You’re Gonna Get It” (1978)

Into the Great Wide Open: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, “You’re Gonna Get It” (1978)

Petty began to take control of his vocal gifts on the second Heartbreakers album.

Into the Great Wide Open: Tom Petty , “When The Time Comes” from You’re Gonna Get It! (1978)

Into the Great Wide Open: Tom Petty , “When The Time Comes” from You’re Gonna Get It! (1978)

Did Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers fall into “the second-album dilemma”?

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, “American Girl” (1976): Into the Great Wide Open

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, “American Girl” (1976): Into the Great Wide Open

Decades later, this is still one of the absolute best songs Tom Petty ever wrote, and one of the best tracks that the Heartbreakers ever recorded.

Into the Great Wide Open: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, “Luna” (1976)

Into the Great Wide Open: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, “Luna” (1976)

The story of “Luna” begins in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Shelter Records, with whom the Heartbreakers were signed when their eponymous debut was released, was founded and run by Denny Cordell (who produced the album) and Leon Russell You May Also Like: Tom Petty, Bob Dylan and Joe Strummer: The Singers andRead More

Into the Great Wide Open: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, “Mystery Man” (1976)

Into the Great Wide Open: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, “Mystery Man” (1976)

Tom Petty sets the record straight with Paul Zollo in Conversations With Tom Petty, concerning a very particular label that is often cast upon the Heartbreakers: “We’re always referred to as a Southern band,” he says. You May Also Like: The Wild One, Forever: In Appreciation of Tom Petty TomRead More

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, “Fooled Again [I Don’t Like It]” (1976): Into the Great Wide Open

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, “Fooled Again [I Don’t Like It]” (1976): Into the Great Wide Open

“Fooled Again,” with Tom Petty’s snarling vocals and the band’s equally intense performance, sets up a successful blueprint for later hits.

Into the Great Wide Open: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, “Strangered In The Night” (1976)

Into the Great Wide Open: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, “Strangered In The Night” (1976)

“Strangered In The Night” is the second and final song on Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers that is a leftover from Petty’s solo record sessions, therefore not technically qualifying as a Heartbreakers song. You May Also Like: The Wild One, Forever: In Appreciation of Tom Petty Tom Petty, Bob DylanRead More

Into the Great Wide Open: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, “Anything That’s Rock ‘N’ Roll” (1976)

Into the Great Wide Open: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, “Anything That’s Rock ‘N’ Roll” (1976)

For as long as rock ‘n’ roll has been around, there have been songs celebrating the genre. In the ’50s, there was “Rock And Roll Music,” “Twenty Flight Rock,” “Rock And Roll Is Here To Stay,” “Seven Nights To Rock,” and “Rock Around The Clock,” among many others. You MayRead More

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, “The Wild One, Forever” (1976)”: Into the Great Wide Open

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, “The Wild One, Forever” (1976)”: Into the Great Wide Open

“The Wild One, Forever” is one of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ best early songs. It’s unfortunate that it has somewhat fallen through the cracks.

Into the Great Wide Open: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, “Hometown Blues” (1976)

Into the Great Wide Open: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, “Hometown Blues” (1976)

It’s interesting that “Hometown Blues” is featured on two Heartbreakers best-of compilations — 1995’s five-disc, career-spanning box set Playback and 2000’s double-disc Anthology: Through The Years. Firstly, there are arguably better songs from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers that didn’t make the cut You May Also Like: Mudcrutch’s belated self-titledRead More