Mike Campbell

Latest about Mike Campbell

Mike Campbell and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, 'Long After Dark' tour, 7 December 1982 Wembley Arena.
Nearly a decade after Tom Petty’s death, the Heartbreakers reunite: “There was a deep love that kept us together”

By Joe Bosso Published

Mike Campbell recalls his decades-long partnership with Petty and the musical chemistry that defined the band

Guitarists
LEFT: The Monkees Davy Jones, Peter Tork, Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith. RIGHT: Neil Diamond performs onstage with an Ovation acoustic guitar in circa 1977 in Los Angeles, California.
Neil Diamond was fired five times before the Monkees scored a hit with his song “I’m a Believer”: “He was angry I’d given away a No. 1 hit”

By Gary Graff Published

Diamond nearly offered the song to a country star before the Monkees turned it into one of the biggest hits of the 1960s

Music
Musicians Tom Petty & Stevie Nicks perform onstage in 1981.
Tom Petty and Mike Campbell on the song they couldn’t give Stevie Nicks — and the one they did that became a hit

By Christopher Scapelliti Published

Asked to write a song for Nicks, Petty nearly gave away a cut he considered one of his best

Albums, Singles & New Releases
LEFT: Mike Campbell of Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers performs at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre on September 19, 2010 in Charlotte, North Carolina. RIGHT: Bob Dylan at Farm Aid - September 22, 1985
Mike Campbell on the time he broke his guitar in two onstage with Bob Dylan with just one wrong move

By Christopher Scapelliti Published

The guitarist bought the 1962 Gibson SG with another guitar for just $120 and famously played it for his guitar solo on Tom Petty's "Runnin' Down a Dream"

Guitars
Mike Campbell and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, 'Long After Dark' tour, 7 December 1982 Wembley Arena.
Mike Campbell on the Tom Petty song that stunned him at every performance

By Christopher Scapelliti Published

The guitarist also shared details behind the hit song that gave the Heartbreakers their greatest challenge in the studio

Guitarists
Mike Campbell & the Dirty Knobs perform during the 2023 BottleRock Napa Valley festival at Napa Valley Expo on May 26, 2023 in Napa, California.
Mike Campbell on his studio secrets, channeling Jimmy Page, and what “terrifies” him about the Heartbreakers’ catalog

By Gary Graff Published

Fresh off his best-selling memoir, Tom Petty’s legendary chief lieutenant and the band he calls “my go-to project” return with ‘Mission of Mercy’

Music
Tom Petty (1950-2017) of Tom Petty and the Hearbreakers performs on stage during the 1987 Rock 'N' Roll Caravan Tour on June 18, 1987 at the Pine Knob Music Theatre in Clarkston, Michigan.
Tom Petty on the song that defined him as a new kind of guitar-slinging American rocker

By Christopher Scapelliti Published

The tune went on to challenge the norms for music videos with a storytelling approach that was unique for the time

Guitarists
Mike Campbell and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, 'Long After Dark' tour, 7 December 1982 Wembley Arena.
How Mike Campbell survived his toughest audition — in front of Tom Petty

By Christopher Scapelliti Published

The guitarist didn’t have the gear but he had the chops, and that was all that really mattered 

Guitarists
UNSPECIFIED - CIRCA 1983: Photo of Tom Petty & Heartbreakers
Tom Petty and Mike Campbell on how a chance meeting saved the Heartbreakers’ debut single from oblivion

By Christopher Scapelliti Published

Petty was so excited to find the hook, he called the band back in the studio to remake the song — at four in the morning

Albums, Singles & New Releases
LEFT: Bob Dylan plays a Fender Telecaster electric guitar on stage in 1974. RIGHT: Roger McGuinn from The Byrds performs live on stage in London in 1971
Roger McGuinn on Bob Dylan’s big breakthrough, meeting the Beatles — and his question after hearing Tom Petty for the first time

By Andrew Daly Last updated

The folk-rocker peels back the curtain on his friendships with a host of fellow music icons

Guitarists
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