Mike Campbell

Latest about Mike Campbell

Tom Petty (right) and Mike Campbell perform at the Poplar Creek Music Theater in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, June 22, 1985.
Tom Petty's throwaway guitar riff turned out to be one of the Heartbreakers' biggest hits — thanks to Rick Rubin

By Christopher Scapelliti Published

Producer Rick Rubin discovered the tossed-off riff on a cassette of demos Petty gave him and thought it was the better than anything else on the tape

Music
LEFT: British singer George Harrison attends the San Remo music festival. RIGHT: Tom Petty performs circa 1985 in Los Angeles, California.
Tom Petty on how he almost didn’t record his first solo hit — and how George Harrison helped save the day

By Christopher Scapelliti Published

The song came out of one of Petty's greatest tragedies but proved almost too personal for him to record

Albums, Singles & New Releases
LEFT: Bob Dylan onstage circa 1981. RIGHT: Guitarist Mike Campbell performs with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers at the Cruzan Amphitheater in West Palm Beach, Florida September 20, 2014
Mike Campbell on the hit-making studio technology that mystified Bob Dylan

By Christopher Scapelliti Last updated

Dylan was smitten with Campbell's LinnDrum and thought it held the secret to creating a chart-topping song as he returned to secular music in the 1980s

Guitarists
Mike Campbell & Tom Petty during Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Tour 2002 - Los Angeles at The Forum in Los Angeles, California, United States.
Mike Campbell reveals how he and Tom Petty developed the guitar tandem that defines the Heartbreakers' classic sound

By Phil Weller Published

Petty had started out as a bass player, but when he moved to electric the seeds of one of rock’s greatest guitar partnerships were sown

Guitarists
Mike Campbell poses with his Red Dog Fender Telecaster and a pair of 2025 tribute models Fender created on behalf of the instrument
Mike Campbell on his "Red Dog" Telecaster, the focus of two new Fender tribute models

By Christopher Scapelliti Published

Fender's two new Red Dogs include a Stories Collection edition and a Custom Shop limited-edition model

Electric Guitars
Mike Campbell (L) and Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac perform onstage during the 2018 iHeartRadio Music Festival at T-Mobile Arena on September 21, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“It really pulled me out of my grief.” Mike Campbell reveals the offer to become Fleetwood Mac's guitarist saved him just months after Tom Petty's death

By Elizabeth Swann Published

The guitarist says Mac singer Stevie Nicks was like the “fifth or sixth” Heartbreaker and would have joined the band if Tom had said yes

Guitarists
LEFT: George Harrison and (off camera) Eric Clapton play some of the guitars on offer at Christie's Auction on June 24 at Christie's. The auction is to raise money for the Crossroad's Centre in Antigua, a foundation that treats alcoholics and drug abusers in the Caribbean, June 03, 1999 in New York.; RIGHT: American musician Mike Campbell, of the group Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, plays guitar as he performs onstage during the 'Long After Dark' tour at Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, New York, March 31, 1983. (Photo by Gary Gershoff/Getty Images)
Mike Campbell asked George Harrison to replace his Traveling Wilbury’s solo. He tells why history proves it was the right decision

By Phil Weller Published

The guitarist took up the instrument because of the Beatle. When it came to sharing a studio with him, he knew his hero would serve the song better than he ever could

Guitarists
Mike Campbell and Tom Petty of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers perform onstage in the late 1970s. Campbell is playing the rare 1950 Fender Broadcaster he purchased for $600 in 1976.
Mike Campbell says it's the original Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers sound, and the guitar he can't live without

By Joe Bosso Published

Campbell played the Fender Broadcaster on "American Girl" but retired it from the road when a shipping incident convinced him touring life was too risky for the rare guitar

Guitars
Mike Campbell poses with the charity signings at MusiCares Person of the Year honoring Tom Petty during the 59th GRAMMY Awards at Los Angeles Convention Center on February 10, 2017 in Los Angeles, California.
Mike Campbell on the lessons he learned from Tom Petty and the guitars he’ll never part with

By Gary Graff Published

The guitarist explains how the Dirty Knobs became his labor of love in the wake of Petty's premature death

Guitarists
Mike Campbell and Lindsey Buckingham
Mike Campbell talks about replacing Lindsey Buckingham in Fleetwood Mac

By Phil Weller Published

The former Heartbreaker says his short time in Fleetwood Mac was an education and a challenge for one specific reason

Guitarists
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