Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (Into The Great Wide Open Tour)  6/12/1991
The Forum, Section 3, Row 8, Seat 14, 15

In 1979 Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers released “Damn The Torpedoes” which gained triple platinum success and propelled the group into superstardom and arena headlining status. The band continued to produce album after album. The critically acclaimed “Hard Promises” was released in 1981, followed by “Long After Dark” in 1982. It was nearly three years before the band released “Southern Accents” and followed it with a double live set titled “Pack Up The Plantation-Live!” 1987 brought what would be the last album for Tom Petty with the Heartbreakers for a few years, “Let Me Up (I’ve Had Enough)”

Tom Petty released his solo debut in 1989. “Full Moon Fever” was on the Billboard top ten charts for over 34 weeks and quickly earned triple platinum status. Singles such as “I Won’t Back Down”, “Runnin’ Down A Dream” and the hit single “Free Fallin’” were all spawned from his first solo release. It wasn’t long before Tom Petty had a yearning to return to the studio with his band.

Platinum status was attained again in 1991 when Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers released “Into the Great Wide Open”. 1993 followed with a greatest Hits album featuring the well-received track “Mary Jane’s Last Dance”. The album was followed by an hour-long documentary titled “Tom Petty: Going Home”, which aired on the Disney Channel late in 1994. It was that same year that drummer Stan Lynch left the Heartbreakers while Petty was recording his second solo album.

“Wildflowers” was greeted to enthusiastic sales and reviews tying his first solo project for his biggest selling studio album yet. It peaked at number eight on the charts, went triple platinum and contained three hit singles. “You Don’t Know How It Feels”, “You Wreck Me” and “It’s Good To Be King” were all top ten hits for Petty and proved he could be successful as a solo artist. The band reunited in 1996 to record the soundtrack for “She’s The One”, an Edward Burns film. The album had moderate success and peaked at number 15 on the charts going gold. Three years later “Echo” followed and then on October 5th, 2002 Tom Petty released an album entitled “The Last DJ”.

Tommy Petty has worked very hard to stay on top throughout the years. Despite the loss of drummer Stan Lynch in 1994 the Heartbreakers stand tried and true. With producer and co-writer Mike Campbell playing guitars, Howie Epstein contributing to vocals and playing bass and Benmont Tench being recognized as one of rock’s most accomplished and respected keyboardists, it’s not hard to understand why their sound has lasted through so many years. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers are recognized as a premier band in rock and it’s no wonder that tickets are scarce anywhere they play.