Celebrated guitarist and songwriter Mike Campbell (Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, Fleetwood Mac) is sitting in with house band Cleto and the Cletones on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” tonight. See local listings to tune in.
Campbell’s appearance comes in anticipation of his forthcoming memoir, Heartbreaker, written with Ari Surdoval. The book is due March 18 via Grand Central Publishing; pre-order the book HERE.
Mike Campbell was the lead guitarist for Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers from the band’s inception in 1976 until Petty’s tragic death in 2017. Campbell’s iconic, melodic playing helped form the foundation of the band’s sound, as heard on definitive classics like “American Girl,” “Breakdown,” “Don’t Come Around Here No More,” “Mary Jane’s Last Dance,” “Learning to Fly” and “Into the Great Wide Open.”
Together, Petty and Campbell wrote countless songs, including some of the band’s biggest hits: “Refugee,” “Here Comes My Girl,” “You Got Lucky” and “Runnin’ Down a Dream” among them.
From their early days in Florida to their dizzying rise to superstardom to Petty’s acclaimed solo albums Full Moon Fever and Wildflowers, Petty never made a record without Campbell. Their work together is timeless, as are the career-defining hits Campbell co-wrote with Don Henley (“The Boys of Summer”) and with Petty for Stevie Nicks (“Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around”).
But few know of the less-than-glamorous background from which Campbell emerged, and the sacrifices required. His rise was an at-times grueling dream come true that took him from the very bottom to the absolute top, where Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers would remain for decades, creating an astonishing body of work.
“This is my book,” Campbell says. “It’s the story of a poor kid from Jacksonville, Florida who realized a dream through music. It’s a long journey through hard work, dedication and luck. Playing guitar and writing songs has been my inspiration and purpose. It’s a story of hope, redemption and gratitude, a testimonial that dreams can come true if you believe in yourself and follow your truth. It took two years to write and it’s a labor of love. I hope you enjoy the ride!”
“Mike Campbell’s Heartbreaker is everything one hopes for in a rock memoir,” notes Ben Schafer, Executive Editor, Grand Central Publishing. “Like the remarkable body of work he co-created with Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, it delivers on every level from beginning to end.”
Brilliant, soft-spoken and intensely private, Campbell opens up within these pages for the first time, revealing himself to be an astute observer of triumphs, tragedies and absurdities alike, with a songwriter’s eye for the telling detail and a voice as direct and unpretentious as his music.
