Mike Campbell was always more than just the deeply gifted guitarist for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers — songs from “Refugee” to “You Wreck Me,” not to mention Don Henley’s “Boys of Summer,” began with music he wrote. In his essential, vividly told new autobiography, Heartbreaker: A Memoir, due March 18, Campbell (now the leader of his own band, the Dirty Knobs) offers many new revelations about his relationship with Petty and his musical journey.
In the new episode of Rolling Stone Music Now, Campbell breaks down those untold stories, and goes deep on the making of classic songs, working with Bob Dylan, and much more. To hear the whole episode, go here for the podcast provider of your choice, listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or just press play above. Here are some highlights from the discussion:
Campbell rejects the idea of the Heartbreakers continuing without Tom Petty — at least under that name. “There was a little of that thrown around right after Tom passed away,” says Campbell. “And it just didn’t feel right to me. It still doesn’t feel right. I mean, I like working with the guys, but to call it the Heartbreakers, with another guy or another person up there, I’d be like, ‘No, it’s not the Heartbreakers.’ You know, Tom was the Heartbreakers, and he was the leader of the band, and I have no interest in getting up there with another singer doing those songs if it’s not him. I mean, I think that just doesn’t feel right. I don’t pursue that idea. And I don’t think the other guys do either. I think we would like to leave it like it was and not mess with it…. to go back and just do a tribute. There’s so many tribute bands now too, that do us, that are so weird. You know, I don’t want to be one of those.”
Editor’s picks
Early on, Campbell asked for a bigger share of the band’s proceeds, and his boss simply said, “But I’m Tom Petty.” “I did my big speech and he just looked at me like, ‘Ok, Mike, but I’m Tom Petty,’” Campbell recalls. “I started to say, ‘Well, but I’m Mike Campbell,’ but I knew what he would say. ‘Well, nobody knows who the hell that is.’ Tom was brilliant that way. He had a way of just like controlling the situation, but he was right, you know, and eventually, though, I mean, he did end up giving me a bigger piece of the pie for my production help and this and that. And we wrote all those songs together. So, it was just a little thing that, a little brotherly thing that we had, one night. And it was kind of funny, really, thinking about it. I wasn’t insulted. I just thought, ‘Well, ok. You got me. Oops.’”
Bob Dylan surprised everyone when he picked up the electric guitar when Campbell and Heartbreakers keyboardist Benmont Tench backed him for a surprise 2023 Farm Aid performance. “The odd thing about it is that Bob didn’t play guitar in rehearsal,” Campbell says. “He didn’t touch the guitar. He said, ‘I’ll just play some harmonica and sing.’ We get to the gig. There’s his amp. He’s jamming away. That’s the beauty of Bob.”
When management cut the Heartbreakers’ pay after Full Moon Fever, Campbell made sure the band didn’t break up over the slight. “It’s like, well, obviously Tom is working a lot harder than I am,” he says. “And he’s responsible for a lot of the earnings that we’re making. So just like any business arrangement or baseball team or whatever, I think the pitcher should get more money, ’cause he’s carrying the game. And that was not hard for me really. I knew we were all going to do well anyway. I had a feeling that whether Tom gets this slice or that slice, my slice is very healthy. And that’s what I tried to communicate to the other guys. Like, don’t break it up over this. We’re all going to do fine, you know, if we just hang in there and make music.”
Campbell’s song archives are overflowing, which sometimes overwhelmed even Petty. “As it piles up, I finally realized after several years, I can’t give him all these,” Campbell says. “He’ll never have time to listen to them. I don’t even have time to listen to them. So I just pick out the best ones that I thought he might like. But yeah, it’s kind of like the opposite of writer’s block. ”
Related Content
Tom once put down Campbell’s pre-Dirty Knobs attempt at solo music, telling him it wasn’t good enough, which Campbell now sees as helpful. “Well, from the perspective I’m in right now,” Campbell says, “where I have my own band and I’m writing the songs and I’m singing them, if one of the guys come in and go, ‘Hey, I got some songs,’ and if they sounded a little bit like me, I’d probably be like, ‘Hey, you know, keep that to yourself. I’m busy here.’ I think Tom just liked having me in the role I was in of helping him channel his musical vision, and it made him uncomfortable that I might step outside that circle. And I can understand that. And actually, I think he did me a service by coming straight, you know, ‘No, you really aren’t ready to do this yet. In retrospect, I’m glad I didn’t put anything out then. I’m better now. So I have to thank him for that.”
Campbell rejected a guitar solo he played on the Traveling Wilburys’ “Handle With Care,” and told George Harrison to lay down a slide solo instead. “I was right, you know, and history proves me right,” he says. “I just had a hunch. I didn’t think I played that well. I mean, they were just being nice, I think. I played pretty pedestrian, I thought. ‘Cause I was intimidated, that wasn’t my best. But I had a hunch that he could pull something out with the slide that would be more in the soul of the song, which he did. I just handed him the guitar I had, handed him the slide and the amp was already set up. And he went, and he just did it. Took the pressure off me.”
Campbell has already begun work on the next Dirty Knobs album. “I’ve been writing a lot. We haven’t started recording it yet, but I’m really excited. I think next month we’ll go in and start tracking these songs. But it’s going to be a great record, and we have a tour next summer.”
Download and subscribe to Rolling Stone’s weekly podcast, Rolling Stone Music Now, hosted by Brian Hiatt, on Apple Podcasts or Spotify (or wherever you get your podcasts). Check out six years’ worth of episodes in the archive, including in-depth interviews with Mariah Carey, Bruce Springsteen, Questlove, Halsey, Neil Young, Snoop Dogg, Brandi Carlile, Phoebe Bridgers, Rick Ross, Alicia Keys, the National, Ice Cube, Taylor Hawkins, Willow, Keith Richards, Robert Plant, Dua Lipa, Killer Mike, Julian Casablancas, Sheryl Crow, Johnny Marr, Scott Weiland, Liam Gallagher, Alice Cooper, Fleetwood Mac, Elvis Costello, John Legend, Donald Fagen, Charlie Puth, Phil Collins, Justin Townes Earle, Stephen Malkmus, Sebastian Bach, Tom Petty, Eddie Van Halen, Kelly Clarkson, Pete Townshend, Bob Seger, the Zombies, and Gary Clark Jr. And look for dozens of episodes featuring genre-spanning discussions, debates, and explainers with Rolling Stone’s critics and reporters.
