Time Away From Heartbreakers

After the tour with Dylan was over, Petty was ready for something new. As him and Dylan’s friendship grew, Petty was recruited to be apart of the Traveling Wilburys. The band consisted of Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Roy Orbison, Jeff Lynne and Tom Petty of course. They had all previously been fans of each other and collaborating to make great music was their goal. In ’88 they released their first self-titled album, which of course went triple platinum as well as winning a Grammy award for best rock performance. Fans all over praised the collaboration of rock legends. The Traveling Wilburys was unlike any other. Although they didn’t have an extensive career as one band, rock fans everywhere remembered the hype their music did bring to the world. The success of this band’s first album was what set Petty up for success among his solo career.

 

Petty’s first solo album was titled Full Moon Fever. The album was released in ’89. Although, this was his solo album he had the support of his band mates from the Heartbreakers throughout almost every song. His friend and fellow band mate from the Traveling Wilburys, Jeff Lynne, produced the album. Petty chose Mike Campbell to work with him closely on this album, his right hand man and co-captain of the Heartbreakers. Petty was extremely inspired by things that had happened in his life and wanted to apply it to something new. They stayed in the studio and got it done in a timely fashion. Petty would write a song and have it recorded and mixed within one day. This was the album that had two of fan’s most favorite hits, “Free Fallin” and “I Won’t Back Down,” which received the most successful feedback of any song that Petty had ever released. Full Moon Fever went triple platinum and was a huge success for his career. Because Petty chose Mike Campbell to be apart of this album the most, the other band mates felt betrayed in a sense. They bad-mouthed almost the entirety of the album whether it was out of anger or jealousy. Even though people seemed to not support his newest album completely, that didn’t stop Petty from returning back to his bands to make new music with them.