Editing Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (section)

===Early years and first two albums (1974–1978)===
{{see also|Mudcrutch}}
As a teenager, Tom Petty joined or formed several bands in his hometown of [[Gainesville, Florida]], included the Sundowners and the Epics, with Petty playing guitar and bass and singing as needed. In 1970, he and fellow [[North Central Florida]] resident [[Mike Campbell (musician)|Mike Campbell]] (lead guitar) formed [[Mudcrutch]], with [[Benmont Tench]] (keyboards) joining in 1972. The band was a local success, eventually playing gigs across Florida, enjoying regular residences at popular clubs, and organizing music festivals at "Mudcrutch Farm", a large empty lot adjacent to the small house where most band members lived.<ref name="timeline"/> In 1974, Mudcrutch relocated to Los Angeles, California in attempt to gain the attention of a major record label.  [[Leon Russell]] signed them to [[Shelter Records]], but their 1975 debut single "Depot Street" failed to chart, and after failing to record another single to their label's satisfaction, Mudcrutch disbanded.<ref name="timeline">{{cite news |title=Timeline: Tom Petty through the years |url=https://www.gainesville.com/story/news/local/2017/10/03/timeline-tom-petty-through-years/18671098007/ |work=Gainesville Sun |date=October 3, 2017}}</ref>

Though Mudcrutch had dissolved, Petty remained attached to Shelter Records as a songwriter and solo artist, and in 1976, he reunited with Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench to form "Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers" along with fellow Gainesville expatriates [[Stan Lynch]] on drums and [[Ron Blair]] on bass.<ref name=zanesbio/> The Heartbreakers began their recording career with [[Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers (album)|a self-titled album]]. Initially, the Heartbreakers did not gain much traction in the U.S., although they achieved early success in the UK after playing "[[Anything That's Rock 'n' Roll]]" on ''[[Top of the Pops]]''.<ref name="Petty 2017">{{cite news|title=Rock legend Tom Petty dies after suffering heart attack at home|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/news/tom-petty-found-unconscious-full-cardiac-arrest-not-breathing/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/news/tom-petty-found-unconscious-full-cardiac-arrest-not-breathing/ |archive-date=January 11, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|work=Telegraph|date=October 3, 2017}}{{cbignore}}</ref> While subsequent singles "[[Breakdown (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers song)|Breakdown]]" and "[[American Girl (Tom Petty song)|American Girl]]" failed to sell in the US, the band continued to gain attention in the UK. Recalling the band's brief British tour in 1976, Petty stated, "The audience just jumped up and charged the stage and were boogieing their brains out. It was such a rush. Wow, we had never seen anything like that, man."<ref name="Petty 2017" /> "Breakdown" was re-released in the U.S. and became a [[Top 40]] hit in 1978, after word filtered back of the band's massive success in Britain, and perhaps more importantly after it featured on the extremely popular soundtrack to the 1978 film, [[FM (film)|''FM'']]. "[[American Girl (Tom Petty song)|American Girl]]" was covered in 1977 by [[Roger McGuinn]] on his "[[Thunderbyrd]]" LP.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' second album, ''[[You're Gonna Get It!]]'' (1978), was their first [[RIAA certification|gold record]], and featured the singles "[[I Need to Know (Tom Petty song)|I Need to Know]]" and "[[Listen To Her Heart]]". In 1979, the band was dragged into a legal dispute when [[ABC Records]], Shelter's distributor, was sold to [[MCA Records]]. Petty refused to be transferred to another record label and held fast to his principles, which led to his filing for bankruptcy as a tactic against MCA.