Editing Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (section)

===Mainstream success (1979–1984)===
In 1979, after their legal dispute was settled, the Heartbreakers released their third album ''[[Damn the Torpedoes (album)|Damn the Torpedoes]]'' through MCA's [[Backstreet Records|Backstreet]] label. The album rapidly went [[RIAA certification|platinum]]. It included "[[Don't Do Me Like That]]" (#10 U.S., the group's first Top Ten single) and "[[Refugee (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers song)|Refugee]]" (#15 U.S.), their U.S. breakthrough singles.

Although he was already extremely successful, Petty again ran into record company trouble when he and the Heartbreakers prepared to release ''[[Hard Promises]]'' (1981), the follow-up album to ''[[Damn the Torpedoes (album)|Damn the Torpedoes]]''. [[MCA Records|MCA]] wanted to release the record at the list price of $9.98. This so-called "[[superstar pricing]]" was a dollar more than the usual list price of $8.98. Petty voiced his objections to the price hike in the press, and the issue became a popular cause among music fans. Non-delivery of the album or naming it ''Eight Ninety-Eight'' were considered, but eventually MCA decided against the price increase. The album became a Top Ten hit, going platinum and spawning the hit single "[[The Waiting (song)|The Waiting]]" (#19 U.S.). The album also included the duet "Insider", with [[Stevie Nicks]].

On their fifth album, ''[[Long After Dark]]'' (1982), bass player [[Ron Blair]] was replaced by [[Howie Epstein]] (formerly of [[Del Shannon]]'s backing band), giving the Heartbreakers their lineup until 1991. ''Long After Dark'' features the hits "[[You Got Lucky]]" (U.S. #20) and "[[Change of Heart (Tom Petty song)|Change of Heart]]" (U.S. #21), and was to feature a track called "Keeping Me Alive", but producer [[Jimmy Iovine]] vetoed it from the album. Petty had expressed that he felt the album would have been more successful if "Keeping Me Alive" had been included.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://live.wdrv.com/listen/artist/f93dbc64-6f08-4033-bcc7-8a0bb4689849?slide=14|title=97.1 The Drive LIVE Stream {{!}} Chicago|website=97.1 The Drive LIVE Stream {{!}} Chicago|language=en-US|access-date=May 30, 2019}}</ref>