Breakdown (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers song)

"Breakdown" is the first single from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' self-titled debut album. It became a Top 40 hit in the United States and Canada.[4]

"Breakdown"
Single by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
from the album Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
B-side
  • "The Wild One, Forever" (US, 1976)
  • "Fooled Again (I Don't Like It)" (US, 1977)
  • "Luna" (Germany)
  • "Strangered in the Night" (Spain)
ReleasedNovember 1976 (1976-11)
Recorded1976
StudioShelter Studios (Hollywood)
Genre
Length2:42
LabelShelter
Songwriter(s)Tom Petty
Producer(s)Denny Cordell
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers singles chronology
"Breakdown"
(1976)		 "Anything That's Rock 'n' Roll"
(1977)

Played live, Petty sometimes incorporated "Breakdown" with Ray Charles's "Hit the Road Jack". A live recording of this variation appears on The Live Anthology.

Background

"Breakdown" was a song written and recorded for the band's debut album. Initially, the song had lead guitarist Mike Campbell with a distinct guitar lick being played only near the end of the song. While playing it back one night, Tom Petty and Dwight Twilley, a friend of Phil Seymour, were in the studio, and Twilley enjoyed it. He suggested that the lick should be used throughout the song, and Petty obliged. At 2 AM, he gathered the Heartbreakers to join him in re-recording the song. Their final take was seven to eight minutes long, but it was pared down to 2 minutes and 39 seconds on the album.[5] Guests on the song's recording include guitarist Jeff Jourard, a common collaborator with the band in their early days, and Phil Seymour, who sings backing vocals.

Reception

Record World called it a "slow, sultry rocker, dominated by guitar, with Petty's distinctive vocal again standing out."[6]

Track listing
  • 7" Single (US, 1976)
A. "Breakdown" – 2:39
B. "The Wild One, Forever" – 3:01
  • 7" Single (US, 1977)
A. "Breakdown" – 2:39
B. "Fooled Again (I Don't Like It)" – 3:54
  • 7" Single (Germany, 1977)
A. "Breakdown" – 2:42
B. "Luna" – 3:59
  • 7" Single (Spain, 1978)
A. "Breakdown" – 2:42
B. "Strangered in the Night" – 3:32

Chart performance
Chart (1977–78) Peak
position
US Billboard Hot 100[7] 40
US Cash Box Top 100[8] 33
Canada RPM Top Singles[9] 40

Album appearances

Grace Jones version
"Breakdown"
Single by Grace Jones
from the album Warm Leatherette
B-side"Warm Leatherette"
ReleasedOctober 1980
GenreReggae
Length5:30 (album/12" version)
3:00 (single version)
LabelIsland
Songwriter(s)Tom Petty
Producer(s)
Grace Jones singles chronology
"The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game"
(1980)		 "Breakdown"
(1980)		 "Demolition Man"
(1981)

Jamaican singer Grace Jones recorded a reggae-inflected version of the song on her 1980 album Warm Leatherette. Petty wrote a third verse of the song specifically for Jones to record; "It's OK if you must go / I'll understand if you don't / You say goodbye right now / I'll still survive somehow / Why should we let this drag on?"[10] The song was edited from its full, 5:30 album version to a 3-minute-long track on single release. It was released as a US-only single in July 1980 but did not chart.

Track listing
  • 7" single
A. "Breakdown" – 3:00
B. "Warm Leatherette" – 4:24
  • 12" single
A. "Breakdown" – 5:30
B1. "Breakdown" (edit) – 3:10
B2. "Warm Leatherette" – 4:24
  • 7" promotional single
A. "Breakdown" (stereo edit) – 3:00
B. "Breakdown" (mono edit) – 3:00

References
  1. Robbins, Ira A. (January 1983). The Trouser Press guide to new wave records. C. Scribner's Sons. p. 227. ISBN 978-0-684-17943-8.
  2. Greenwald, Matthew. "Breakdown - Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers | Song Info". AllMusic.
  3. Molanphy, Chris (October 30, 2017). "Le Petty Prince Edition". Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia (Podcast). Slate. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  4. Joel Whitburn, Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles: 1955-2010, Record Research, 2011.
  5. "Breakdown by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers". SongFacts.
  6. "Single Picks" (PDF). Record World. October 22, 1977. p. 18. Retrieved 2023-02-16.
  7. "Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers (Billboard Singles)". AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-01-17.
  8. Cash Box Top 100 Singles, February 11, 1978
  9. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada (Top Singles - Volume 28, No. 24, March 11, 1978)". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on August 9, 2014. Retrieved 2012-01-17.
  10. Michaels, Joey. "3349. "Breakdown" by Grace Jones". sadclownrep.com. Archived from the original on 2013-10-12. Retrieved 2012-05-23.
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