"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 |
| |||
| Released | November 1976 | |||
| Recorded | 1976 | |||
| Studio | Shelter Studios (Hollywood) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 2:42 | |||
| Label | Shelter | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Tom Petty | |||
| Producer(s) | Denny Cordell | |||
| Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
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
edit"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
editRecord World called it a "slow, sultry rocker, dominated by guitar, with Petty's distinctive vocal again standing out."[6]
Track listing
edit- 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
edit| 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
edit- Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (1976)
- FM (1978)
- Pack Up the Plantation: Live! (1985)
- Greatest Hits (1993)
- Playback (1995)
- Anthology: Through the Years (2000)
- Mojo Tour 2010 (2010)
Grace Jones version
edit| "Breakdown" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Grace Jones | ||||
| from the album Warm Leatherette | ||||
| B-side | "Warm Leatherette" | |||
| Released | October 1980 | |||
| Genre | Reggae | |||
| Length | 5:30 (album/12" version) 3:00 (single version) | |||
| Label | Island | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Tom Petty | |||
| Producer(s) | ||||
| Grace Jones singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
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
edit- 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
edit- ^ a b 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.
- ^ Greenwald, Matthew. "Breakdown - Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers | Song Info". AllMusic.
- ^ Molanphy, Chris (October 30, 2017). "Le Petty Prince Edition". Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia (Podcast). Slate. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
- ^ Joel Whitburn, Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles: 1955-2010, Record Research, 2011.
- ^ "Breakdown by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers". SongFacts.
- ^ "Single Picks" (PDF). Record World. October 22, 1977. p. 18. Retrieved 2023-02-16.
- ^ "Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers (Billboard Singles)". AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-01-17.
- ^ Cash Box Top 100 Singles, February 11, 1978
- ^ "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.
- ^ Michaels, Joey. "3349. "Breakdown" by Grace Jones". sadclownrep.com. Archived from the original on 2013-10-12. Retrieved 2012-05-23.