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Breakdown (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers song)
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Wikipedia article
{{Infobox song
| name = Breakdown
| cover = TP_-_Breakdown_single.png
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
| 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)
| released =
| recorded = 1976
| studio = Shelter Studios (Hollywood)
| venue =
| genre = {{hlist| Pop rock|heartland rock|soul}}
| length =
| label = Shelter
| writer = Tom Petty
| producer = Denny Cordell
| prev_title =
| prev_year =
| next_title = Anything That's Rock 'n' Roll
| next_year = 1977
}}
"'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.Joel Whitburn, 'Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles: 1955-2010', Record Research, 2011.
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. 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.
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
Album appearances
*'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
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?" 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
Category:1977 debut singles
Category:1980 singles
Category:Grace Jones songs
Category:Tom Petty songs
Category:Songs written by Tom Petty
Category:1976 songs
Category:Island Records singles
Category:Shelter Records singles
Category:Song recordings produced by Denny Cordell
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