"Breakdown" is the first single from

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were an American rock band formed in Gainesville, Florida, in 1976. The band originally comprised lead singer and rhythm guitarist Tom Petty, lead guitarist Mike Campbell, keyboardist Benmont Tench, drummer ...

' self-titled debut album. It became a Top 40 hit in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. Played live, Petty sometimes incorporated "Breakdown" with

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential musicians in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Gen ...

's "

Hit the Road Jack "Hit the Road Jack" is a song written by the rhythm and blues singer Percy Mayfield and recorded by Ray Charles. The song was a US number 1 hit in 1961, and won a Grammy Award for Best Rhythm and Blues Recording, becoming one of Charles' sign ...

". A live recording of this variation appears on ''

The Live Anthology ''The Live Anthology'' is a live box set by American rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. The box set was released by Reprise Records on November 23, 2009, in a number of formats, with the standard CD and download formats, composed of 48 ...

''.

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 Thomas Earl Petty (October 20, 1950October 2, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He was the leader and frontman of the Rock music, rock bands Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Mudcrutch and a member of the late 1980s sup ...

and

Dwight Twilley Dwight Twilley (June 6, 1951 – October 18, 2023) was an American pop/rock singer and songwriter, best known for the top 20 hit singles " I'm on Fire" (1975) and "Girls" (1984). His music is associated with the power pop style. Twilley and Phil ...

, a friend of

Phil Seymour Philip Warren Seymour (May 15, 1952 – August 17, 1993) was an American drummer, singer, guitarist and songwriter, best known for the singles " I'm on Fire" (with The Dwight Twilley Band), his own solo hit "Precious to Me" and for providing b ...

, 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.

Reception

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...

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

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

*''

'' (1976) *'' FM'' (1978) *'' Pack Up the Plantation: Live!'' (1985) *''

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

(1993) *'' Playback'' (1995) *'' Anthology: Through the Years'' (2000) *'' Mojo Tour 2010'' (2010)

Grace Jones version

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

n singer

Grace Jones Grace Beverly Jones (born 19 May 1948) is a Jamaican singer, songwriter, model and actress. She began her Model (person), modelling career in New York State, then in Paris, working for fashion houses such as Yves Saint Laurent (brand), Yves St ...

recorded a

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

-inflected version of the song on her 1980 album ''

Warm Leatherette "Warm Leatherette" is a song by Daniel Miller's project the Normal, released in 1978. Grace Jones recorded a well-known cover of the song in 1980. The Normal original Overview The lyrics of "Warm Leatherette" reference J. G. Ballard's controve ...

''. 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. "

" – 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

{{DEFAULTSORT:Breakdown (Tom Petty Song) 1977 debut singles 1980 singles Grace Jones songs Tom Petty songs American soul songs Songs written by Tom Petty 1976 songs Island Records singles Shelter Records singles Song recordings produced by Denny Cordell