
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
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Year:
2002
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Inducted by:
Jakob Dylan
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Category:
Performers
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Tom Petty
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Benmont Tench
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Howie Epstein
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Mike Campbell
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Ron Blair
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Stan Lynch
Introduction
Tom Petty made us all believe by singing about ordinary experience in an extraordinary way.
His vocals captured our soul with songs that sounded like hits the first time we heard them. He made his mark on music and our lives.

Jakob Dylan Inducts Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
Jakob Dylan Inducts Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers at the 2002 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony-
Jakob Dylan Inducts Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers00:03:55
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Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers Acceptance Speech00:08:40
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"American Girl"00:04:14
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"Mary Jane's Last Dance"00:05:53
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Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne induct George Harrison00:04:45
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"American Girl"00:03:37
Hall of Fame Essay
2002
It’s a rare thing to combine mainstream success with musical substance. To do it while fiercely standing up for personal principles - to the point of waging public war with your record company - is rarer. To do it for twenty-five years is flat-out remarkable.
A common reaction to the news that Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers are being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has been “They’re a great band, but aren’t they too young to qualify?” It’s a shock to realize that it has been twenty-five years since “Breakdown” and “American Girl.” Petty and the Heartbreakers have never stopped long enough to look back. They win new audiences with every record they make.


all of his songs are bursting with his unique spirit
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Collection

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Gallery
Photography: Janet Macoska; Kevin Mazur, WireImage


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