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Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

TOM PETTY AND THE HEARTBREAKERS

YEAR

2002

INDUCTED BY

Jakob Dylan

CATEGORY

Performers

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.

Tom Petty

Tom Petty

Benmont Tench

Benmont Tench

Howie Epstein

Howie Epstein

Mike Campbell

Mike Campbell

Ron Blair

Ron Blair

Stan Lynch

Stan Lynch

HALL OF FAME
ESSAY

By Bill Flanagan

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.

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Class of 2002
all of his songs are bursting with his unique spirit
Jakob Dylan
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