Breakdown (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers song)

"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	"The Wild One, Forever" (US, 1976) "Fooled Again (I Don't Like It)" (US, 1977) "Luna" (Germany) "Strangered in the Night" (Spain)
Released	November 1976 (1976-11)
Recorded	1976
Studio	Shelter Studios (Hollywood)
Genre	Pop rock[1] heartland rock[1] soul[2] R&B[3]
Length	2:42
Label	Shelter
Songwriter(s)	Tom Petty
Producer(s)	Denny Cordell
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers singles chronology
"Breakdown" (1976) "Anything That's Rock 'n' Roll" (1977)

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 bandmate 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

Record World called it a "slow, sultry rocker, dominated by guitar, with Petty's distinctive vocal again standing out."^[6]

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

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

• 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

"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)	Chris Blackwell Alex Sadkin
Grace Jones singles chronology
"The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game" (1980) "Breakdown" (1980) "Demolition Man" (1981)

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

• 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