Breakdown (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers song)
| "Breakdown" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| File:TP - Breakdown single.png | ||||
| Single by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers | ||||
| from the album Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers | ||||
| B-side | "Fooled Again (I Don't Like It)", "Luna", "Strangered in the Night" | |||
| Released | 1976 | |||
| Format | 7" | |||
| Recorded | Shelter Studios, Hollywood 1976 |
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| Genre | Blues rock | |||
| Length | 2:44 | |||
| Label | Shelter | |||
| Writer(s) | Tom Petty | |||
| Producer(s) | Denny Cordell | |||
| Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers singles chronology | ||||
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"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.[1]
Played live, Petty sometimes incorporated "Breakdown" with Ray Charles' "Hit the Road Jack". Said variation of this song appears on "The Live Anthology".
Contents
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers original
Track listings
- 7" Single (US, 1976)
- A. "Breakdown" – 2:39 = background vocals were sung by fellow Shelter Records artist Phil Seymour who also sang on American Girl.
- 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 (1978) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| United States[2] | 40 |
| Canada[3] | 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 | July 1980 | |||
| Format | 7", 12" | |||
| Genre | Reggae, new wave | |||
| Length | 5:30 (album and 12" version) 3:00 (single edit) |
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| Label | Island | |||
| Writer(s) | Tom Petty | |||
| Producer(s) | Chris Blackwell, Alex Sadkin | |||
| Grace Jones singles chronology | ||||
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Jamaican singer Grace Jones recorded a reggae re-imagining of the song on her 1980 album Warm Leatherette. For Grace Jones' recording, Petty wrote a third verse: "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?"[4] 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 U.S.-only single in July 1980 but didn't 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" (Edit - Stereo) – 3:00
- B. "Breakdown" (Edit - Mono) – 3:00
Other cover versions
- "Breakdown" was covered by Suzi Quatro on her album If You Knew Suzi... (1978).
- The Replacements on their 1985 live album The Shit Hits the Fans.
- A live acoustic version of "Breakdown" appeared on Missy Higgins' 2009 More Than This EP featuring Brett Dennen.[5]
- Flaw performed a live cover of "Breakdown" while touring 2010.[6]
- The song was performed live by Foo Fighters while on their 2011 Wasting Light World Tour.
- Christina Perri performed this song on her 2011-2012 Lovestrong Tour.
References
- ↑ Joel Whitburn, Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles: 1955-2010, Record Research, 2011.
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- ↑ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bzLLE1GHC8
