Mike Campbell Talks ‘Heartbreaker’ With Pierre Robert [INTERVIEW]

To say Mike Campbell's musical contributions have impacted rock and roll would be an understatement. Most notably with Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, his sonic skillfulness can also be heard with the creme de la creme of rock artists, including Stevie Nicks, Bob Dylan, and Don Henley, just to name a few. Mr. Campbell has decided to recount the journey of his life in his new memoir Heartbreaker and sat down over Zoom with Pierre Robert to dive into it. Watch their conversation below.

One of the primary themes from the book Mike touches on is his sense of gratitude. He says "I have a lot to be grateful for and I try to hold onto that". Coming from incredibly poor beginnings in Florida he discusses having to sell his blood in order to cover the rent. "I'd ride my bicycle to the university medical center and give my blood. They'd give me 15 bucks and ride back to my garage to give my landlord". Those humble first steps lead him to California with Tom Petty to ascend to super stardom.

There are plenty of stories to be shared involving the inner workings of the Tom Petty and Heartbreakers' camp and Mike certainly shared his fair share with Pierre. One in particular was how Mike's wife Marcie had her voice wind up on the song "Even The Losers". During the time of recording Damn The Torpedoes as Mike tells it "We lived in a little rental house out in the valley, and I'm trying to put my little demo together with the live tape and adjacent to that is the washroom by the kitchen. And the washing machine was in there. And she was throwing stuff around and making noises. And I yelled at her like, 'Stop, I'm trying to record' and she just goes 'It's just the normal noises in here' you know, and that went on to the microphone and onto the tape at the top of the song by accident"

These stories, plus many others including Jimmy Iovine's influence on recording Damn The Torpedoes, Mike getting the call to join Fleetwood Mac, and the last words he said to Tom Petty before he passed just to name a few. Mr. Campbell's memoir Heartbreaker is available now through Hachette Book Group.