Mike Campbell announces new memoir, ‘Heartbreaker’

Posted On October 31, 2024October 31, 2024

Mike Campbell has enjoyed a long and fruitful career. He was the guitarist of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, played on most of Stevie Nicks’s solo efforts, and features on Don Henley’s classic hit ‘The Boys of Summer’. Now, he’s announced his new memoir, Heartbreaker, which will dive into his storied life and times.

Campbell was born in Panama City, Florida, in 1950, which is where he grew up as well as Jacksonville. He was gifted his first guitar aged 16 by his mother, a Harmony acoustic, and later his first electric was a $60 Guyatone. The guitarist’s most important formative influences were 1960s pioneers, The Byrds and Bob Dylan.

Campbell met Petty through the drummer Randall Marsh, his roommate. The latter was auditioning to be in Petty’s outfit, Mudcrutch, and learned that they were looking for a guitarist. Marsh suggested that Petty try Campbell, who was listening in the adjacent room. He then impressed him by covering Chuck Berry’s ‘Johnny B. Goode’, and was offered the spot. Mudcrutch then had moderate success, and broke up in 1974.

In 1976, Campbell converged with Petty once more to start Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. This was the start of a long and successful career, which produced tracks such as ‘Refugee’ and ‘Learning to Fly’. Campbell would co-produce a string of their albums, such as Southern Accents and The Last DJ.

In the 1980s, Campbell was featured on the albums Building the Perfect Beast and The End of the Innocence by Eagles legend Don Henley. He’s also played on eight Stevie Nicks solo albums, including 1981’s classic Bella Donna, remembered for the cover of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ ‘Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around’.

In 2018, it was announced that Campbell was joining Fleetwood Mac to replace lead guitarist Lindsey Buckingham. He then revealed in 2022 that he had parted ways with them in 2019.

Now, Campbell has announced Heartbreaker, which arrives on March 18th, 2025, via Grand Central Publishing. It explores his personal and creative life, which includes working with Petty and collaborating with Henley and Nicks. 

“This is my book,” Campbell explains. “It’s the story of a poor kid from Jacksonville, Florida, who realized a dream through music. It’s a long journey through hard work, dedication, and luck. Playing guitar and writing songs has been my inspiration and purpose. It’s a story of hope, redemption, and gratitude, a testimonial that dreams can come true if you believe in yourself and follow your truth. It took two years to write and it’s a labor of love. I hope you enjoy the ride!”

In June, Mike Campbell and the Dirty Knobs released their album, Vagabonds, Virgins and Misfits. In a four-star review, Far Out wrote: “With the help of other rock veterans and some token appearances by a few Heartbreakers, Vagabonds, Virgins and Misfits is precisely the kind of record that most artists of Campbell’s calibre wish they could be making.”

The review continued: “He had already been responsible for classic licks in the Heartbreakers, but Campbell and his band The Dirty Knobs have put together a collection that feels like the middle ground between later-period Stones and the chiming sounds of the Eagles.”  

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