(Credits: Far Out / Album Covers / BMG)
Sat 1 November 2025 2:00, UK
Not many people get to say that they’ve enjoyed virtually every moment of being in a band for over 40 years, but for Mike Campbell, his four-decade stint with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers is one that he looks back on with immense pride.
Up until the day that Petty died in 2017, Campbell had remained great friends with the bandleader and was one of only two members to have lasted through the band’s entire lifespan, alongside pianist Benmont Tench. Forever loyal to the project, his enthusiasm for being one of the key elements of the group never seemed to wane, and not only was he integral to their sound with his guitar often playing off what Petty was offering, but he also proved to be a formidable songwriting partner for the frontman.
However, when you’re frequently playing live, it becomes a challenge to keep things exciting for yourself, and this is ultimately the killer of many bands. When it becomes impossible to prevent your artistry from feeling stale with no room for growth or injecting a little bit of life into old material, people suddenly find themselves wanting a new challenge, and depart the project they’ve been a part of for so long in search of a fresh start.
Luckily for Campbell, there was one song in their live repertoire that never became boring for him and always stood out from the rest of the Heartbreakers’ catalogue, and remarkably, it was one of their oldest songs that had been a staple of their set since the earliest days of the group. Describing the track as “a dream come true” for fans to hear every single time they played it, it was, in fact, a song from the group’s self-titled 1976 debut album that seemingly defined Campbell’s experience of being in the Heartbreakers.
“A lot of songs come to mind,” he revealed to Under the Radar in 2025 when asked about which songs have the most emotional resonance for him. “But I guess the most important one right now, in my mind, is ‘American Girl,’ which is one of our first songs.”
Campbell continued by explaining how the band have moved through several different eras as a group, but that there was something different about ‘American Girl’ that never became a chore for him to perform. “All through our career, every time we would play that song, I would feel that rush of adrenaline,” he expanded. “As if it was the first time I heard it. It always had this power to it. It connected with people.”
Rather fittingly, it was a song that made its way into the setlist during the Heartbreakers’ final ever concert, with the band performing it at the Hollywood Bowl on the last stop of their 40th anniversary tour. True to his earlier declaration, Campbell witnessed the entire audience break out into song for their rendition of the track, proving that it was a timeless song that would never outstay its welcome, and for that to have still been the case as they surpassed 40 years as a band is testament to how good it is.
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