Today in 1977 Tom Petty cracked the charts with “Breakdown”, the first single off of the eponymous first album by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. It took a little time for the public to take notice as the album was released almost a year earlier on November 9, 1976. The second single, “American Girl”, didn’t chart at all, which is surprising considering it has become a staple of classic rock radio.

The slow start didn’t seem to negatively impact the band too much and their second album, “You’re Gonna Get It!”, followed less than a year later. In retrospect, the title of the record is prophetic as the American public would soon get it in a big way when Petty released his third album, “Damn the Torpedoes” in 1979.

“Damn the Torpedoes” rocketed up to #2 and was held out of the top spot by a little record by Pink Floyd called “The Wall”. By this point Tom Petty was a bona fide rockstar and he would continue recording and performing through today.  He has released 13 studio albums and has had at least one album reach the top 10 in the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s. That is some rarified air and is but one reason Petty was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002. Selling over 80 million albums probably didn’t hurt, either.

Here is track two off of side one of the album that started it all: