This is a brand new release and I just finished it yesterday.  I'm a slow reader and it usually takes me months to finish a 446 page book, but I zipped through this in a few weeks because it's really hard to put down.  Without a doubt one of the best rock and roll biographies I have ever had the good fortune to get my hands on.

If you're a Tom Petty fan and you want the REAL inside story from someone who was there for the ENTIRE ride, look no further.  Mike Campbell was Petty's guitar player in Mudcrutch before The Heartbreakers were even an idea in someone's head.  And Campbell remained Petty's lead guitar player for the entire Heartbreakers ride, 1976 -2017. 

To say that Campbell came from nothing would likely be an understatement.  His single Mom raised him and two siblings on a minimum wage job.  They were constantly being evicted.  In Campbell's early days as a musician, he was so poor that he was eating oatmeal three meals a day.  Campbell is very honest about everything, including drug use in The Heartbreakers and the unspeakable physical abuse that Petty suffered at the hands of his Father while still in high school.  It was so bad that Petty finally moved in with the family of a Mudcrutch bandmate.  He goes into the absolutely TORTUOUS recording sessions for Damn The Torpedoes, when the ridiculous demands of Producers Jimmy Iovine and Shelly Yakus nearly caused Campbell to quit the band.  Drummer Stan Lynch was fired and re-hired by them several times during those sessions.  But Petty and Campbell were both steadfastly in Lynch's corner.  Bob Dylan later told Lynch he was one of the best drummers he had ever heard.  Campbell goes into detail on their collaboration with Dylan and his intense admiration for the man, both as a musician and a person.

One passage stands out as much as anything else.  Campbell sat down Petty at one point for a serious one-on-one discussion.  Campbell had been having a lot more influence on the Heartbreakers music.  He wasn't writing lyrics, that was all Petty, but Campbell came up with the music for quite a few tunes, including the hits Refugee and Here Comes My Girl, and was also having significant input in production.  Campbell put forward to Petty that maybe it was time for Campbell to be financially compensated a bit more than he was.  Petty's response was very short and simple:  "But I'm Tom Petty."  Campbell gave that some serious thought over days, weeks.  He decided that Petty had a point, and maybe the best thing for him to do was appreciate where he was in his music career, be thankful for it, and keep his mouth shut.  (Side note:  Petty DID give Campbell co-writing credit for Refugee and Here Comes My Girl).

I can't give a higher recommendation for "Mike Campbell:  HEARTBREAKER".