Why Tom Petty Once Argued The Heartbreakers’ Split Was a Blessing in Disguise (And All the Great Music That Proved It)

Being in a band takes a lot of work, time, and dedication—so much so that it can be difficult to pursue other creative projects outside the group. Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers found themselves in a similar situation in the 1980s. They already had tremendously successful albums under their belts. But each musician had greater potential to branch into new projects and no time to actually do it.

Thus, in the late 1980s, Petty made the executive decision to work on other artistic endeavors, including his solo work and his work with The Traveling Wilburys. In a later conversation with Paul Zollo, Petty said, “I needed to get away from The Heartbreakers. I needed to have that freedom that I hadn’t had for so many years. To do anything else.”

Petty said that the constant cycle of writing Heartbreakers albums, rehearsing them, recording them, and touring them was starting to wear him down. While he admitted that the band felt a little “insecure” about the change at first, the temporary hiatus ended up being a blessing in disguise. And indeed, there is a wellspring of great music that came out of this break that would prove Petty right.

The Great Music That Came Out of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ Hiatus

Tom Petty released his first full-length solo album, Full Moon Fever, in 1989. Five years later, he released Wildflowers. Both solo albums are full of incredible hits, including “Free Fallin’”, “I Won’t Back Down”, and “Yer So Bad” on Full Moon Fever and “You Don’t Know How It Feels” and “You Wreck Me” on Wildflowers. Petty told Paul Zollo that his time away from The Heartbreakers helped embolden him as a songwriter, and these two solo albums alone certainly backed up that argument.

In addition to the work Petty was doing, the rest of The Heartbreakers were busy cutting and producing hit records, too. “They didn’t just sit dormant,” Petty said. Mike Campbell worked on “Boys Of Summer” with Don Henley. Stan Lynch wrote “Last Worthless Evening”, also for Henley. Howie Epstein ended up having the time to produce John Prine’s album, [The Missing Years], which garnered him a Grammy for Best Folk Album. “So, they weren’t really sitting on their thumbs,” Petty said. “They had a lot going on themselves.”

“When we came back together, I think it was kind of nice,” he continued. “Everyone felt that it was really good, and we really appreciated it.” The two albums The Heartbreakers released following their temporary hiatus definitely reflected that newfound optimism. Into The Great Wide Open from 1991 was full of hopeful tracks, including the title track and “Learning To Fly”. The band’s next album, a compilation, included new songs like “Mary Jane’s Last Dance”, which would permanently cement itself into the band’s musical legacy.

As they always say, distance really can make the heart grow fonder.

Photo by Chris Walter/WireImage

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