Heartbreaker: A Memoir

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers guitarist Campbell teams up with memoirist Surdoval (Double Nickels) for an exhilarating account of his career. After some throat-clearing about Campbell’s early love of music and poverty-stricken childhood in Jacksonville, Fla., the narrative takes flight in 1968, when Campbell enrolled at the University of Florida. There, he formed a band called Dead or Alive and eventually met Tom Petty, who invited Campbell to play guitar for his band, Mudcrutch. In vibrant, up-tempo prose, Campbell charts Mudcrutch’s transformation into Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, going deep on the recording process for each of the group’s albums, their move to Los Angeles, and their stints playing alongside the likes of Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan. Campbell doesn’t shy away from fractious moments within the band, but his near-spiritual love of music-making keeps the proceedings from getting marred in rock memoir clichés. Instead, Campbell shares warm praise for his bandmates, and offers fascinating insights into the alchemy of songwriting, encouraging longtime Petty fans to listen with fresh ears to decades-old material. The result is an exemplary music memoir. Agent: (for Campbell) Laura Bonner, WME; (for Surdoval) David Dunton, Harvey Klinger Agency. (Mar.)

Correction: A previous version of this review mistakenly suggested that the author enrolled in college to avoid the Vietnam War draft. The review has been further updated for clarity.