It was Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ third release, Damn the Torpedoes, that catapulted Petty and company into the first rank of American rock acts. It’s not hard to understand why. With a slate of driving songs destined to become FM staples (“Refugee,” “Here Comes My Girl,” “Even the Losers,” “Don’t Do Me Like That”), it’s an album that plays much like half a greatest-hits collection. Fusing a rootsy sensibility heavy with Dylan and Byrds affectations with his own pop instincts (honed by early stints with Mudcrutch and Dwight Twilley) and coupling them with one of rock’s most consistently underrated powerhouses, the Heartbreakers, Petty’s throwback traditionalism oddly found him riding the crest of the new wave in the late ’70s.

Damn The Torpedoes was originally released in October 1979, produced by Jimmy Lovine and recorded at Sound City in Van Nuys, CA and Cherokee Studios in Hollywood. The critically acclaimed album was also a commercial success and proved to be the band’s breakthrough album yielding such hits as “Refugee” and “Don’t Do Me Like That”.

Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers released their debut album in 1976. Since that time they have sold more than 50 million records and earned a reputation as being among the most successful and exciting touring acts in the business.

Between the Heartbreakers’ recordings and his solo work, Tom Petty has received 18 Grammy nominations. Honored with lifetime achievement awards including Billboard’s Century Award, MTV’s Video Vanguard Award, and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Tom Petty, with the Heartbreakers at his side, has achieved the status of legend among his fellow musicians and listeners worldwide.