Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Released: July 2, 1991

Songwriter: Tom Petty Jeff Lynne

Producer: Jeff Lynne Tom Petty Mike W. Campbell

[Verse 1]
Eddie waited 'til he finished high school
He went to Hollywood, got a tattoo
He met a girl out there with a tattoo, too
The future was wide open
They moved into a place they both could afford
He found a night club he could work at the door
She had a guitar and she taught him some chords
The sky was the limit

[Chorus]
Into the great wide open
Under them skies of blue
Out in the great wide open
A rebel without a clue

[Verse 2]
The papers said Ed always played from the heart
He got an agent and a roadie named Bart
They made a record and it went in the charts
The sky was the limit
His leather jacket had chains that would jingle
They both met movie stars, partied and mingled
Their A&R man said, "I don't hear a single"
The future was wide open (Oh)

[Chorus]
Into the great wide open
Under them skies of blue
Out in the great wide open
A rebel without a clue
Into the great wide open
Under them skies of blue
Into the great wide open
A rebel without a clue (Ayy)

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – an L.A.-based gang of sharp-dressed garage-rock refugees from Gainsville, Florida – released their debut LP in November 1976, featuring two tracks which are now part of their long list of hits, “Breakdown” and “American Girl.”

Since that first LP in ‘76, the band’s style has epitomized and largely defined the American “heartland rock” movement – a vintage-guitar twang, hard lyric truth, and searing vocal attitude.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers have been nominated for 17 Grammy awards and sold more than 80 million records worldwide, making them one of the world’s best-selling bands of all-time.

more tracks from the album

The Best of Everything

From the albums

Into the Great Wide Open (1991)
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Greatest Hits (1993) (1993)
Playback (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers) (1995)
Anthology Through The Years (2000)
The Best of Everything (2019)

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers popular songs

Into the Great Wide OpenTom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

The Best of Everything