LISTEN LIVE

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ ‘Damn The Torpedoes’ Turns 40

October 20, 1979. Tom Petty celebrates his 29th birthday on the same day as his breakthrough album with The Heartbreakers, Damn The Torpedoes, is released. And here I was, ready…

October 20, 1979. Tom Petty celebrates his 29th birthday on the same day as his breakthrough album with The Heartbreakers, Damn The Torpedoes, is released.

And here I was, ready to throw down a few paragraphs on how important Petty's third album is and how chock-full of hits it is ("Refugee," "Here Comes My Girl," "Even The Losers," "Don't Do Me Like That"). Then I came across this: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, live at the Paradise, July 16, 1978.

For all the talk about how groundbreaking Damn The Torpedoes was, it's not like Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers weren't well on their way a year earlier. That setlist is hot fire, so press play and celebrate 1979 like it's 1978.

adam12Writer
Adam 12 is the Program Director of Boston's ROCK 92.9, heard weekdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. He's been flexing his encyclopedic rock knowledge in New England for over 2 decades, both on-air and online, at WBCN, WFNX, Boston.com, and indie617. At ROCK 92.9, he keeps you in the know on the big stories from the Boston music scene and writes about great places to eat, drink (beer), and to spend time outdoors in and around Boston.