Mike Campbell
Campbell performing withFleetwood Mac in 2019
Background information
Born	Michael Wayne Campbell (1950-02-01)February 1, 1950 (age 75) Panama City, Florida, U.S.
Origin	Jacksonville, Florida, U.S.
Genres	Rock
Occupation	Guitarist
Instruments	Guitar vocals
Years active	1971–present
Member of	The Dirty Knobs
Formerly of	Mudcrutch Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Blue Stingrays Fleetwood Mac

Michael Wayne Campbell (born February 1, 1950) is an American guitarist and vocalist. He was a member ofTom Petty and the Heartbreakers and co-wrote many of the band's hits with Petty, including "Refugee", "Here Comes My Girl", "You Got Lucky", and "Runnin' Down a Dream". Outside of The Heartbreakers, he has worked as a session guitarist and songwriter with a number of other acts, including composing and playing on theDon Henley hits "The Boys of Summer" and "The Heart of the Matter" as well as working on most ofStevie Nicks's solo albums. Campbell, along withNeil Finn, joinedFleetwood Mac to replace lead guitaristLindsey Buckingham on their world tour in 2018–2019.^[1] After the end of that tour, he has been involved in his own band, the Dirty Knobs. As of 2024, the Dirty Knobs have released three albums.^[2]

On November 11, 2011,Rolling Stone magazine named Campbell in their list of the top 100 guitarists, coming in at number 79.^[3] He was inducted into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002 as a member of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

Campbell was born on February 1, 1950, inPanama City, Florida. He grew up there and inJacksonville, Florida, where he graduated fromJean Ribault High School in 1968. At the age of 16, his mother, Helen Barber, bought him his first guitar, a Harmony acoustic model which he later described as "unplayable" from a pawnshop.^[4] His first electric guitar was a $60Guyatone, but playing a friend'sGibson SG (a model which Campbell would not own himself for many years) was a transformative experience.^[4] Like Tom Petty, Campbell drew his strongest influences fromThe Byrds andBob Dylan, with additional inspiration coming from guitarists such asScotty Moore,Luther Perkins,George Harrison,Carl Wilson,Jerry Garcia,Roger McGuinn,Keith Richards,Brian Jones,Jimmy Page,Mick Taylor, andNeil Young. The first song he learned to play was "Baby Let Me Follow You Down," a song which appeared on Dylan'seponymous debut album. He formed a band named Dead or Alive which quickly disbanded.^[5]

Campbell met Tom Petty through drummer Randall Marsh. Marsh was auditioning to be in Petty's bandMudcrutch and learned that Mudcrutch had recently lost their guitarist. He suggested that Petty try Campbell, who was his roommate and had actually been listening to the conversation in the next room.^[6] Campbell impressed Petty with his version of "Johnny B. Goode" and was offered a spot in the band.^[4] Mudcrutch became a popular act around Gainesville and north Florida in the early 1970s. They relocated toLos Angeles in 1974 and signed a record deal withShelter Records, but released only one poor-selling single and broke up soon after.

In 1976, Campbell rejoined Petty to beginTom Petty and the Heartbreakers with former Mudcrutch memberBenmont Tench (keyboards) along withRon Blair (bass guitar) andStan Lynch (drums).

Like the other Heartbreakers, Campbell avoids the virtuoso approach to playing, preferring to have his work serve the needs of each song.^[7]

Campbell co-produced the Heartbreakers albumsSouthern Accents,Pack Up the Plantation: Live!,Let Me Up (I've Had Enough),Into the Great Wide Open,Songs and Music from "She's the One",Echo,The Last DJ,The Live Anthology andMojo, as well as the Petty solo albumsFull Moon Fever,Wildflowers, andHighway Companion. His sole vocal contribution to the group was on the track "I Don't Wanna Fight" onEcho.

Campbell collaborated, recorded, and toured with Tom Petty for almost 50 years. His last live performance with the Heartbreakers was on September 25, 2017, at theHollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. Tom Petty died unexpectedly about one week later, on October 2.^[8]

In 1997, Campbell co-founded theBlue Stingrays with Heartbreakers member Ron Blair and Mudcrutch member Randall Marsh, and released their one album the same year.

In 2007, he joined a reformed Mudcrutch with Petty, Tench, Marsh, andTom Leadon; they debuted in 2008 with a tour and an album. The band returned in 2016 for another album and tour before Petty's death.

On April 9, 2018,Fleetwood Mac announced that Campbell would be joining the band along withNeil Finn to replace lead guitaristLindsey Buckingham for their 2018–19 world tour.^[1] In March 2022, Campbell announced that he had not worked with Fleetwood Mac after 2019, and that he had moved on.^[2]

While in the Heartbreakers, Campbell was lead singer and guitarist with a side band, the Dirty Knobs, with guitarist Jason Sinay, drummerMatt Laug, and bassist Lance Morrison.^[9] "It's rougher-edged [than Petty's material]," Campbell says of the group, "It's slightly over-driven, less polished, lots of Sixties influence:The Kinks,Led Zeppelin,The Animals. It's something I probably should have done a long time ago, but I didn't 'cause I was wrapped up in the Heartbreakers."^[10] They released a single, "Feelin' High", in 2010.^[11] Jason Sinay left the band in 2022 to focus on his solo career. His replacement is Texas guitarist Chris Holt, who has played with Don Henley and Max Weinberg.

The band released the title track from its debut album,Wreckless Abandon, in January 2020,^[12] followed by the album itself in November of that year.^[13] The album was produced by Campbell andGeorge Drakoulias, who with Tom Petty produced Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers'The Last D.J.^[13] The cover art was byKlaus Voormann^[13] who created the cover of The BeatlesRevolver.

In the summer of 2021, the band released a new single, a cover ofJ. J. Cale's "Humdinger".^[14]

In April 2022, the band released their second album,External Combustion.^[15]

In 2023, Matt Laug became the touring drummer forAC/DC and former Heartbreaker,Steve Ferrone, was brought in on drums.^[16]

On May 7, 2024, the band released a new song and video, "Dare to Dream" from their third album,Vagabonds, Virgins & Misfits, released on June 14, 2024.^[17]

• The Dirty Knobs – Mike Campbell's side-band.
• DMC TV Mike Campbell – Campbell's customDuesenberg guitar.
• "Rig Rundown – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' Mike Campbell," by Jason Shadrick for Premier Guitar, January 27, 2013.
• Long-form interview with Mike Campbell on the Myth vs. Craft podcast.

• 1950 births
• Living people
• American rock guitarists
• American male guitarists
• American lead guitarists
• Record producers from Florida
• People from Panama City, Florida
• Musicians from Jacksonville, Florida
• Guitarists from Florida
• Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers members
• Mudcrutch members
• Fleetwood Mac members
• 20th-century American guitarists
• The Dirty Knobs members

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from May 2022
• Articles with hCards