“My Conscience Is Clear”: Mike Campbell Is Not Torturing Himself Over Tom Petty’s Death

Helping form Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Mike Campbell watched as Tom Petty led the band to sell over 80 million albums with hits like “American Girl” and “The Waiting.” While exploring genres like rock and roll and Southern rock, the band’s legacy led them to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002. It happened to be the first year the band was eligible for the honor. Sadly, just one week after the band’s 40th anniversary tour, Petty passed away from an accidental drug overdose in 2017. With it being nearly a decade since his death, Campbell admitted there was nothing he could have done to save Petty. 

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Passing away at 66 years old, Petty’s legacy continues to echo throughout rock and roll. Looking back on the band’s time in the spotlight, Campbell eventually found peace over Petty’s accidental death. He told Guitar Player how he never ventured into Petty’s personal life. “With Tom it was like, ‘Your private life is yours, and mine is mine. I can see what you’re doing, but out of respect for you, I’ll trust you’ll do the right thing. If you need me, call me.’”

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Mike Campbell Never Forced Tom Petty To Perform

Although knowing he could have demanded Petty stop, Campbell already knew how the singer would respond, “‘But I’m Tom Petty. I’m going to do whatever I f**king want. Get out of my face.’” He continued, “Tom made his own decisions about what he wanted, even to the last tour. That was his decision – he wanted to go on tour. Nobody was going to tell him ‘no’ for any reason. We suggested to him that we could postpone the tour, but he said, ‘Nope, I’m doing this.’”

With Petty only answering to himself, Campbell felt at peace, knowing he didn’t contribute to the singer’s death. “I don’t torture myself. My conscience is clear because Tom knew that I knew, and Tom knew that I wasn’t forcing him and getting in his face about it.”

Recalling the last conversation he had with Petty, Campbell tried to get the singer to focus on his health instead of performing. But Petty remained determined to get back to the stage. Knowing he did his best, the musician concluded, “I don’t beat myself up like that.…I did all I could.”

(Photo by Gary Gershoff/Getty Images)