‘Runnin’ Down a Dream’ Deep Dives Into Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers History

In all my years of listening to and following and analyzing and geeking out on rock n’ roll, I’ve never met anyone who said to me, “My favorite band? Oh, Tom Petty & The f**kin’ Heartbreakers. Without a doubt.” However, I’ve also never met anyone that didn’t like them, and usually own at least one or two of their records. Given the band’s 40-year history, that’s a lot of records. I say all of this, in relation to Runnin’ Down a Dream, the four-hour documentary of the band, which is currently available for streaming on Netflix. In this day and age of short attention spans, four hours is a big commitment of time, though, the band and film largely merit the investment.

The movie was made in 2007, on the occasion of the band’s 30th anniversary, and was directed by the acclaimed filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich. Bogdanovich is best known for the classic 1970s films The Last Picture Show and Paper Moon, as well as the 1985 Cher-driven hit, Mask. He got his start as a film critic and is a well-known cinema historian, so he treats his subject matter with a thorough seriousness. Every twist and turn of the band’s history, and each of the albums is explored in depth, and the live performances —of which there are many— are presented in full. There’s also a sweeping grandiosity to the film, that recalls classic rock movies like The Last Waltz and The Kid’s Are Alright.

It’s easy to take Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers for granted. They’ve been around forever, they’re always good, occasionally great, and play the sort of non-denominational rock that always satisfies but seldom elicits fanatical devotion. There’s no cult of personality, they’re just regular guys, and the normalcy isn’t a shtick. They are the ultimate garage band made good. This modest description, though, shortchanges the fact that they have sold over 80 million records worldwide, had 15 singles in the Billboard Top 40, pack arenas to this day, and have been the harbingers of many of rock’s different movements over the course of their history.

Runnin’ Down a Dream starts at the beginning, when Tom Petty as an impressionable youth was permanently changed by his exposure to first Elvis and later, The Beatles. By 20, he was playing in Mudcrutch, with future Heartbreakers Mike Campbell on guitar, and piano player Benmont Tench. The band was popular on the Florida hippy club circuit and eventually signed a record deal. After one flop single, though, Petty was the only one left with a recording contract.

Rather than striking out on his own, he set about putting the band back together, adding a new rhythm section, but keeping the core lineup intact. The group dynamic, its strengths and advantages, is one of the films recurring themes. Despite a few noted changes, and Petty’s occasional “solo records” – most of which feature contributions from members of The Heartbreakers, the band has remained intact from its inception.

Like many an American musician before them, the group initially found success overseas. Their jangly guitars and succinct songwriting got them lumped in with the nascent new wave explosion, despite having deeper roots than most of the skinny tie set. Their early career highlight, 1979’s Damn The Torpedoes, was recorded under the duress of the first of many battles Petty would wage against his record label and the recording industry.

Tom Petty would go on to fight album price gouging and later, the decline of FM radio, live music, and rock n’ roll at the hands of an indifferent and exploitative music industry. This rebellious instinct is rather awkwardly explained an hour and a half into the film as being the result of verbal and physical abusive Petty suffered at the hands of his father. It’s obviously an important part of his story, but feels injected into the middle of the band narrative, and we still haven’t even cracked their first decade together.

By the mid-‘80s, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers were rock n’ roll royalty, playing all the right benefits, making landmark music videos and hobnobbing with their heroes. Backing Bob Dylan at Farm Aid led to a couple years of touring with him which led to the formation of The Traveling Wilburys, the super group featuring Petty, Dylan, ex-Beatle George Harrison, ELO’s Jeff Lynne and rockabilly legend Roy Orbison. It was around this time that the original band started to fray, with Petty making more personal albums, sometimes billed as solo records, and the relationship with founding drummer Stan Lynch souring.

The turmoil though didn’t seem to have any negative effect on Petty, nor the band’s, fortunes. The 1990s saw some of the band’s biggest hits, and even if the records were billed as solo not group recordings, guess who played on them and did the tour? That’s right: The Heartbreakers. Despite the loss of bassist Howie Epstein to drugs shortly after being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the band has settled into their status as an institution over the last 20 years. They play what they want, they have fun doing it, and its always pretty goddamn good.

While I wouldn’t recommend watching the movie in one four-hour installment, Runnin’ Down a Dream held my interest up until the end. The movie actually is broken into two halves but plays straight through on Netflix. Like many, I’ve always been a casual Tom Petty fan, but watching the film I was reminded of one classic number after another. The amount of songs that were either hit singles or became mainstays of classic rock radio is truly staggering. And for all the details of Bogdanovich’s deep dive into the band’s history, the narrative never tries to supersede what’s most important about Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, their camaraderie and their shared love of music.

[Watch Runnin’ Down A Dream on Netflix]

Benjamin H. Smith is a New York based writer, producer and musician who wishes he could hang out in the Heartbreakers clubhouse and play all their cool guitars. Follow him on Twitter:@BHSmithNYC.