Mike Campbell > Quotes

“I thought, that’s the way to live your life. Give gifts. Be generous to people. Be present in the moment. George taught me that.”
― Mike Campbell, Heartbreaker: A Memoir

“I could give him a tape of three chords that I recorded to play over while I practiced, and he would come back with lyrics thousands of people would sing with tears in their eyes. He wrote songs that gave people great courage and comfort.”
― Mike Campbell, Heartbreaker: A Memoir

“The leads and fills were part of the chords, the way white caps are part of the waves.”
― Mike Campbell, Heartbreaker: A Memoir

“It was our best song by far at the time, and maybe the best that we ever did. It is the sound of us becoming the band we were, of us transforming into Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, all at once and all together.”
― Mike Campbell, Heartbreaker: A Memoir

“It was a crumbling wood-frame farmhouse with a bowing tin roof and walls that leaned like four winos trying to hold one another up.”
― Mike Campbell, Heartbreaker: A Memoir

“don’t know how to thank you, Miss Collier.” “You just go to Gainesville. Follow your dreams from there.” My eyes burned and my throat got tight. “Yes, ma’am.” “Promise?” “Yes, ma’am.” “Have an incredible life, Michael,” she said. “Do wonderful, amazing things with your gifts. See the world. Make your mark. Thank me that way.” “Yes, ma’am.” I left by the side door and walked home alone, floating like I was in a dream. It was a beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky, and the Florida sun dried my tears of relief almost as fast as they rolled down my cheeks.”
― Mike Campbell, Heartbreaker: A Memoir