Superlatives
A Vulture series in which artists judge the best and worst of their own careers.
Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
Them and Disney World.
The Heartbreakers transcended to become Americas band.
But dont let their jaunty tenderness fool you.
The lowest point in the Heartbreakers career is when we lost Tom, Campbell makes clear.
Nothing else is lower than that.
Best Heartbreakers song
Thats really, really hard, but Id have to go with Refugee.
Its so universal and its one of the first big hits we wrote together.
I had a four-track reel-to-reel tape recorder and a record that had some drum beats on it.
I gave the music to Tom and he wrote the words.
It was a lucky moment for us.
Heartbreakers song you wish was never recorded
Marys New Car.
It was a total throwaway song.
Most misunderstood song
Oh, its Mary Janes Last Dance.
Most songs tend to morph and grow when you go through life.
Some people interpret it as a dance, and others interpret it as [about] marijuana.
Most requested song youre sick of playing
Thats easy.
Its been played to death, but people love it to death.
I love it, but Im sick of playing it.
I wish people would request something else, but I realize its a very popular song.
I hear it on the radio from time to time and always think that it shouldve gotten more attention.
Great song, great music, great performance.
Song that sounds most like Florida
American Girl.
We had just come from Florida out to Los Angeles and it comes across in that song beautifully.
Its who we are, its our Deep South roots.
Its the soul of the song.
He wrote most of the songs, and they were all directed at the underbelly of the music industry.
It pissed people off.
Its a pretty simple lick, but its my sound and my feel.
It holds up after all of these years.
We were working on our first record and Tom brought the song in.
I didnt think twice about it and went home.
I had no idea what he was talking about.
So I went back to the studio and realized what he wanted me to do.
Those notes just came from a jam.
That happened a lot with Toms writing, too.
Guitar solo that took the longest to master
I never really composed guitar solos.
The harmonies at the end were really intricate and took a while to form.
Generally, I wouldnt spend a lot of time on a solo.
Id attempt to catch something out of the air spontaneously.
Jeff and I were just getting to know each other.
Hes not really used to playing with other people, since he plays all of the instruments himself.
I got the guitar on and I did a stream-of-consciousness solo and made some stuff up.
We did three takes.
That was the highest compliment he can pay somebody.
Favorite Tom lyrics
Gosh, there were so many.
I have to say All or Nothin again.
Tom was such a master of simplicity.
Id ask him all the time when we were recording the studio, Where did that come from?
Where did you get that?
Hed always respond, Im a writer!
Songwriting is such a mysterious thing.
It could pop up when youre driving or out having dinner.
I attempt to do things that inspire me to turn that switch on.
I give a shot to hear new music and find new bands and cant really find anything.
Ill go earlier, too.
Give me the blues and Muddy Waters any day.
When I see it, I always think everyone is trying to look so cute with the blue light.
Its like,Get over yourself guys.
Maybe just play small theaters.
That album was very close to him.
Im sure we wouldve done that and kept on going as long as we could.
We had wonderful audiences.
Most cherished memory of Tom
Tom and I were tighter than brothers.
We shared a dream and a bond that will never go away.
I fondly remember working on the song You Wreck Me [offWildflowers] together.
I wrote the music and Tom wrote the words.
