Breakdance Album Cover
| 'Breakdown' | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers | |||
| from the album Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers | |||
| B-side |
| ||
| Released | November 1976 | ||
| Recorded | 1976 | ||
| Studio | Shelter Studios (Hollywood) | ||
| Genre | |||
| Length | 2:39 | ||
| Label | Shelter | ||
| Songwriter(s) | Tom Petty | ||
| Producer(s) | Denny Cordell | ||
| Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers singles chronology | |||
| |||
Check out Breakdance Music by Breakdance Music on Amazon Music. Stream ad-free or purchase CD's and MP3s now on Amazon.com. Includes detailed poster and instructional rap on how to break. The first side of the record is made up of real tracks (although Rockit and Tour De France are cover tunes), and the second side is the 'instructional rap' part. The poster comes in at least two variations: red/black print and purple/black print. The album placed Green Day at the forefront of the 1990s punk rock revival. Insomniac, the band's fourth studio album, was released in October 1995. While not as successful as Dookie, the album managed to peak at number two on the US Billboard 200 and received a double platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America. Ice-T recorded disses against LL on his 1988 album Power. On the album was the track, 'I'm Your Pusher', in which a rap music addict declines to buy an LL Cool J record. The album also contains the posse rap track, 'The Syndicate', which took aim at LL's lyrical ability, claiming that rapping about oneself so frequently was a 'first grade topic'.
:format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(40)/discogs-images/R-9145745-1475573029-3737.jpeg.jpg "Breakdance Album Cover")
This is a classic breakdance album. If you don't know the history of the music then you cant fully respect this plate. However side B is a lil cheesy. It pairs up with the poster for instructions on how to breakdance. See, back then we couldn't just Google everything.
'Breakdown' is the first single from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' self-titled debut album. It became a Top 40 hit in the United States and Canada.[3]
:format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-15468569-1592039637-2516.jpeg.jpg "Electric breakdance album")
Played live, Petty sometimes incorporated 'Breakdown' with Ray Charles's 'Hit the Road Jack'. A live recording of this variation appears on The Live Anthology.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers original[edit]
Track listings[edit]
- 7' Single (US, 1976)
- A. 'Breakdown' – 2:39 = background vocals were sung by fellow Shelter Records artist Phil Seymour who also sang on American Girl.
- B. 'The Wild One, Forever' – 3:01
- 7' Single (US, 1977)
- A. 'Breakdown' – 2:39
- B. 'Fooled Again (I Don't Like It)' – 3:54
- 7' Single (Germany, 1977)
- A. 'Breakdown' – 2:42
- B. 'Luna' – 3:59
- 7' Single (Spain, 1978)
- A. 'Breakdown' – 2:42
- B. 'Strangered in the Night' – 3:32
Chart performance[edit]
| Chart (1977-78) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100[4] | 40 |
| US Cash Box Top 100[5] | 33 |
| Canada RPM Top Singles[6] | 40 |
Album appearances[edit]
:format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(40)/discogs-images/R-1442442-1505596128-4257.jpeg.jpg "Art")
Electric Breakdance Album
- Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (1976)
- FM (1978)
- Pack Up the Plantation: Live! (1985)
- Greatest Hits (1993)
- Playback (1995)
- Anthology: Through the Years (2000)
- Mojo Tour 2010 (2010)
Grace Jones version[edit]
| 'Breakdown' | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Grace Jones | ||||
| from the album Warm Leatherette | ||||
| B-side | 'Warm Leatherette' | |||
| Released | October 1980 | |||
| Genre | Reggae | |||
| Length | 5:30(album and 12' version) 3:00 (single edit) | |||
| Label | Island | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Tom Petty | |||
| Producer(s) | Chris Blackwell, Alex Sadkin | |||
| Grace Jones singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Jamaican singer Grace Jones recorded a reggae re-imagining of the song on her 1980 album Warm Leatherette. Petty wrote a third verse of the song specifically for Jones to record; 'It's OK if you must go / I'll understand if you don't / You say goodbye right now / I'll still survive somehow / Why should we let this drag on?'[7] The song was edited from its full, 5:30 album version to a 3-minute-long track on single release. It was released as a US-only single in July 1980 but didn't chart.
Track listing[edit]
- 7' single
- A. 'Breakdown' – 3:00
- B. 'Warm Leatherette' – 4:24
- 12' single
- A. 'Breakdown' – 5:30
- B1. 'Breakdown' (edit) – 3:10
- B2. 'Warm Leatherette' – 4:24
- 7' promotional single
Breakdance Album Cover Art
- A. 'Breakdown' (stereo edit) – 3:00
- B. 'Breakdown' (mono edit) – 3:00
Other cover versions[edit]
- 'Breakdown' was covered by Suzi Quatro on her album If You Knew Suzi... (1978).
- The Replacements on their 1985 live album The Shit Hits the Fans.
- A live acoustic version of 'Breakdown' appeared on Missy Higgins' 2009 More Than ThisEP featuring Brett Dennen.[8]
- Flaw performed a live cover of 'Breakdown' while touring 2010.[9]
- The song was performed live by Foo Fighters while on their 2011 Wasting Light World Tour.
- Christina Perri performed this song on her 2011-2012 Lovestrong Tour.
- Austin Allsup covered this song on The Voice Season 11.
- Gary Allan regularly sings this in concert.
- In 2017 Lydia Lunch & Cypress Grove covered the song on their album Under The Covers.[10]
References[edit]
- ^ abIra A. Robbins (January 1983). The Trouser Press guide to new wave records. C. Scribner's Sons. p. 227. ISBN978-0-684-17943-8.
- ^Greenwald, Matthew. 'Breakdown - Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers | Song Info'. AllMusic.
- ^Joel Whitburn, Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles: 1955-2010, Record Research, 2011.
- ^'Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers (Billboard Singles)'. AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-01-17.
- ^Cash Box Top 100 Singles, February 11, 1978[permanent dead link]
- ^'Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada (Top Singles - Volume 28, No. 24, March 11, 1978)'. Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2012-01-17.[permanent dead link]
- ^Joey Michaels. '3349. 'Breakdown' by Grace Jones'. sadclownrep.com. Archived from the original on 2013-10-12. Retrieved 2012-05-23.
- ^'MISSY'S NEW EP 'MORE THAN THIS' by Missy Higgins on Myspace'. Myspace.com. Retrieved 2012-01-17.
- ^'FLAW @ TREES DALLAS 5/20/10'. YouTube. 2010-06-07. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
- ^'Under The Covers CD | Rustblade – Label and Distribution'. Rustblade. Retrieved 2017-06-23.
External links[edit]
80's Breakdance Album
- Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics