The ledger has been cleared, and the “No-Repeat” rule is officially in effect for a heavyweight champion. This week, we begin a long-haul trek through the 40-year arc of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

Before they were stadium-filling legends, they were scuffling in the Florida humidity. Born out of the ashes of Mudcrutch in Gainesville, this wasn’t just a solo act with a backing band—it was a brotherhood. They took the Southern grit of their roots, filtered it through the raw energy of the British Invasion, and landed in Los Angeles just as the industry was ready to eat itself. This first installment covers the ignition: surviving the collapse of Shelter Records, filing for bankruptcy to break a predatory contract, and emerging with the high-fidelity defiance of Damn the Torpedoes.

We aren’t just skimming the surface. We’re playing the studio pillars in full and bridging the gap with a raw, “fucking bad” live set from Houston in ’79 to show you exactly how dangerous this band was when the red light went on.

The Road Ahead: This is just the beginning of the signal. In the coming weeks, we’ll be tracing the evolution into the high-gloss MTV years, the Jeff Lynne “Superstar” era, and the eventual Rick Rubin rebirth that gave us the stripped-down soul of Wildflowers.

The Palette Cleanser: Because a deep dive this heavy requires a total system reset, the transmission on March 31st will feature a pivot to a different kind of royalty. Following the Petty kickoff, we clear the air with the Purple One himself—Minnesota’s own, Prince. Consider it the ultimate sonic reset before we head back into Heartbreaker territory

#### Hour 1
Artist | Album | Song | Label | Year

Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers | Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers | Rockin' Around (With You) | Shelter Records | 1976
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers | Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers | Breakdown | Shelter Records | 1976
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers | Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers | Hometown Blues | Shelter Records | 1976
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers | Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers | The Wild One, Forever | Shelter Records | 1976
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers | Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers | Anything That's Rock 'N' Roll | Shelter Records | 1976
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers | Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers | Strangered In The Night | Shelter Records | 1976
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers | Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers | Fooled Again (I Don't Like It) | Shelter Records | 1976
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers | Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers | Mystery Man | Shelter Records | 1976
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers | Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers | Luna | Shelter Records | 1976
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers | Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers | American Girl | Shelter Records | 1976
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers | You're Gonna Get It! | When The Time Comes | Shelter Records | 1978
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers | You're Gonna Get It! | You're Gonna Get It | Shelter Records | 1978
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers | You're Gonna Get It! | Hurt | Shelter Records | 1978
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers | You're Gonna Get It! | Magnolia | Shelter Records | 1978
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers | You're Gonna Get It! | Too Much Ain't Enough | Shelter Records | 1978
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers | You're Gonna Get It! | I Need To Know | Shelter Records | 1978
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers | You're Gonna Get It! | Listen To Her Heart | Shelter Records | 1978
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers | You're Gonna Get It! | No Second Thoughts | Shelter Records | 1978
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers | You're Gonna Get It! | Restless | Shelter Records | 1978
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers | You're Gonna Get It! | Baby's A Rock 'N' Roller | Shelter Records | 1978

#### Hour 2
Artist | Album | Song | Label | Year

Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers | Houston Music Hall | Fooled Again | N/A | 1979
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers | Houston Music Hall | Here Comes My Girl | N/A | 1979
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers | Houston Music Hall | Even The Losers | N/A | 1979
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers | Houston Music Hall | The Wild One, Forever | N/A | 1979
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers | Houston Music Hall | I Need To Know | N/A | 1979
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers | Houston Music Hall | Don't Do Me Like That | N/A | 1979
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers | Houston Music Hall | Cry To Me | N/A | 1979
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers | Houston Music Hall | Refugee | N/A | 1979
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers | Houston Music Hall | Listen To Her Heart | N/A | 1979
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers | Houston Music Hall | American Girl | N/A | 1979
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers | Houston Music Hall | Breakdown | N/A | 1979
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers | Houston Music Hall | Too Much Ain't Enough | N/A | 1979
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers | Houston Music Hall | Shout | N/A | 1979
[FADE OUT]: Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers | Houston Music Hall | Any Way You Want It | N/A | 1979 (Fade at 00:08)

#### Hour 3
Artist | Album | Song | Label | Year

Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers | Damn The Torpedoes | Refugee | Backstreet Records | 1979
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers | Damn The Torpedoes | Here Comes My Girl | Backstreet Records | 1979
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers | Damn The Torpedoes | Even The Losers | Backstreet Records | 1979
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers | Damn The Torpedoes | Shadow Of A Doubt (A Complex Kid) | Backstreet Records | 1979
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers | Damn The Torpedoes | Century City | Backstreet Records | 1979
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers | Damn The Torpedoes | Don't Do Me Like That | Backstreet Records | 1979
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers | Damn The Torpedoes | You Tell Me | Backstreet Records | 1979
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers | Damn The Torpedoes | What Are You Doin' In My Life | Backstreet Records | 1979
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers | Damn The Torpedoes | Louisiana Rain | Backstreet Records | 1979
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers | Hard Promises | The Waiting | MCA Records | 1981
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers | Hard Promises | A Woman In Love (It's Not Me) | MCA Records | 1981
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers | Hard Promises | Nightwatchman | MCA Records | 1981
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers | Hard Promises | Something Big | MCA Records | 1981
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers | Hard Promises | Kings Road | MCA Records | 1981
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers | Hard Promises | Letting You Go | MCA Records | 1981
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers | Hard Promises | A Thing About You | MCA Records | 1981
[FADE OUT]: Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers | Hard Promises | Insider | MCA Records | 1981 (Fade at 03:26)

Rolling with Scissors airs live every Tuesday from 2–5 AM on 89.9 FM in Madison and streams at wortfm.org. Missed it? You can catch the episode for two weeks after broadcast at archive.wortfm.org or at rwsradio.com.

While the audio disappears after two weeks, the episode notes and playlists don’t. Every deep dive, rant, and full album breakdown stays right here — so you can revisit the details any time.

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