Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers are an American rock band from Gainesville, Florida. They were formed in 1976 by Tom Petty (guitar and vocals), Mike Campbell (lead guitar), Benmont Tench (piano, organ, harmonium and vocals), (the three of them had been members of Mudcrutch), Ron Blair (bass and vocals) and Stan Lynch (drums and vocals). Petty and the Heartbreakers are known for hit singles such as "American Girl", "Breakdown", "The Waiting", "Learning to Fly", "Refugee" and "Mary Jane's Last Dance". The Heartbreakers still tour regularly and continue to record albums. Petty has fought against his record company on more than one occasion, first in 1979 over transference to another label and then again in 1981 over the price of his record, which was (at that time) considered expensive.

He is also outspoken on the current state of the music industry and modern radio stations. On his 2002 album, The Last DJ, Petty sang about that and other issues and talked about them on the bonus DVD that came with the limited edition album.

Although most of their material is produced and performed under the name "The Heartbreakers", they have also participated in outside projects, with Petty himself releasing solo albums, the most successful being 1989's Full Moon Fever. Petty, Campbell and Tench, along with Randall Marsh and Tom Leadon, recorded an album by Mudcrutch.

This was the band's first album, made more significant by the fact that they had not recorded together since 1974. In June 2010 through early September, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers embarked on a tour following the release of their new studio album titled Mojo on June 15, 2010.