1970–1975 Mudcrutch was formed in 1970 by
Gainesville, Florida, residents
Tom Petty and
Tom Leadon (brother of
Bernie Leadon from
the Eagles), then teenagers, who had been playing together in a group called the Epics. Mudcrutch's lineup consisted of Petty (bass and vocals), Leadon (guitar and vocals), Jim Lenahan (vocals), Randall Marsh (drums) and
Mike Campbell (guitar). Lenahan was initially the band's lead vocalist, but Petty very quickly also started singing lead on some songs. This incarnation of Mudcrutch issued a locally distributed single ("Up In Mississippi"/"Cause Is Understood") in 1971, with Petty writing and singing both songs. Leadon and Lenehan left the band in 1972 and were replaced by bassist/guitarist/vocalist Danny Roberts and keyboardist
Benmont Tench. Ricky Rucker was a part of the band for a short time. Mudcrutch became locally popular and regularly played gigs from central Florida to southern Georgia. In Gainesville, they had a long stint as the house band at Dub's Lounge and organized several well-attended music festivals at "Mudcrutch Farm", a run-down house on a large lot where several band members lived. , signed by
Mike Campbell In 1974, the members of Mudcrutch decided to relocate to
Los Angeles to try to sign with a major record label. After several rejections, they signed with
Leon Russell's independent
Shelter Records. The band released one single, "Depot Street" in 1975, which failed to chart. After Danny Roberts left the group, Petty invited
Charlie Souza to take over on bass guitar and the band continued recording in Leon Russell's
Tulsa studio, and later at his
Encino, California, home. Discouraged by the group's lack of success, the record company broke up Mudcrutch in late 1975, keeping only Petty under contract. Several months later, Petty regrouped with former Mudcrutch members Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench to form
the Heartbreakers along with fellow Gainesville natives
Stan Lynch (drums) and
Ron Blair (bass).
Reformation: 2007–2017 In August 2007, Tom Petty invited Randall Marsh and Tom Leadon, original members of Mudcrutch, to reunite with Heartbreakers Benmont Tench and Mike Campbell to reform Mudcrutch. They recorded an album,
Mudcrutch, which was released on April 29, 2008, by
Reprise Records, and contains 14 old and new tracks. "We would play and then we would just talk about the old days," said Leadon. The band toured briefly in California to promote the album throughout April and the beginning of May 2008. The album hit number 8 on the
Billboard 200 albums chart. Fans who bought tickets to the tour through
Ticketmaster were given six free downloads from the album. On November 11, 2008, a live EP titled
Extended Play Live was released. All tracks were recorded live in April 2008. On the same day American music channel
VH1 Classic broadcast a documentary about the band. According to
Rolling Stone, Mudcrutch intended to reconvene August 2015 to begin work on a new album. The group was originally going to begin work on the album in January of that year, but things were pushed back eight months due to medical issues that guitarist Tom Leadon was experiencing. In February 2016, prior to the announcement that they were releasing a second album, Mudcrutch was announced as a headliner for both the 2016 Bunbury Music Festival in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the 2016 Summer Camp Music Festival in Chillicothe, Illinois. The band's second full-length album,
2, was released May 20, 2016, on Reprise Records. Preceding the album's release was a single, "Trailer", as well as "Beautiful World" and "Hungry No More". The album hit number 10 on the
Billboard 200 albums chart. Both deaths effectively ended the possibility of any further Mudcrutch activity. == Personnel ==