The only number one album of Tom Petty’s career
Just because a musician is famous doesn’t necessarily mean they have an array of number one hits attached to their name. People are always surprised when they find out how many famous musicians have never had a number one or have had fewer than expected. Tom Petty is no exception, as the musical legend, who is still listened to frequently today, has only ever had one number one album.
Petty is a much-loved name who, throughout his career, sold many records and was in various bands. With the Heartbreakers, Mudcrutch and Traveling Wilbury’s, Petty sold more than 80 million albums. Classic tracks include ‘American Girl’, ‘Don’t Do Me Like That’, ‘The Waiting’ and ‘Learning to Fly’, but none of these contributed towards his first number one.
Hypnotic Eye was the 13th and final album Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers released. In July 2014, it saw the band climb to the top of the charts in a week. The promotion for the album was nothing too ground-breaking; there was a string of singles released like ‘American Dream Plan B’ and ‘U Get Me High’, plus Petty was on tour at the time.
Petty also appeared on late-night TV to promote the album, taking to the stage on the Jimmy Kimmel Show to play ‘American Dream Plan B’. Interestingly, despite pushing ‘American Dream’ so much, it was the track ‘Red River’ from the album which became a hit.
Coverage for the album was bittersweet as it was received as solid but was not considered Petty’s best work. The streams and downloads compared to many of Petty’s previous albums didn’t even come close, and it felt as though it was more a case of the right place, right time rather than being a career-defining moment for the singer. It instead stands as a reflection that a lot of the time, especially in the modern age of streaming, the number one doesn’t necessarily mean all that much.
Also on the charts that week were Eric Clapton’s The Breeze: An Appreciation of JJ Cale, the Guardians of the Galaxy Soundtrack and Shawn Mendes’s debut self-titled EP, which got to number five. It was a solid run, but none of the albums have stood the test of time as much as they might like; it was a pretty mundane week in music.
It’s always good for an artist to get a number one, as it’s undoubtedly a high point in their career, but it is becoming less and less necessary. Just because someone doesn’t have a number one doesn’t mean they aren’t a talented musician, and the fact that a lot of Tom Petty’s best work came before his chart-topper goes to prove that further.
