Artist who’s played with Tom Petty, Chris Stapleton, Fleetwood Mac: ‘Dare to Dream’

Walter Tunis

June 25, 2024 at 4:59 a.m.·6 min read

In the video for his newest single, “Dare to Dream,” Mike Campbell sings confidently about a life of promise.

His location: The Church Studio in Tulsa, a locale roughly half-way between his longtime home of Los Angeles and the Northern Florida haunts of his youth that gave rise to a remarkable rock ‘n’ roll career.

The video balances a studio performance by Campbell and his side project-turned-full time band The Dirty Knobs and home movie footage from decades earlier of the guitarist at play on his own and with the band he is most readily associated with: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

It’s an unassuming but affirmative tune, one in step with much of the positive-leaning music on Campbell’s just-released third album with The Dirty Knobs, “Vagabonds, Virgins & Misfits.” But the hopeful stance of “Dare to Dream” holds considerable weight. It’s a celebration of the days ahead from an artist who, at age 74, has lived a truly charmed artistic existence.

Mike Campbell and the Dirty Knobs will appear at Lexington Opera House on June 27. Tickets are available.

“The song goes, ‘These are the best of times, this is the good life,’” Campbell said by phone last week. “That’s kind of how I feel. Maybe it’s cheeky to write a song like that with all the crap going on in the world right now with politics and war. I thought, ‘You know, I’m just going to put out a positive statement about how I feel.’ I think most people can relate to that, to staying positive and thinking that things are going to be okay. That’s the message I’m trying to send.”

Charmed career with Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers

A nearly half-century alliance with Petty ended in 2017 with the rock titan’s sudden passing. Campbell was lead guitarist for the Heartbreakers’ entire history. He was also co-writer with Petty on some of the band’s biggest hits, including “Refugee,” “A Woman in Love (It’s Not Me),” “You Got Lucky,” “Runnin’ Down a Dream,” “Into the Great Wide Open” and “You Wreck Me.”

That alone would qualify Campbell for legendary status, a title made real when he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002 as a member of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

But Campbell has also amassed a ridiculous dossier of other collaborations through the decades that have included recordings with Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Aretha Franklin, Roy Orbison, Stevie Nicks, John Prine, Joe Cocker, Linda Ronstadt, Don Henley and Neil Diamond.

“Everyone you work with becomes an influence and an inspiration for you,” Campbell said. “I pay attention and try to learn from them. They all leave a lasting impression on your musicality, so I have that experience to draw from as I go ahead. I treasure that.”

That experience runs both ways. Along with The Dirty Knobs, Campbell has bonded with a legion of newer generation artists. Several are showcased on a newly released Petty tribute album boasting a team of young country music stars aptly titled “Petty Country.” One of the record’s highlights has Campbell playing with Margo Price on “Ways to Be Wicked,” a ’70s-era tune he penned with Petty. The song wasn’t a Heartbreakers tune, but rather a stellar part of the 1985 debut album by the short-lived country-rock upstart troupe Lone Justice.

Working with Chris Stapleton, Fleetwood Mac

But perhaps Campbell’s most high-profile country comrade has been Kentucky celeb Chris Stapleton. Aside from contributing to “Petty Country,” Stapleton adds to the crunchy charge of “Don’t Wait Up” on the “Vagabonds” album with further honky tonk fervor provided by Heartbreakers keyboardist Benmont Tench.

The Stapleton connection isn’t new. In 2000, both artists contributed to each other’s records. Campbell co-wrote two tunes with Stapleton for the latter’s “Starting Over” album, adding guitar work to both. Stapleton co-penned another pair of songs and sang on a third for Campbell’s first Dirty Knobs record, “Wreckless Abandon.” Both albums were released with a week of each other that November.

“Chris Stapleton is the king of the crop right now,” Campbell said. “He is so talented and so natural. He reached out to me to write some songs and we immediately became friends. I was just in New York playing with him at Giants Stadium. He is so good. He is just gifted with one of those voices that is undeniably great. I’m very honored to have him as a friend.”

Perhaps the most curious chapter in Campbell’s far-reaching career came in 2018, roughly a year after Petty’s death, when he was asked to take over guitar duties for Lindsey Buckingham in what will likely serve as the final global tour by Fleetwood Mac. Campbell’s ties to the band were already strong, having played on eight solo albums by Mac empress Stevie Nicks dating back to 1981.

“That’s an example of my charmed life. I’ve had so many things fall into my lap along the way by luck or whatever. But I was digging in back then. Tom had passed away. I was deep in grief. I’m still grieving. I’ll probably be grieving for the rest of my life because he was a big part of my life. Then on my birthday, I got a phone call out of the blue from Mick Fleetwood offering me me the gig. It came at a really good time for me because it gave me something to do that was really high quality. And maybe it was also something to get my mind off just feeling sorry for myself. It was a challenge for me, but I had a great time. They took me around the world, treated me like royalty. That was pretty much a blessing.”

‘We ran down a dream’

Of course, any conversation on Campbell’s wondrous career eventually comes down to one person: Tom Petty. The two were more than mere bandmates. They essentially grew up together, meeting up in the pre-Heartbreakers band Mudcrutch and playing side-by-side until the Heartbreakers’ final tour concluded on Sept. 25, 2017, at the Hollywood Bowl. Petty died a week later.

“I always feel his spirit, and his shadow, on my shoulder, guiding me along, reminding me of what my dream is,” Campbell said. “We both just had the same dream, the same instincts, the same musicality and desire and style. From the day we met, we were fast, deep friends and, eventually, songwriting partners.

“We ran down a dream, to borrow a phrase. We had a dream to make music that we loved, so we just went after it. We complimented each other. We gave each other a partner to ride the river with.”

Mike Campbell & the Dirty Knobs, “Vagabongs, Virgins & Misfits”

With “Vagabonds” now opening a new career chapter for Campbell and a revamped Dirty Knobs lineup that reteams him with longtime Heartbreakers drummer Steve Ferrone, retirement from rock ‘n’ roll isn’t on any table anywhere.

“Retirement, to me, is a non-concept. I don’t understand it. If I physically couldn’t do what I do for some reason, I would still play music at home. Otherwise, I have no idea what retirement is. I would never quit playing music. As long as I can play live, I’ll keep going. It’s the most spiritually rewarding thing in the world for me.”