Michael Wayne Campbell was born on February 1, 1950 in Panama City, Florida. He began playing guitar at age 16 and joined Tom Petty's band Mudcrutch in the early 1970s, which later became Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers in 1976. With the Heartbreakers, Campbell co-wrote hits like "Refugee" and contributed to albums such as Southern Accents and Into the Great Wide Open. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002 with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Concurrently, he led his own band, The Dirty Knobs, releasing their debut album Wreckless Abandon in 2020, followed by Vagabonds, Virgins & Misfits in 2024.
