- Advanced Search

    Song Title »
Refugee
    Authors »
Tom Petty, Mike/Michael Campbell

    This Performance »
Date Performance 1979-00-00
Running Time 3:23
Performers Tom Petty (Lead Vocal), Tom Petty (Guitar), Mike/Michael Campbell (Lead Guitar), Mike/Michael Campbell (Bass Guitar), Mike/Michael Campbell (Squeeze Box), Ben(mont) (M.) Tench(, III) (Organ), Ben(mont) (M.) Tench(, III) (Background Vocal), Tom Petty (Produced By), Jimmy Iovine (Produced By), Shelly Yakus (Engineered By), Shelly Yakus (Mixed By)
CommentsRecorded at: Sound City, Van Nuys, CA and Cherokee Studios, Hollywood, CA. Mixed at: Cherokee Studios, Los Angeles, CA (MCA Records) "The verse and chorus are actually the same chords," Mike Campbell - who wrote them - observes. Petty heard the four track demo Campbell had cooked up and wrote words and a melody. They both knew how good it was, and figured it'd be a cinch to get a great band version. They were wrong. Recording "Refugee" became a marathon, they played it over and over for days, dozens of times, trying to get the feel they all knew was in there but could not nail down. New producer Jimmy Iovine and engineer Shelly Yakus had an approach entirely different from what the Heartbreakers were used to with Denny Cordell, and it was a tough adjustment. "It was a nightmare," Campbell says. "Damn the Torpedoes was the first time we really spent a lot of time on the sound of the album. It was very tedious. We spent days on the drum sound alone. During 'Refugee' it got so bad that I actually left the studio, walked out the door, and left town for two days. It was so emotionally draining. We couldn't find the groove on it, we just couldn't make it sound as good as the demo. We knew the song was strong so we'd leave it and come back. This went on throughout the whole album. We eventually had pretty well the whole album cut and we still hadn't got that track. It took a lot of emotional fortitude, but eventually we nailed it. Nowadays if the demo is good, that's what we release." "I have to give Iovine a lot of credit for really molding 'Refugee' into what it was," Petty says. "We must have cut it 110 times. Jimmy brought the organ out, he got that big sound." The promotional music video was directed by John Goodhue.
Appears On
Playback (1995)
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
Playback (1995)
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
A Bunch Of Videos And Some Other Stuff (0000)
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

    Lyrics »
If you would like to submit lyrics for this song, click here.

    Tabs »
If you would like to submit tabs for this song, click here.

    Other Performances »
Running Time 5:22
Performers Tom Petty (6 String Electric Guitars), Tom Petty (6 String Acoustic Guitars), Tom Petty (12-String Electric Guitars), Tom Petty (12-String Acoustic Guitars), Tom Petty (Vocals), Mike/Michael Campbell (Lead Guitar), Mike/Michael Campbell (12-String Guitars), Mike/Michael Campbell (Lap Steel Guitars), Mike/Michael Campbell (Slide Guitars), Howie Epstein (Bass), Howie Epstein (Mandolin), Howie Epstein (Harmony Vocals), Ben(mont) (M.) Tench(, III) (Keyboards), Ben(mont) (M.) Tench(, III) (Vocals), Stan Lynch (Drums), Stan Lynch (Vocals), Jimmy Z(avala)/Z(anala) (Saxes), Jimmy Z(avala)/Z(anala) (Harmonica), Lee Thornburg/Thornberg/Thomberg (Trumpets), Lee Thornburg/Thornberg/Thomberg (Flugel Horn), Nick Lane (Trombones), Nick Lane (Euphonium), Pat Peterson (Backing Vocals), Pat Peterson (Percussion), Caroll Sue Hill (Backing Vocals), Caroll Sue Hill (Percussion), Doug Field (Recorded By), Mike Carver (Recorded By)
CommentsRecorded at the Wiltern Theatre, Los Angeles, California. Engineered in the Westwood One Mobile truck, either August 6th or 7th, 1985. With Soul Lips Horns & The Rebeletts.
Appears On
Pack Up The Plantation: Live (0000)
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

    Comments »

Almo Irving BMI

    Reviews »
Add your review of Refugee here.

    Last Modified »
2008-08-18