Mike Campbell recruits Chris Stapleton, Graham Nash for new LP 'Vagabonds, Virgins & Misfits'

In 1974, Tom Petty, Mike Campbell and the rest of their band Mudcrutch entered Leon Russell's the Church Studio in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to record their first demo tape with producer Denny Cordell. It was a pivotal moment that led to the formation of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers two years later. In late April this year, Campbell returned to the studio for the first time in 50 years.

“It was spiritual,” Campbell says Rolling rock via Zoom from the “man cave” of his Los Angeles home. “I was a little shaken up with Tom because we were there together and I stood where Mudcrutch and I had originally set up in that room. I have many flashbacks of sweet memories.”

But Campbell didn't return to Tulsa just to reminisce about days gone by. He was in town to perform with his band the Dirty Knobs at Carneyfest (though the set ended up getting rained out) and shoot a video for “Dare to Dream,” the first single from his new LP. Hobos, Virgins & Misfits. The album, out on June 14, features guest appearances from Graham Nash, Lucinda Williams, Chris Stapleton and Heartbreakers keyboardist Benmont Tench.

It is Campbell's third album with Dirty Knobs since 2020 Abandonment without wreck and 2022 External Combustion. “The first record was an introduction to me as a so-called singer and as a writer,” says Campbell. “I wanted to show that the band can boogie well and play aggressively and excitingly. But as the years went by, our songs grew in depth. I became better as a writer and added more situations and characters to the songs. The band has grown up, but it's still basically a boogie rock band.”

Many of the songs Hobos, Virgins & Misfits are new, but “Dare to Dream,” “Hands Are Tied,” “Angel of Mercy,” “Don't Want Up” and “Hell or High Water” all come from Campbell's vast archive. “I used to write songs and then give them to my partner Tom, and that's all I ever did with them,” says Campbell. “I gave him so much that he could never handle it all. I stuck a lot on the shelf for future evaluation. And so here I am in the future and I took them out.”

“Dare to Dream” is an inspirational ballad about learning to live in the present. “This is what you've been waiting for,” Campbell sings. “No more waiting/There are better times/This is the good life/And everything you dare to dream/Can come true.”

He asked Nash to contribute harmony vocals after interviewing him on Tom Petty's SiriusXM Radio show. “He made it sound a bit like the Hollies mix on the vocals,” says Campbell. “It really lifted the song and it was just a thrill to have a hero of mine sing my song.”

Campbell and Williams trade lead vocals on the soulful, country-tinged “Hell or High Water.” “Watching her sing almost brought me to tears,” says Campbell. “The song took on a whole new depth once she did her part. I was really lucky to get her.”

The title of “Don't Wait Up” was inspired by an old joke (“Don't wait up for the shrimp boat momma, because daddy comes home with the crabs”) that longtime Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers lighting director Jim Lenahan he loved to crack. Stapleton contributed vocals and Tench plays keyboards. “The words are kind of silly, but it makes sense,” says Campbell. “It's about a woman waiting for her husband to come home from wherever he's been in the world.”

“Shake These Blues” is an old-fashioned blues-rock song that would fit on Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' 2010 record Mojo, while “My Old Friends” is a playful country ballad about an alcoholic saying goodbye to all his favorite drinks. “I wasn't going to put it on the record until George insisted,” says Campbell. “He said, 'You need a little kindness, a little humor.' So it's his fault.” (The actual end of the record is a 43-second mandolin instrumental called “Amanda Lynn.” Say the title out loud if you don't understand it.)

Such austerity was necessary given that many of the songs dealt with quite serious issues, often involving women in desperate circumstances. “My wife said to me, 'Why do you sing so many songs about broken women who need help?' says Campbell. “And I don't know. But there are a lot of women now who are in bad situations with drugs or life or whatever. The characters here try to get them out with some hope in the end. That's why the album is titled Hobos, Virgins & Misfits. The characters in my songs, a lot of them were kind of misfits and bums.”

Campbell and the Dirty Knobs kick off a summer tour June 21 in Skokie, Illinois. But he will be minus drummer Matt Laug as he supports Phil Rudd on AC/DC's European tour. “It's his dream gig,” says Campbell. “He was in a band with Slash once and they opened for AC/DC. He always dreamed that one day he could get the gig, and it came true. I'm so happy for him.”

Tom Petty and Heartbreakers drummer Steve Ferrone, who has a long history with the Knobs, will take Laug's place. The group is rounded out by bassist Lance Morrison and guitarist Jason Sinay. The set will focus on songs from the group's three albums, but will delve into the Heartbreakers' catalog: At their first show in 2024, they played “Listen to Her Heart,” “Fault Lines,” “Refugee,” “Rockin' Around (With You), “You Wreck Me” and “Running Down a Dream”.

“I'm still grieving,” Campbell says. “It's a bittersweet thing. We do an old song because I still miss my brother. But he is still alive in these songs. I make these songs very close to how they should be made. I have the same character and the same slang and nuance. I'm not a great singer, but I can convey the vibe of the song, I think, as well as anyone because I've been there.”

Hobos, Virgins & Misfits track list:
1. “The Greatest”
2. “Angel of Mercy”
3. “Dare to Dream” (feat. Graham Nash)
4. “Hands are tied”
5. “Hell or High Water” (feat. Lucinda Williams)
6. “So Alive”
7. “Shake This Blues”
8. “Innocent Man”
9. “Don't Wait Up” (feat. Chris Stapleton & Benmont Tench)
10. “My Old Friends”
11. “Amanda Lynn”