TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS, one of America's greatest rock and roll bands, will perform in the BRIDGESTONE SUPER BOWL XLII HALFTIME SHOW on FOX at University of Phoenix Stadium in Arizona on Sunday, Feb. 3, the NFL announced today during the FOX NFL SUNDAY pregame show.
The halftime show is one of the most anticipated musical events of the year. Nearly 140 million viewers in the U.S. watched last year's show.
TOM PETTY AND THE HEARTBREAKERS released their debut album in 1976. Since that time, they have sold more than 50 million records and earned a reputation as being among the most successful and exciting touring acts in the business. Between the Heartbreakers' recordings and his solo work, Tom Petty has received 18 Grammy nominations. Honored with lifetime achievement awards, including Billboard's Century Award, MTV's Video Vanguard Award, and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Tom Petty, with the Heartbreakers at his side, has achieved the status of legend among his fellow musicians and listeners worldwide.
Petty and the Heartbreakers are responsible for one of the richest deposits in the history of American song, with hits including "Free Fallin'," "Breakdown," "Refugee," "I Won't Back Down," "Mary Jane's Last Dance," "American Girl," "Don't Come Around Here No More," "The Waiting," "You Don't Know How It Feels," "Runnin' Down A Dream," and more. Petty is a founding member of The Traveling Wilburys, playing alongside George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, and Jeff Lynne, and is recognized as one of rock and roll's most distinctive voices. For young bands looking to capture the authentic spirit of American rock and roll at its best, the Heartbreakers are the gold standard. The band's story, captured as never before in the recent Peter Bogdanovich documentary Runnin' Down A Dream, is a centerpiece in American musical history.
Joining an esteemed list of recent halftime acts that includes the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney and Prince, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers bring prestige and undiluted rock and roll to the Bridgestone Super Bowl XLII Halftime Show.
The game and halftime show will be broadcast worldwide in more than 230 countries and territories.
This year marks the first time the Bridgestone brand has sponsored the Super Bowl halftime show. Bridgestone will also sponsor the Super Bowl XLIII halftime show in 2009.
The BRIDGESTONE SUPER BOWL XLII HALFTIME SHOW is an NFL NETWORK PRODUCTION and will be executive produced and directed by WHITE CHERRY ENTERTAINMENT and DON MISCHER PRODUCTIONS. This same team produced the NFL Opening Kickoff 2007 special from Indianapolis. In addition to the halftime show, they also will produce the Super Bowl XLII pregame show. Don Mischer Productions will serve as executive producer and director, while White Cherry Entertainment, led by Ricky Kirshner and Glenn Weiss, will serve as executive producers.
The NFL has worked the past four years with both Don Mischer Productions and White Cherry Entertainment on Opening Kickoff and Super Bowl shows. Last year's Super Bowl XLI Halftime Show starring Prince earned the producers two Emmy nominations.
