Refugee (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers song)

"Refugee"
Single by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
from the album Damn the Torpedoes
B-side	"It's Rainin' Again"
Released	January 11, 1980
Format	7"
Recorded	1979
Genre	Rock
Length	3:25
Label	Backstreet
Writer(s)	Tom Petty, Mike Campbell
Producer(s)	Jimmy Iovine, Tom Petty
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers singles chronology
"Don't Do Me Like That" (1979) "Refugee" (1980) "Here Comes My Girl" (1980)

"Refugee" is a song recorded by American rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. It was released in January 1980 as the second single from their album Damn the Torpedoes. It peaked at #15 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in 1980.^[1] The song is in compound AABA form.^[2]

Notable covers

It was covered by Melissa Etheridge in 2005 for her Greatest Hits: The Road Less Traveled album, and reached No. 96 on the Billboard Pop 100. Other versions have been done by Vains of Jenna, Alvin and the Chipmunks,^[3] and The Gaslight Anthem.^[4]

Personnel

• Tom Petty - lead vocal, guitar
• Mike Campbell - lead guitar, accordion, bass guitar
• Benmont Tench - organ, piano, background vocal
• Stan Lynch - drums, background vocal
• Ron Blair - bass guitar
• Jim Keltner - shaker

Chart performance

Weekly singles charts Chart (1980) Peak position Australia KMR 24 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[5] 23 Canada Top Singles (RPM) 2 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[6] 24 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[7] 3 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 [8] 15 U.S. Cash Box Top 100 [9] 11

Year-end charts Chart (1980) Rank Australia [10] 115 Canada 18 New Zealand [11] 29 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 [12] 100 U.S. Cash Box [13] 85

References

1. Joel Whitburn, Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles: 1955-2010, Record Research, 2011.
2. Covach, John (2005), "Form in Rock Music: A Primer", in Stein, Deborah, Engaging Music: Essays in Music Analysis, New York: Oxford University Press, p.74-75, ISBN 0-19-517010-5 .
3. Chipmunk Punk Allmusic. Retrieved 10 July 2011
4. Baltlin, Steve (February 15, 2010). "A Look Back at the Knack's 'My Sharona'". Spinner.com.
5. "Ultratop.be – Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – Refugee" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
6. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40.
7. "Charts.org.nz – Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – Refugee". Top 40 Singles.
8. [Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-2002]
9. http://50.6.195.142/archives/80s_files/19800329.html
10. http://australian-charts.com/forum.asp?todo=viewthread&id=40275
11. http://nztop40.co.nz/chart/?chart=3869
12. http://www.musicoutfitters.com/topsongs/1980.htm
13. http://50.6.195.142/archives/80s_files/1980YESP.html