Trail Stops

University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32603

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     Plaza of the Americas is the main campus green at the University of Florida. It is also where Tom Petty once mowed the lawn and performed in concert with Mudcrutch. The band included two future Heartbreakers:  Mike Campbell and, starting in 1972, Benmont Tench. 

     The Halloween Masquerade Ball, which was held here in 1970, 1971 and 1972, included Mudcrutch in the lineup each year. They were organized by the Rose Community Center, a concert production enterprise formed by Bruce Nearon and Charles Ramirez, eventually assisted by Jeff Goldstein, which produced many concerts, with local and national acts, in and around Gainesville during the early 1970s.

     During the third Ball, on Oct. 28, some audience members got out of control, prompting university authorities to attempt to end the show -- including a university official ripping the drum sticks from the 17-year-old hands of future Heartbreaker Stan Lynch, who was then in the band Road Turkey. UF disallowed the event on campus in 1973, so it was held on the west side of the city at Santa Fe Community College.

    Future Mudcrutch drummer Randall Marsh performed in a band called Dead or Alive in this Plaza on the Valentine's Day Love-In concert in 1970. 

Image of poster from Gainesville Rock History website research that Marty Jourard created as a companion to his 2016 book, Music Everywhere: The Rock and Roll Roots of a Southern Town

2033 Mowry Rd, Gainesville, FL 32608

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     Lake Alice, which is part of the broader Lake Alice Conservation Area, is located on the campus of the University of Florida. The lake, which is home to countless alligators, is where at age 16 Tom Petty accidentally drove his car, a white Chevrolet Impala, when he was supposed to be at a dance. 

     Keith Harben, Tom's neighborhood friend, told me that they were at a dance together that night at the American Legion Hall (513 University Ave.; now the Matheson History Museum). Tom, who had very recently received his driver's license, drove them that night in Tom's recently acquired car, which he got from his mother after she got a new car. During the dance, Tom left with a date in his car to go parking. Tom told Keith he'd be back to pick him up at the dance. Later that night when Tom hadn't shown up, Keith became worried. Eventually, Tom's mother showed up in the family car to pick up Keith -- with an embarrassed Tom riding along. 

     To read about this, see this Gainesville Sun article: https://www.gainesville.com/story/news/local/2017/10/08/tom-petty-rebel-and-friend/18354679007/ 

    Years later, after Petty had dropped out of Santa Fe Junior College after successfully avoiding being drafted into the Vietnam War, he needed a daytime job to supplement the meager pay from early Mudcrutch gigs. So, he landed a job working for the University of Florida's grounds crew, where he initially was assigned to work at Lake Alice.

     "I just changed the screens on a water purification system they'd set up in Lake Alice," Petty told Warren Zanes for the 2015 book Petty: The Biography. "They were dredging the lake, trying to get all the water hyacinths out so there would be more oxygen in the water, which was filled with alligators, all kinds of wildlife. I had  a few adventures with snakes out there" (pg. 53).

Photo by Shawn Murphy

1814 W University Ave, Gainesville, FL 32603

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      Tom Petty's early bands, the Sundowners and the Epics, performed in several fraternities along Frat Row and elsewhere around campus. Petty told Warren Zanes for the 2015 Petty: The Biography that the Epics were "just a big jukebox for a drunken crowd" (pg. 51). 

     And it in in the frat houses where Petty said he partied, starting at age 15, while in these early bands.  

     In the 1985 "Southern Accents" documentary, which was made for MTV, he drives by, points out and talks about a skirmish at Delta Upsilon, which he says resulted in a broken nose. To watch the documentary, see the link below. But to see the Delta Upsilon clip, start watching at the 18:35 mark.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmVU3LOcLds  

     Keith Harben, Tom's neighborhood friend and band manager of the Sundowners, told me that he recalled the night the band broke up. It happened as a result of a fist fight in this frat house between 16-year-old Tom and the band's drummer, Dennis Lee, which Keith witnessed. 

Photo from "Southern Accents" documentary by Richard Schenkman

 401 Fraternity Dr., Gainesville, FL 32603

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     Mudcrutch played a concert at the Pi Lambda Phi fraternity house on the campus of the University of Florida during the 1972-73 academic year. The band’s stage was on top of pushed-together dining room tables, which was the frat’s typical set-up for the bands it hosted. Mudcrutch was paid $1,000, which would be about $7,300 in today’s dollars, according to the Consumer Price Index Inflation Calculator.

     Keith Nelson, who joined the frat in 1972, shared with me pages from The Pearl, the magazine that the frat published yearly, noting that Pi Lambda Phi’s “social calendar” that year provided “an unsurpassed year of entertainment,” then summarizes it as follows: “The social program was highlighted by band parties, sorority socials, movies, pizza parties, and roller derby parties. ‘Eli,’ ‘Mudcrutch,’ and ‘Southern Comfort’ were just three of the great bands entertaining the Lammies and their dates” (pg. 18 of 1973 edition). Note that calendar dates of any of these concerts or events are not indicated in this year-end social calendar. While the precise date is unknown, someone who was there that night now remembers it happening in March of 1973, Nelson said. 

    Charles “Chuck” Modell, who served as the fraternity’s treasurer during the 1972-73 academic year, recalled this backstory of the frat brothers deciding upon Mudcrutch: “We usually had 2 or 3 band parties a quarter at a cost of $300-$400 each for a local band.  We decided this quarter we would have only one really good one and set a budget of $1,000. The booking agent gave up two options – Tony Joe White, who was a national act with a hit song, ‘Polk Salad Annie,’ and then the top local act, Mudcrutch.  I voted for Tony Joe White.  I am grateful that I got outvoted by the (fraternity president).”

    Note that during the 1972-73 year, Pi Lambda Phi’s address would have been 15 Frat Row, although today the address is 401 Fraternity Dr. The university has over time renamed the thoroughfare from Frat Row to Fraternity Drive. And it has renumbered the addresses more than once.

    Also note that there is currently another fraternity housed at 401 Fraternity Dr. because, according to Nelson, Pi Lambda Phi was suspended from campus for two years “but will be back” in 2026.

Picture of frat house by unknown photographer, courtesy of Pi Lambda Phi’s Facebook page.  Note that the photograph shows a sign on the front of the building, taken some years ago, that lists the address as 2285 Fraternity Dr. as part of the university’s old numbering system. The building where Mudcrutch performed is now 401 Fraternity Dr. 

157 Gale Lemerand Dr, Gainesville, FL 32611

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     Mudcrutch performed in a WUFT studio on the campus of the University of Florida circa January 1971 with Tom Petty on bass guitar, Randall Marsh on drums, Mike Campbell on guitar, and Tom Leadon on guitar; guesting on banjo was Bernie Leadon, who later became an Eagle. 

     The studios and office for WUFT, a PBS affiliate that is owned by the University of Florida, was then located inside Florida Field complex, the football arena that is today named Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. The studios were on the first floor in Stadium West, in the north corner. In 1980, WUFT relocated to the newly constructed College of Journalism and Communications building, which was later named Weimer Hall. WUFT's transmitter is located on Northwest 53rd Avenue, in the woods just north of Devil’s Hillhopper Geological State Park.

    David T. “Lefty” Wright videorecorded what is believed to be the earliest known film of the band. The video was shot on Super 8 film using a silent film camera, which Wright borrowed from his friend Jim Lenahan, a founding member of Mudcrutch and later a Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ tour lighting director as well as a director of some of the iconic music videos in the 1980s. The WUFT video can be watched here:

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/15859tQpYx/?mibextid=xfxF2i

Screen capture by Shawn Murphy. Video courtesy of David T. Wright via Tom Petty Nation

333 Newell Dr, Gainesville, FL 32611

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     University Auditorium was the site of several Mudcrutch concerts sponsored by The Rose Community from 1971-1973, including one that had Lynyrd Skynyrd as the opening act on Aug. 21, 1971.

     Listen to a Mudcrutch show that is noted to have been here on Jan. 14, 1971, in this bootleg soundboard recording: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bl4VeidzKos 

     RGF, which had future Heartbreaker Ron Blair in the band, performed here in 1972.

Photo from Concert Archives

205 Fletcher Dr, Gainesville, FL 32608

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     Before there was the Academic Advising Center here, there was Johnson Hall, a multi-purpose building that burned down in 1987 after a grease fire started in a food service kitchen. Within Johnson Hall at the time was The Rat, or The Rathskeller, which opened in 1969 as the first campus venue serving beer with food and live music -- at that time German music. The German beer hall theme was short-lived, though, traded out for a 700-capacity concert venue serving beer. 

     Mudcrutch (including future Heartbreakers Tom Petty, Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench) played here several times in 1971, 1972 and 1973. Road Turkey (including future Heartbreaker Stan Lynch) and RGF (including future Heartbreaker Ron Blair) also performed here during these years. 

     The Rat's lineup of musical acts over its history was vast. Among the many acts were the Allman Brothers Band in 1970, Lynyrd Skynyrd (then spelled Lynard Skynard) in 1971 and 1972, and U2 in 1981. The Box Tops, Dion, Blues Image, Goose Creek Symphony, and Bette Midler, among many others, also performed here. 

Photo courtesy of the University of Florida Digital Collections at the George A. Smathers Libraries

686 Museum Rd, Gainesville, FL 32611

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      Formerly known at the Student Union, but commonly referred to as The Union when it opened in 1967, its South Terrace was the site of a concert by Mudcrutch (with future Heartbreakers Tom Petty and Mike Campbell) the afternoon of Feb. 27, 1971. 

     The Union North Lawn was also the site of concerts by Road Turkey (with future Heartbreaker Stan Lynch) in 1974. 

     The Union also was the site of 1970 and 1971 concerts by RGF (which included future Heartbreaker Ron Blair). 

Image of poster from Gainesville Rock History website research that Marty Jourard created as a companion to his 2016 book, Music Everywhere: The Rock and Roll Roots of a Southern Town

1765 Stadium Rd, Gainesville, FL 32608

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     Formerly known at the Student Services Building, but commonly referred to as The Hub when it opened in 1950, this was the site of a 1973 concert by Mudcrutch (with future Heartbreakers Tom Petty, Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench), who performed on the lawn behind The Hub. 

     This location was also the site of a 1972 concert by Road Turkey (with future Heartbreaker Stan Lynch). 

Photo courtesy of Explore Historical Alachua County

2129 Museum Rd, Gainesville, FL 32603

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     At the original Hume Hall, a dormitory, which was built here in 1958, a three-band concert was held in October 1973. Topping that bill was White Witch, followed by New Days Ahead and Mudcrutch (with future Heartbreakers Tom Petty, Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench). 

     The original Hume Hall was razed in 2000. In 2002, the current Hume Hall was constructed. 

Photo courtesy of UF Libraries

1659 Museum Rd, Gainesville, FL 32611

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     On Oct. 21, 1971, Mudcrutch (with future Heartbreakers Tom Petty and Mike Campbell) and Road Turkey (with future Heartbreaker Stan Lynch), as the opening band, performed at the Florida Museum of Natural History on the back terrace, on the south side of the building. It was at this concert that Mudcrutch bassist Tom Petty had to play drums after Randall Marsh did not show up, according to Marty McKnew, a friend of Mike Campbell who then served as the band's "unpaid roadie," using a van from his job at a downtown flower shop to drive the band and its equipment to various gigs in and around Gainesville.  

     As the band's equipment was being set up on the back patio for the concert at this University of Florida location, which then served as an event venue, there was no sign of Randall Marsh, so a telephone was located to call him at his home in Bushnell, about 75 miles south of Gainesville. 

     He "just spaced out and forgot about it," McKnew told me. "Tom was pretty upset and someone called Randall, it might have been me. He got there very late and Tom sat in on the drums but I don't remember who played bass, probably Tom Leadon."

     Note that while the museum is today located at 3215 Hull Road on campus, it was then located at Dickinson Hall, a building that today is used for housing its expansive collections and for its scientific research. It is closed to the public.

Photo courtesy of Department of Natural History, University of Florida

Stadium Rd, Gainesville, FL 32608

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    On May 29, 1970, Janis Joplin performed inside the Florida Gymnasium on the campus of the University of Florida. It was at this concert that Mudcrutch guitarist Mike Campbell and friend Marty McKnew, both without tickets and short on cash, managed to sneak into the building through a side door, seeing her perform, McKnew told me. Janis Joplin died from a heroin overdose in Los Angeles a little more than four months later. She was 27 years old.

    Florida Gym, or Alligator Alley as it was commonly known, featured a monumental lineup of national acts for two decades, starting in the early 1960s. While not an exhaustive list, here are some of the eclectic performers who took the stage here, listed in alphabetical order: The Allman Brothers Band, America, The Association, Joan Baez, Count Basie, The Beach Boys, Pat Benatar, Blondie, Blues Image, James Brown, Jimmy Buffet, George Carlin, The Carpenters, Johnny Cash, The Chamber Brothers, Harry Chapin, Ray Charles, Crosby and Nash, Delaney and Bonnie and Friends, Al DiMeola, Dion, The Doobie Brothers, The Drifters, Earl Scruggs Revue, Ferrante and Teicher, The 5th Dimension, The Four Tops, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Leslie Gore, Grand Funk Railroad, The Guess Who, Richie Havens, Ian & Sylvia, Ike and Tina Turner, Isaac Hayes, The Hollies, J. Geils Band, Elton John, Jack Jones, B.B. King, The Lettermen, Little Anthony and the Imperials, Loggins and Messina, Kenny Loggins, Taj Mahal, Dave Mason, John Mayall, Don McLean, Peter Nero, Pacific Gas & Electric; Peter, Paul and Mary; Wilson Pickett, The Platters, Player, The Ramones, Buddy Rich, Johnny Rivers, Rockpile, Tom Rush, Leon Russell, REO Speedwagon, The Righteous Brothers, Seals and Crofts, John Sebastian, Simon and Garfunkel, The Spinners, Stephen Stills, The Supremes, Sweetwater, James Taylor, Ted Nugent and the Amboy Dukes, The Temptations, Rufus Thomas, Vanilla Fudge, Flip Wilson, Stevie Wonder, Yes, and Frank Zappa.

    The Grateful Dead was the last band to perform here, on Nov. 29, 1980.

    Florida Gym, as it was commonly known, opened in 1949 as a 7,000-seat sports and entertainment venue. It served as the home court for the university’s men’s basketball team, as well as for other indoor sports teams, for more than 30 years. The Stephen C. O’Connell Center was constructed in 1980 and this building was repurposed for the College of Health and Human Performance. To learn more, go here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_Gymnasium

Photo courtesy of Florida Memory, State University and Archives of Florida