Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Southern Accents

From producer and director Richard Schenkman: “This is a half-hour documentary special I produced and directed for MTV in 1986. Tom Petty’s hand had finally healed (after he’d broken it in a fit of frustrated pique caused by his inability to complete the long-gestating “Southern Accents” album) and the band was anxious to play. We captured the Heartbreaker’s very first live show in years – an impromptu concert on the roof of the Don Ce Sar hotel in St. Petersburg.

But first — we journeyed to Tom’s hometown of Gainesville, FL, and retraced the band’s early days. Charles M. Young of Rolling Stone conducted a far-reaching interview with Tom, and for good measure we visited the set of one of the new “Alice In Wonderland” – themed music videos produced for the record’s release. The show became the template for the later “Rockumentary” series, and features some guest-editing by Steven Soderbergh!