Mudcrutch was formed in 1970 by Tom Petty and Tom Leadon, who had been playing together in a band called the Epics. Mudcrutch’s lineup consisted of Tom Petty (bass and vocals), Tom Leadon (guitar and vocals), Jim Lenehan (lead vocals), Randall Marsh (drums) and Mike Campbell (guitar). Leadon and Lenehan left the band in 1972 and were replaced by bassist/guitarist/vocalist Danny Roberts. Keyboardist Benmont Tench also joined the band. Ricky Rucker was a part of the band for a short time. Mudcrutch served as the house band at Dub’s Lounge in its hometown of Gainesville, Florida.
In 1974, Mudcrutch signed with Shelter Records and re-located to Los Angeles, California. The band released one single, “Depot Street,” in 1975, which failed to chart. After Danny Roberts left the group, Petty invited Charlie Souza to take over on bass guitar and the band continued recording in Leon Russell’s Tulsa Studio, and later at Leon’s Encino California home. The band’s record company broke them up in late 1975. Petty, Campbell and Tench went on to form The Heartbreakers in 1976 with fellow Gainesville natives Stan Lynch and Ron Blair.
In August 2007, Tom Petty invited Randall Marsh and Tom Leadon, original members of Mudcrutch, to reunite with Heartbreakers Benmont Tench and Mike Campbell to reform Mudcrutch. They recorded an album, Mudcrutch, which was released on April 29, 2008, by Reprise Records, and contains 14 old and new tracks. “We would play and then we would just talk about the old days,” said Tom Leadon. The band toured briefly in California to promote the album throughout April and the beginning of May 2008.Fans who bought tickets to the tour through Ticketmaster were given six free downloads from their debut album.
On November 11, 2008 a live EP titled Extended Play Live was released. All the tracks were recorded live in April 2008. On the same day American music channel VH1 Classic broadcast a documentary about the band.
In 2013 Tom Petty announced that he was working on new material with the band, supposedly to be released in late 2014; however, nothing was released that year.
According to the Rolling Stone magazine, Tom Petty’s pre-fame band Mudcrutch is going to reconvene August 2015 to begin work on a new album. The group was originally going to begin work on the album in January, but things were pushed back eight months due to medical issues of the rhythm guitarist Tom Leadon. In February 2016, Mudcrutch was announced as a headliner for the 2016 Bunbury Music Festival in Cincinnati, OH. Full tour dates on the band website.
The new album Mudcrutch 2 streets on May 20.