Stan Lynch

Stanley Joseph Lynch (born May 21, 1955) is an American musician, songwriter and record producer. He was the original drummer for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers for 18 years until his departure in 1994.

Early years Lynch was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, and moved to Gainesville, Florida, in the early 1960s. He began playing music as a small child. As a teenager growing up near Gainesville, Lynch determined that he would find a way to make a living with music. "As a kid I had very little opportunity. I was a marginal student. I wasn't going to college. My parents didn't have money."

"I played guitar and piano, and I always thought I was going to be a guitar player," said Lynch. Petty had come out to Los Angeles with his band Mudcrutch, which Tench and Campbell were originally a part of, and had a recording contract. But once in Los Angeles the producers decided they were not keen on the rest of the band, so it broke up, leaving Petty basically a solo act—something he was not happy about. But because he had the record deal already, after the break Petty went back into the studio and started his pitch. By the end of the evening, Lynch and the rest walked out as Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers.

Once with the Heartbreakers, Lynch calmed down. "Tom told me, 'Look man, you can call anybody anything you want...but you can't lay a hand on anyone in this band.'" Even though he was still in the band in 1989, Lynch did not perform on any songs on Petty's solo album Full Moon Fever, even though Campbell, Tench and Howie Epstein did.

For his part, Lynch felt that he had just begun to play well on the band's fourth and fifth albums, Hard Promises and Long After Dark. "[I'd] gotten looser, more pliable over the years," he commented. "When I listen to our first couple of albums, I think that I sound stiff." As Lynch's ability increased, so did the offers to play with other artists, creating experience that covers a wide variety of musical territory. Lynch contributed to albums by the following artists:

The Amazing Delores The Blasters Jackson Browne T-Bone Burnett The Byrds Belinda Carlisle Bob Dylan The Eagles Elliot Easton Eurythmics Aretha Franklin Don Henley Jackopierce Freedy Johnston Jim Lauderdale Eric Martin The Mavericks John Mellencamp Roger McGuinn Kevin Montgomery Scotty Moore Stevie Nicks The Nudes Rank and File Timothy B. Schmit Del Shannon Todd Sharp Henry Lee Summer Toto Warren Zevon

Departure from the Heartbreakers During his last few years with the Heartbreakers, Lynch expressed displeasure with playing drums in concert on tracks from Petty's solo albums, as he did not play on the studio recordings. After several months of mounting tensions, he left the group immediately after his last Heartbreakers gig on October 2, 1994, at the Bridge School Benefit Concert in Mountain View, California. After his departure, Lynch moved back to Florida, where he partnered with longtime friend Don Henley to help put together the Eagles' reunion album Hell Freezes Over. He also has toured with the Eagles.

Acts Lynch has produced include The Band, the Eagles, Don Henley, Jackopierce, Joe 90, Scotty Moore, and Sister Hazel.

As a songwriter, he has co-written with or written for numerous acts, including Matraca Berg, Meredith Brooks, the Fabulous Thunderbirds, the Jeff Healey Band, June Pointer, Eddie Money, Toto, Tora Tora, Sister Hazel, Ringo Starr, and Don Henley.

Lynch has also worked extensively as a lyricist, including a long-running collaboration with Toto guitarist Steve Lukather. After contributing to Toto albums including Kingdom of Desire and Tambu, Lynch continued writing with Lukather on his solo work. On Lukather's 2023 album Bridges, Lynch co-wrote several songs and wrote the lyrics for "Not My Kind of People". Lukather described Lynch as "Stan, the word man", saying "He’s the one that comes up with these insane biting lyrics", and praising his ability to write lyrics that were "humorous and dark and weird". Personal life Lynch was involved in a five-year relationship with actress Louise "Wish" Foley whom he met while he and the rest of the band were on set shooting a production for the Tom Petty song "Don't Come Around Here No More". Foley played the main blond haired Alice in Wonderland character in the video.