"Rebels" is a song by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers are an American rock band from Gainesville, Florida. They were formed in 1976 by Tom Petty , Mike Campbell , Benmont Tench , , Ron Blair and Stan Lynch...

. It appeared on the 1985 album Southern Accents

Southern Accents

Southern Accents is the sixth album by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, released in 1985.The album's first single, "Don't Come Around Here No More," cowritten by Dave Stewart of Eurythmics, peaked at #13 on the Billboard Hot 100. Its music video featured Alice in Wonderland imagery...

and was released as a single in the same year. Although it only reached #74 on the Billboard Hot 100

Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

 pop chart, it fared much better on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks

Mainstream Rock Tracks

Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks is a ranking in Billboard magazine of the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations, a category that includes stations that play primarily rock music. Modern rock tracks are counted in the Alternative Songs chart.This chart began with the March 21, 1981, issue...

 chart, where it peaked at #5.

"Rebels" and Petty's broken hand

The track was recorded in 1984. It was during the recording of this track that Petty broke his hand. Petty remembers being so high on drugs that he couldn't get an arrangement he liked. Petty went into the control room, and put the original demo tape on, which featured just him and a Rickenbacker

Rickenbacker

Rickenbacker International Corporation, also known as Rickenbacker, is an electric and bass guitar manufacturer based in Santa Ana, California...

 12-string guitar. This made him so furious that he stormed up the stairs into his house, and punched the wall with his left hand, causing him to powder it. After a while, Tom Petty called Jimmy Iovine

Jimmy Iovine

James "Jimmy" Iovine is an American music producer, entrepreneur and chairman of Interscope-Geffen-A&M.-Biography:...

 in to help him finish "Rebels" along with some other tracks on Southern Accents. Alan Weidel, Tom's roadie, considers "Rebels" a least favorite of his due to Petty's broken hand.

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers

• Tom Petty
  Tom Petty
  Thomas Earl "Tom" Petty is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is the frontman of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and was a founding member of the late 1980s supergroup Traveling Wilburys and Mudcrutch. He has also performed under the pseudonyms of Charlie T...
  
   - 12-string guitar, lead vocals
• Mike Campbell - guitars, bass, keyboards
• Benmont Tench
  Benmont Tench
  Benjamin Montmorency Tench, III is an American keyboardist best known as a founding member of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.-Early years:...
  
   - keyboards, vocals
• Stan Lynch
  Stan Lynch
  Stanley Joseph "Stan" Lynch is an American 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 :...
  
   - drums, vocals
• Howie Epstein
  Howie Epstein
  Howard Norman Epstein , was a musician best known for his work with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.-Early life:...
  
  - vocals

Charts

Chart (1985)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Album Rock Tracks	5
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	75