Tom Petty Fans Can Expect ‘All Kinds of Things’ This Year

Fans of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers can look forward to a lot of cool stuff here in 2026. That's the breakdown, to borrow a choice word from the rock legends' own catalog of music.

A recently surfaced archival tape of the Florida group's "American Girl" was released earlier this summer, offering a new view of the fan favorite that for the first time, has a proper ending rather than the traditional fadeout that's been heard on radio for decades.

A similarly extended take of "Breakdown," another Petty/Heartbreakers signature track, will land on streaming June 26.

They're the latest additions to an ongoing campaign celebrating the 50th anniversary of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Though the late singer-songwriter had already been filing some early chapters in the music industry with some of the future Heartbreakers in Mudcrutch, changes were incoming.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers arrived Nov. 9, 1976 via Shelter Records, the label owned by Leon Russell and producer Denny Cordell. Petty, guitarist Mike Campbell and keyboardist Benmont Tench, were joined by drummer Stan Lynch and bassist Ron Blair. The debut album, the first under the Heartbreakers banner, opened a new chapter.

As we know here in the present, a lot of history followed from those auspicious beginnings. So there's a good amount to explore 50 years later.

What Tom Petty Fans Can Expect Later This Year

"The project coming up, which we're literally [finalizing] right now for the 50th [anniversary celebration], later this year, I know [longtime Petty producer and archivist] Ryan [Ulyate], down to the wire, was calling and coaxing out of [people like] Mike, memories and recollections," Adria Petty tells UCR. "Trying to get credits for certain weird Tulsa-era [things] and recording sessions [in general]. We're talking about 1970 to 1979, most of those people have passed on."

"[Also], things before they went to a major [label] like Universal, were kind of shifted around or acquired," she details. "We've just been like f--king Columbo, for the last two years. 'And another thing! Are you sure you don't know who that drummer is? Are you sure? Was there a bass player in the room? Do you remember him? Did you have coffee with him?' He's trying to elicit any memory from these guys."

Listen to Adria Petty and Ryan Ulyate on the 'UCR Podcast'

'It's an Incredible Thing for Me'

As Petty shares, the process of going through the archives and working on this project has, as one would expect, been both emotional and meaningful to work on. "It's an incredible thing for me, every time we go back into [this stuff] with the Heartbreakers, that they're sort of the little engine that could," she says. "They crafted excellence, but out of pure fun and joy for each other and love for the fight of it. But my dad was never f---ing around. He was always trying to do something really good. We try to do the same."

Tom Petty - Live at the Paradise — TomPetty.com

Going Back to 'Paradise,' Circa 1978

In the category of "something really good" is definitely the recent release of Live at the Paradise Rock Club 1978, which first surfaced on Record Store Day, bottling highlights from a potent night in Boston while the group were on the road touring in support of their second album, You're Gonna Get It!, which arrived in May of that year.

The July recordings from the Paradise offer further proof that Boston -- where they'd previously captured an earlier show that was sent to radio as a promo LP, Official Live Leg -- was still a hotbed for the group.

"This glimpse at the past shows the power of the band and the acceptance of the band by the city, leading to a great fanbase there that only grew as we moved on to play both the old [Boston] Garden and also Fenway [Park] in the ensuing years," Alan "Bugs" Weidel, Petty's longtime personal assistant and friend, writes in a note included with the Paradise release. "The band developed a love of Boston and the fans there that made it a memorable place we were excited to visit."

Listen to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Perform 'Shout' in 1983

"It just is a real kick-ass rip s--t show," Adria Petty says. "I remember as a little kid hearing things like 'Shout' at the shows and just feeling like there was a spiritual occurrence happening. It's really amazing to go back and hear that in this Paradise concert."

Ulyate has done some work on the audio to present the Boston recordings in the best possible light for fans. But it retains the feeling and the spirit of the night. If you weren't listening on the radio, you can imagine that you got a copy of it from a trusted friend. Which is one aspect of the many different ways Tom Petty liked to think about things he was sharing with his fanbase.

"Tom's thing was like, you know, it has to be above the bar. [The recordings of the Paradise gig were] on two-track, and yeah, you know, I would have preferred if it was multi- track," the producer and archivist says. "But the point is, the performance is what it's about, you know? And this performance is just so good. That just carries it through and the audience is into it. You can see these guys are getting the crowd going. They're really getting good at this point. So, it was just such a spectacular performance."

Mike Campbell and Tom Petty perform at Viejas Arena on August 3, 2014 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Jerod Harris/Getty Images)

Celebrating Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers at 50

With the looming 50-year anniversary for the debut album from Tom and the Heartbreakers this fall, Adria says fans can expect some more buried treasure to be unearthed as the year continues -- including one particularly exciting larger release.

"There's going to be a lot of material released that hasn't been released before and there's been a real deep archeological dig on it," she confirms. "I'd say for the next [period of months and] the fourth quarter leading into the year after the formation of the band, they'll be hearing all kinds of stuff. We've spent a good amount of time working on it. I will say that the box that that we're about to release [information about] literally feels like you're holding the archive that's in the clubhouse. It's literally like you're holding what you could see or touch in Petty Legacy, which is like pretty fun."