Nine years ago today, on Oct. 2, 2017, Tom Petty died in Santa Monica, California, at the age of 66. Only a week earlier he had walked off the stage at the Hollywood Bowl after closing his band’s 40th anniversary tour. The last song he played for an audience that night was ‘American Girl.’
That song was heard again last month in a way his fans had stopped hoping for. According to Best Classic Bands, the four surviving original Heartbreakers opened the Americana Honors and Awards at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium on Sept. 16 with ‘American Girl’ and ‘Breakdown.’ Guitarist Mike Campbell and keyboardist Benmont Tench were joined by drummer Stan Lynch and bassist Ron Blair. The outlet noted that the original lineup had not performed together since the band’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in 2002. Chris Stapleton handled the vocals, and the moment got to him. Campbell recalled that Stapleton admitted afterward, “I was so completely enthralled listening to you guys, I forgot to sing!”
Tom Petty’s Heartbreakers Are ‘Still Processing It’
The reunion was particularly significant because drummer Stan Lynch had left the Heartbreakers in 1994, following years of disagreements with Petty. Original bassist Ron Blair had also departed in 1982, although he returned to the band in 2002. Their appearance alongside Campbell and Tench brought the surviving founding members together onstage for the first time in 24 years. Despite the long separation, the musicians fell back into the songs that had helped establish the Heartbreakers as one of America’s most beloved rock bands.
Petty’s daughter Adria was there to accept the Lifetime Achievement Award on her father’s behalf. During the ceremony, she remembered him as “one in a billion” and praised his integrity, both as a musician and as a person. Chris Stapleton, who presented the honor, also spoke about Petty’s lasting influence on his own music. The recognition came as the Heartbreakers celebrated 50 years since their formation in 1976, giving the surviving musicians an opportunity to honor their late frontman together.
The band was in Nashville to accept a Lifetime Achievement honor, and the emotion was plain. “I’m still processing it,” Lynch said. “It’s emotional.” Campbell told GuitarPlayer what had held the group together for four decades. “The reason why the Heartbreakers didn’t break up was because Tom and I had a brotherhood,” he said. Longtime members Steve Ferrone and Scott Thurston joined in for ‘You Wreck Me’ before the set ended. More music is coming, because the Petty estate has announced a box set called ‘Origins 1971-1978’ for Nov. 6 to mark the band’s 50th anniversary. Anyone who wants to remember how the story ended can still watch his final performance from that September night in Hollywood.
The upcoming Origins 1971–1978 collection offers more than a conventional greatest-hits retrospective. According to Petty’s official website, the set features 51 tracks, including 27 previously unreleased or otherwise rare recordings from the band’s earliest years. It also includes extended versions of “American Girl” and “Breakdown,” a 1977 performance recorded at the Record Plant, and restored footage from a 1978 appearance on the BBC’s The Old Grey Whistle Test. The collection traces Petty’s musical development from his early band Mudcrutch through the Heartbreakers’ first two albums.
The voice is gone, but the songs keep finding their way back to a stage.
