Article Contributed by Sacks and Company
Published on 2026-09-16
The Tom Petty Estate today unveils a comprehensive new box set, Origins 1971-1978, in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the band, out November 6 via UMe. Digging into the vaults, this collection traces the sonic formation of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers in the white-hot ’70s era and features collaborations with legendary artists Al Kooper, Leon Russell, Jim Gordon, Emory Gordy and more, across country, folk, punk, reggae, rock and soul originals.
The announcement arrives ahead of tonight’s Americana Awards, where Petty and the Heartbreakers will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award. The original members of the Heartbreakers, Mike Campbell, Benmont Tench, Stan Lynch and Ron Blair, will open the show with a special reunion performance alongside GRAMMY-winning superstar Chris Stapleton. Heartbreakers Steve Ferrone and Scott Thurston will join for a final song.
Origins 1971-1978 will be available in three configurations: a five-LP box set, a four-CD box set and an uber deluxe edition, each with Blu-ray and DVD. The centerpiece of the vinyl editions is an 88-page fanzine featuring liner notes by David Fricke and Bud Scoppa, track-by-track annotations from the original band, complete album credits for the first two albums and a trove of unearthed archival photos and memorabilia, alongside Polaroids, postcards, collectibles and more. Preorder HERE.
At the heart of the collection is No Sleep Til L.A., which will be available as a stand-alone LP, CD and limited-edition Zoetrope. More than a rarities compilation, it is a 12-track document of Tom Petty becoming Tom Petty—tracing the years between Mudcrutch’s earliest recordings and the formation of the Heartbreakers as he searched for the right players, the right sound and ultimately the right band.
Spanning recordings from Miami to Tulsa to Los Angeles, the album follows the band’s journey from its first-ever studio session at Criteria Studios in 1971, through the formative Tulsa sessions where Mike Campbell, Benmont Tench, Stan Lynch and Ron Blair learned to make records, and into Los Angeles, where it all finally clicked into place. It captures a singer, songwriter and bandleader in rapid development, growing more assured with each session.
Seven of the 12 tracks have never been released before. Five more tracks appear here in new, hi-res mixes. The LP will also be available in a limited-edition “Galaxy” color variant. A Zoetrope version of the record will be available on November 20.
In a special preview of the collection, “Parade of Loons,” a previously unheard Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers track that takes listeners back to 1978, is out now—listen to the track HERE. An imaginative new music video takes us into an animated world of Heartbreakers fandom, directed by Peter Sluszka and starring Iain Armitage of Young Sheldon fame—watch the video HERE.
Origins 1971-1978 includes metallic limited-edition versions of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ debut album and their 1978 follow-up, You’re Gonna Get It!
Each track has been newly mixed and remastered from the original multitrack tapes, including 50th-anniversary editions of the band’s first two albums, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and You’re Gonna Get It!, by longtime producer and engineer Ryan Ulyate. Both editions feature extended versions of 11 tracks, including “American Girl” and “Breakdown.”
The additional discs, drawn deep from the family’s vault, trace the earliest chapters of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, from their Gainesville roots through their cross-country move to Los Angeles and into their first taste of success. Together, they form a musical diary of the band’s formative years.
Live From the Record Plant 1977 features a highly sought-after, fan-favorite broadcast, now released in its entirety for the first time. Recorded for San Francisco’s KSAN-FM at the Record Plant in Sausalito, this high-fidelity recording captures the band’s intense energy even during its early period, including a guest appearance by the legendary Al Kooper.
The Cut Out Bin continues the exploratory spirit of No Sleep Til L.A., gathering five tracks that show Petty working as a solo artist alongside session musicians—including a yacht rock track with Leon Russell—before ultimately concluding that the Heartbreakers were the right vehicle for his songs. More experimental than the band’s later work, the tracks offer a rare look at the road not taken.
The set closes with the band’s 1978 performance on the BBC’s The Old Grey Whistle Test in the UK, where Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers first broke through internationally. The audio has been restored by Ryan Ulyate and is now available for the first time in high definition.
Legendary BBC host Bob Harris, who wrote an essay for the Blu-ray booklet, shares: “It was one of the greatest performances we had ever seen by a band at the top of their game. They played music from another planet to a room packed with manic fans, in one of the most iconic venues in the world. It was an experience so powerful that five decades later we could still remember every chord, every song, every solo.”
The DVD captures the band’s live performance on the BBC program The Old Grey Whistle Test, and a Blu-ray disc featuring the complete collection of all 51 songs in hi-res stereo, Atmos and 5.1 immersive mixes rounds out the set.
Over his 40-year career, Tom Petty became a beloved American rock & roll icon, world-renowned for his songwriting and his incredible band, the Heartbreakers. In addition to the 13 studio albums he made with the Heartbreakers, Petty recorded three solo albums: the acclaimed Full Moon Fever, Wildflowers and Highway Companion. Petty was also a member of the supergroup Traveling Wilburys and the pre-Heartbreakers band Mudcrutch, which reformed and made two more albums in the mid-2000s.
Hailed as one of the greatest rock music artists of all time, Petty’s honors include induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, as well as multiple GRAMMY Awards. He has sold nearly 100 million records, amassed more than 12 billion streams and performed for more than 140 million fans worldwide.
Widely recognized and remembered for his philanthropy and service, Petty received some of the highest honors in philanthropy, including the Midnight Mission’s Golden Heart Award in 2011 and MusiCares Person of the Year in 2017. The Petty Estate aims to extend the late artist’s legacy, both musically and in spirit, by supporting philanthropic and social issues that were close to Petty’s heart.
The Estate has supported myriad organizations, including Immigrant Defenders, Autism Speaks, Planned Parenthood and Everytown for Gun Safety—for which Petty’s music lent its voice to a campaign for common-sense gun reform—alongside Indigenous Climate Action, the DICK’S Foundation’s Sports Matter Program, Gainesville-area organizations and more. Additionally, the Estate was a sponsor of this year’s NYC Pride as well as LGBTQIA+ nonprofit youth organization It Gets Better.
Tom Petty passed away in 2017 shortly after completing his 40th anniversary tour, leaving behind a massive archive of unreleased material. His music continues to reach fans, both new and old, around the world today.
About the Americana Music Association:
The Americana Music Association is a professional not-for-profit trade organization whose mission is to advocate for the authentic voice of American roots music around the world.
LP1: No Sleep Til L.A.
1. Parade of Loons
2. You’re Gonna Learn
3. Another Lonely Night
4. I Can’t Fight It†
5. Depot Street†
6. Sin City
7. Wild Eyes†
8. Unheard of Kind of Hero
9. Up in Mississippi Tonight†
10. Satisfy Yourself
11. Since You Said You Love Me†
12. Long Way
LP2: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (50th Anniversary Edition)
1. Rockin’ Around With You
2. Breakdown*
3. Hometown Blues
4. The Wild One, Forever
5. Anything That’s Rock ’N’ Roll
6. Strangered in the Night
7. Fooled Again (I Don’t Like It)*
8. Mystery Man
9. Luna
10. American Girl*
LP3: You’re Gonna Get It! (50th Anniversary Edition)
1. When the Time Comes*†
2. You’re Gonna Get It*†
3. Hurt
4. Magnolia
5. Too Much Ain’t Enough*
6. I Need to Know
7. Listen to Her Heart
8. No Second Thoughts
9. Restless*
10. Baby’s a Rock ’N’ Roller*
LP4: Live From the Record Plant 1977
1. Pre-Show
2. Surrender
3. Jaguar and Thunderbird
4. Band Intros
5. American Girl
6. Al Kooper, Denny Cordell Intro
7. Fooled Again
8. Luna
9. How We Doin’ on Tape?
10. Listen to Her Heart†
11. I Need to Know
12. Strangered in the Night
13. Dog on the Run
14. (Get Your Kicks On) Route 66
LP5: The Cut Out Bin
1. Save Me
2. Making Some Noise
3. The Ballad of Harry, Neil & Tillie
4. Cry to Me†
5. Lost in Your Eyes
Disc 6: Live on the BBC’s Old Grey Whistle Test 1978
Nine performances in HD and restored audio
Running time: 41 minutes
48kHz/24-bit PCM stereo
Picture: 4:3 pillarbox / 29.97 fps
NTSC all region
*Extended version
†New mix of previously released version
