The limited edition book will be available soon
Genesis Publications and the Tom Petty Estate are excited to celebrate Wildflowers with a beautifully crafted limited edition book, Tom Petty: Wildflowers. This exclusive volume will offer an intimate look behind the scenes of Tom’s self-proclaimed favorite album, featuring never-before-seen photographs, handwritten lyrics, and heartfelt reflections from Petty himself, The Heartbreakers, and close collaborators.
Carefully hand-finished and produced in a limited run, this collector’s piece is a fitting tribute to the music and legacy of one of rock’s greatest songwriters.
Pre-orders will open soon for this remarkable tribute to Petty’s enduring musical legacy.
Wildflowers was originally envisioned as a double album upon its release in 1994, but songs were cut for space when it was truncated. In 2020, the full project was released for the first time. Wildflowers & All The Rest was first mentioned in 2015 with Petty’s vision becoming a reality due to the commitment of his loving family, bandmates and collaborators who helped unearth many previously unheard gems. The compilation was curated by Petty’s daughters, Adria and Annakim Petty and his wife Dana Petty who call it, “Many, many hours of pure sonic joy,” as well as Heartbreakers Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench, and was produced by Petty’s longtime engineer and co-producer Ryan Ulyate. Together they stewarded the warmth Petty created through his music and relationship to his fans.
Petty released 16 studio albums and over 180 songs over the course of his 40-year career. Wildflowers was the first album of a long-term renaissance. It was Petty’s fastest selling album and was certified triple platinum only nine months after its release. The album was always deeply significant to him. As proof, five of the 18 songs performed at his final live concert at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles came from the album. Wildflowers — his solo masterpiece, a personal triumph and the album Petty needed to make at that moment, at any cost — is finally here as he intended it and beyond.
During Petty’s final interview with the Los Angeles Times, as the triumphant 40th anniversary tour with The Heartbreakers was coming to an end, he announced that his next big focus would be to finally revisit his 1994 masterpiece, Wildflowers, co-produced with Rick Rubin and Mike Campbell.
Wildflowers in many ways changed Petty’s creative life — as a recording artist, collaborator and band leader — while a profound, personal crisis transformed the stories and emotional thrust in his songs. Petty ultimately wrote more songs than he could release at the time. In fact, Petty, Rubin and Campbell completed the album as a double CD with 25 songs, nearly two hours of music, but his label advised restraint. Released on November 1, 1994, Wildflowers — a single CD with 15 songs, still more than an hour in length — was Petty’s most acutely confessional album to date.
