'Petty Country," an all-star country tribute album to Tom Petty, due in June

Chris Stapleton’s take on Tom Petty’s “I Should Have Known It,” from the forthcoming Petty Country: A Country Music Celebration of Tom Petty, debuted with an accompanying audio video that features vintage photos of Petty—watch/share HERE.

The track originally appeared on Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers’ 2010 album, Mojo, and again on the late rocker’s 2019 posthumous greatest hits album, The Best of Everything. 

It comes ahead of Petty Country: A Country Music Celebration of Tom Petty, the country tribute album curated by some of the late rocker’s closest friends and collaborators. It’s set for release on June 21 via Big Machine Records in partnership with the Tom Petty Estate and is available to pre-order HERE.

“I Should Have Known It” arrives on the heels of “Southern Accents,” reimagined by Petty’s friend and fellow Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Dolly Parton. Watch the video directed by Trey Fanjoy, featuring home videos and professional footage of Petty throughout his life, HERE.

Dierks Bentley’s take on the Petty classic, “American Girl,” premiered as Bentley’s highest charting single upon launch—listen/share HERE. The track is currently climbing through the Top 35 on Country radio.

The tribute album was executive produced by George Drakoulias (Black Crowes, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers), with Randall Poster (Killers of the Flower Moon, Skyfall, Wes Anderson) and Scott Borchetta (Big Machine).

In celebration of the new music, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum will feature archival artifacts seen in the “Southern Accents” music video in June as an extension of their acclaimed “Western Edge” exhibit. The exhibit will showcase select items from Petty’s career that highlight his western edge such as tour assets from his 2001 Way Out West tour, an iconic Nudie suit inspired “Planets” blazer worn famously during his 1985 Southern Accents tour, “Southern Accents” handwritten song lyrics, western style wardrobe pieces worn on and off stage and Petty’s Gretsch 6130 Roundup Western electric guitar.

Petty’s deep roots in country music saw collaborations and long-lasting friendships with a number of the genre’s greatest artists, including Carl Perkins (Petty inducted Perkins into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame), Johnny Cash (The Heartbreakers were the backing band on Cash’s Unchained), June Carter Cash, Marty Stuart, John Prine, Dolly Parton, Tammy Wynette, George Strait, Hank Williams Jr. and Willie Nelson. Today, country songwriters consistently reference their love and admiration for Petty, and in many ways, how Petty’s influence shaped their own sound.

TRACK LIST:

1. “I Should Have Known It” by Chris Stapleton
2. “Wildflowers” by Thomas Rhett
3. “Runnin’ Down A Dream” by Luke Combs
4. “Southern Accents” by Dolly Parton
5. “Here Comes My Girl” by Justin Moore
6. “American Girl” by Dierks Bentley
7. “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” by Lady A
8. “I Forgive It All” by Jamey Johnson
9. “I Won’t Back Down” by Brothers Osborne
10. “Refugee” by Wynonna Judd & Lainey Wilson
11. “Angel Dream No. 2” by Willie Nelson & Lukas Nelson
12. “Learning To Fly” by Eli Young Band
13. “Breakdown” by Ryan Hurd feat. Carly Pearce
14. “Yer So Bad” by Steve Earle
15. “Ways To Be Wicked” by Margo Price feat. Mike Campbell
16. “Mary Jane’s Last Dance” by Midland
17. “Free Fallin’” by The Cadillac Three feat. Breland
18. “I Need To Know” by Marty Stuart And His Fabulous Superlatives
19. “Don’t Come Around Here No More” by
Rhiannon Giddens feat. Silkroad Ensemble and Benmont Tench
20. “You Wreck Me (Live)” by George Strait