As 1993's Greatest Hits album underlined, Tom Petty, with the Heartbreakers and on his own, has produced a body of work that spans three decades. Culling material from nine studio albums including Petty's 1989 triple-platinum solo debut, Full Moon Fever, this collection presented 16 classics plus two newly recorded songs: the hit single "Mary Jane's Last Dance" and "Something In The Air," an interpretation of the 1969 Thunderclap Newman hit that Petty has performed on tour. Released in late 1993, the Greatest Hits album has already sold over two million copies in the US alone and vaulted into the Top Five on Billboard's "Top 100 Pop Albums" chart.

For "Mary Jane's Last Dance," Petty won "Best Male Video" at the 1994 MTV Video Music Awards. During the ceremony, he was also presented with the "Video Vanguard" award citing his longtime contributions to the field.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, hailing from Gainesville, Florida before officially forming in Los Angeles, kicked the musical doldrums of the mid-70s in the face with their 1976 self-titled debut album. It featured a stripped-down-but-accomplished brand of rock that blended jumpy rhythm & blues rhythms and ringing guitars and keyboards, over which Petty grabbed listeners by their throats with his disarmingly blunt lyrics and extremely direct vocal style. Still, it took America a full year to catch up to the album. "Breakdown" was re-released to radio and became a Top 40 hit in 1977, after word filtered back that Petty was creating a firestorm over in England. By the end of the pivotal UK trek, the band was headlining the very same venues where they played as an opening act weeks earlier.

1978's follow-up You're Gonna Get It!, proved the debut album's intensity was no fluke. Marking the band's first gold album, it featured the singles "Listen To Her Heart" and "I Need To Know."

Next, in 1979, came the triple-platinum Damn The Torpedoes album, which brought Petty superstardom and arena headlining status, followed by the successful and critically acclaimed Hard Promises, Long After Dark, Southern Accents, Pack Up The Plantation, Live! (a double live set, which had a companion long form home video) and 1987's "Let Me Up (I've Had Enough)," which featured "Jammin' Me," co-written by Bob Dylan, with whom he teamed up for historic performances in 1986 and 1987.

Throughout this period of success, there were unusual twists and turns: injury (Petty broke his hand in frustration at his in ability to finish Southern Accents); disputes with his former record company when Petty resisted having the Hard Promises album released at a higher "superstar" price for customers (he won); and a brush with a tire company which ultimately withdrew a Petty-soundalike song from a TV commercial.

In 1989, Tom Petty released his debut solo album, Full Moon Fever, produced by Jeff Lynne (his partner in the Traveling Wilburys with Bob Dylan, George Harrison and Roy Orbison), with Petty and Mike Campbell. It was in the Billboard Top Ten album chart for over 34 weeks and earned triple-platinum status, along the way spawning such hits as "I Won't Back Down," "Free Fallin'" and "Runnin' Down A Dream."

The Traveling Wilburys released two platinum albums, The Traveling Wilburys (1988) and Volume Three (1990).

Platinum success returned in 1991 when Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers released Into The Great Wide Open (again with the Lynne/Petty/Campbell production team), from which came the singles "Learning To Fly" (some of the bleak imagery was inspired by the Persian Gulf War) and "Into The Great Wide Open," a song that unflinchingly, and amusingly too, revealed the hollow core of the music biz' star-making machinery.

1991 also saw the release of the long form home video Take The Highway, shot at the Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, California.

Coinciding with the release of the Greatest Hits album was an hour-long documentary, Tom Petty: Going Home, which aired late 1993 on the Disney Channel.

Tom Petty earned a Grammy Award in 1989 for "Best Rock Performance By A Duo or Group With Vocal" for his work with the Traveling Wilburys. He also has been honored with eight nominations since 1981 when he received his first for his song "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" in the category of "Best Rock Performance By A Duo or Group With Vocal."

Wildflowers marks the second solo album by Tom Petty and his first for Warner Bros. Records.

It was produced by Rick Rubin, with Petty and Heartbreaker Mike Campbell. Together, they also produced the two newly recorded songs for the recent Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers Greatest Hits album, including "Mary Jane's Last Dance."

Wildflowers features 15 songs: 13 penned by Petty and two by Petty with Campbell.

Wildflowers features Petty on acoustic and electric guitars, organ and harmonica. He is joined by: Heartbreaker Mike Campbell (bass guitars, electric guitars, harpsichord, slide guitar, sitar, acoustic guitar); Heartbreaker Benmont Tench (piano, grand piano, electric piano, organ, Mellotron, harmonium, tack piano, zenon, orchestron); Heartbreaker Howie Epstein (harmony vocals, backing vocal, bass guitar); Steve Ferrone (drums); Lenny Castro (percussion); Phil Jones (percussion); Michael Kamen (orchestrations, music conductor); Ringo Starr (drums on "To Find A Friend") and Carl Wilson (backing vocals on "Honey Bee").