Hear a Lost Tom Petty Radio Broadcast This Week

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers released Long After Dark, their fifth studio album, in Nov. 1982. Barely two weeks after the record was out, the band was in the studio taking calls from fans to discuss the album on the syndicated radio program Rockline.

With an expanded edition of Long After Dark arriving this week, Ultimate Classic Rock Nights will rebroadcast the Petty Rockline episode for the first time since its original airing on Wednesday (Oct. 16) at 10pm EST. You can listen on affiliate stations or stream it live here at that time.

It was an important time for the group, as director Cameron Crowe recently shared with UCR. He joined the band in studio that night at Rockline, because they were also filming for what would become 1983's Tom Petty: Heartbreakers Beach Party.

"[Tom Petty] really had something to say. I think he was at the crossroads then. I think he felt that there was a shot this band was going to go the distance. [Hard Promises] was a thoughtful follow-up to Damn the Torpedoes," Crowe explains. "But now, it was a time to kind of remind people that they did have rock in their arsenal. They did know how to blow it out and write all kinds of songs in many different genres."

READ MORE: How Tom Petty Made a Quick Return on 'Long After Dark'

"It’s about the band. The band was f--king unbelievable, first album," Adria Petty told UCR in a separate conversation. "You know, some people have one hit and they have a career -- or three hits, that’s a career forever. But they had that on the first record. I think in the case of Long After Dark, there was more of a revelation there maybe than we thought, in terms of the importance of where the band was at."

Listen to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' 'Straight Into Darkness' From 'Long After Dark'

Petty and the group were in good spirits during the Rockline broadcast, as they sat with host Bob Coburn, talking to listeners and answering a variety of questions. Though they had been a band for less than a decade, a lot had happened in that time, as Petty detailed, telling Coburn about their journey from being on Leon Russell and Denny Cordell's Shelter Records to the present day events of Long After Dark.

Thanks to the generosity of Coburn and Petty's respective estates, fans can hear the original broadcast one more time on Wednesday evening at 10pm EST.

Tom Petty: Heartbreakers Beach Party will be in theaters for the first time ever on Thursday (Oct. 17) and Sunday (Oct. 20) courtesy of Trafalgar Releasing. Find local showtimes in your area via the film's website.

'Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' (1976): "Breakdown"

There's a reason this track has such a late-night, R&B-soaked feel. Inspiration struck Tom Petty on an after-midnight break during sessions for his debut album. "It was one or two in the morning, and I called the Heartbreakers and had them all come back," Petty told Rolling Stone in 2017. "They had all gone home. They came back at two or three in the morning, and we cut the song." The lyric fits that twilit setting perfectly, as Petty whispered (and then shouted) a blatantly lustful request. Stan Lynch added a deft cadence straight out of the Beatles' "All I've Got to Do," while Benmont Tench's electric piano blended a notable hint of Ray Manzarek in the verses with a joyous Billy Preston vibe during the solo. Mike Campbell's lick completed it all. An edited version of the results – at one time, "Breakdown" stretched out past the seven-minute mark – became their first-ever Top 40 hit. Buy 'Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' on vinyl

'You're Gonna Get It!' (1978): "Listen to Her Heart"

This song fit a brokenhearted theme, considering the original album title was Terminal Romance. But "Listen to Her Heart" seems to have stalled out at a truly surprising No. 59 on the Billboard chart after controversy broke out over an initial lyric directly referencing drugs: "You think you're gonna take her away, with your money and your cocaine." Sessions were held inside an appropriately desperate place: an abandoned Armenian nightclub located on Hollywood Boulevard. Petty had been inspired to write the song, which focuses on an unfeeling partner, after his wife Jane found herself locked inside a late-night party by Ike Turner, the temperamental late R&B star. No way Petty was going to let label execs water it all down to reflect a more inoffensive vice, specifically champagne. "I mean, first of all, it's anti-cocaine," Petty told Cameron Crowe in 1978. "I don't even like the stuff. And second, what's champagne going for these days? Two bucks a bottle?"Buy 'You're Gonna Get It' on vinyl

'Damn the Torpedoes' (1979): "Refugee"

The writing of this song? A breeze. Petty said he quickly composed lyrics for "Refugee" working off a four-track demo from Mike Campbell. Then they tried to record it. Campbell later guessed that the Heartbreakers did 100 takes. Petty apparently placed it closer to 200. "I remember being so frustrated," Campbell told Songfacts in 2003. "I just left the studio and went out of town for two days." The time away did them good. "Refugee" settled into a tough-minded song cycle bemoaning the current state of the music business. Petty was pushing back, and hard, as ABC Records tried to sell the Heartbreakers' contract to MCA without their consent. In keeping, a sense of defiance leaks out of every corner of the song. Yet they were still unsure. "When we were at the studio mixing it," Campbell added, "I remember this one girl who was working in reception, she came in and heard the mix and she said, 'That's a hit, that's a hit,' and we looked at each other and said, 'Maybe it is.'"Buy 'Damn the Torpedoes' on vinyl

'Hard Promises' (1981): "The Waiting"

A determined iconoclast, Tom Petty didn't want to be associated with hipster trends: "Call me a punk," he once shot back to an interviewer, "and I'll cut you." Instead, the Heartbreakers' goal was to synthesize classic rock's signature sounds with an approach and attitude that was all their own. "The Waiting" lays bare one key influence. In fact, the chorus is so reminiscent of the Byrds that the band's frontman became certain he was involved. "[Roger] McGuinn swears that he said it to me," Petty later told Paul Zollo. "Maybe he did." (For what it's worth, Petty said he was actually inspired by a quote from Janis Joplin: "I love being onstage, and everything else is waiting.") Still battling with the higher-ups, Petty reportedly considering naming the album $8.98 in protest after his label floated a plan to charge fans an extra dollar for the LP. Buy 'Hard Promises' on vinyl

'Long After Dark' (1982): "You Got Lucky"

Petty died with his heartland-rocker credentials intact, but that doesn't mean he wasn't open to experimentation – in particular as the '80s wore on. He'd ultimately be consumed by that era's plasticine feel on 1985's "Don't Come Around Here No More," though it didn't start out that way. The Heartbreakers emerged from a transitional period with "You Got Lucky," a Top 20 hit that does a terrific job of balancing their core sound and the tech of the day. Building off a drum loop, the band introduced its first big lineup change as Ron Blair was replaced by former Del Shannon bassist Howie Epstein. Benmont Tench apparently handled the synth stabs begrudgingly, but they were aptly punctuated by Mike Campbell's stinging guitar work.Buy 'Long After Dark' on vinyl

'Southern Accents' (1985): "Southern Accents"

A loose concept album focusing on Petty's roots in the Deep South turned into an unbearable slog. The Heartbreakers started out tentatively, after a lengthy hiatus, then simply lost their direction. "I didn't know if we had broken up or not," Petty said in 1987. "We'd been away from each other for a while, longer than we've ever been apart." By the time it was over, almost two years and a half years after 1982's Long After Dark, the follow-up had five acknowledged co-producers – never a good sign. ("When I hear that one," Petty later candidly admitted, "I can taste the cocaine in the back of my mouth.") He ended up with an oddly disjointed track listing that shoe-horned in three off-topic songs co-written by Dave Stewart of Eurythmics. Still, there are moments when Petty's early thematic ideas shine through, including the unflinching, deeply moving title track. Johnny Cash later covered "Southern Accents" on 1996's Unchained.Buy 'Southern Accents' on vinyl

'Let Me Up (I've Had Enough)' (1987): "Jammin' Me"

The Long After Dark tour had became admittedly ragged and routine, and then the big idea around Southern Accents had fallen apart. The Heartbreakers briefly emerged from this difficult period, but only after an outside assist. A gig backing up Bob Dylan brought them back around to a spontaneous approach, and Let Me Up (I've Had Enough) came together very quickly. Not that there weren't some surprises along the way. After all, you'd think an early collaboration between Petty and Dylan would have a homey, proto-Traveling Wilburys feel. Instead, "Jammin' Me" levies withering criticism of the early information page, taking a swipe a then-hot media darlings like comedian Eddie Murphy over a New Wave-inspired music bed. And that Murphy thing was all Dylan. "I had nothing against Eddie Murphy," Petty told American Songwriter in 2017. "What he was talking about was media overload and being slammed with so many things at once. And times were changing; There weren't four TV channels anymore." Buy 'Let Me Up (I've Had Enough)' on vinyl

'Full Moon Fever' (1989): "Free Fallin'"

Jeff Lynne finally helped Petty and Campbell find their creative footing again, after another round of failed Heartbreakers sessions. Sparked by Lynne's knack for sleek studio wizardry, Petty quickly banged out this song, building off a riff he'd recorded on a keyboard to polish off the album's first song. "It was really only 30 minutes of my life," he later told Rolling Stone, yet Petty admitted that a day rarely went by when someone didn't mention "Free Fallin'." That he could create such an unforgettable juxtaposition between the exuberance of "I'm free!" and then the desolate "free fallin'," completing the second biggest hit of his career (after "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around," his 1981 duet with Stevie Nicks), while working at such a furious pace is a testament to Petty's rock genius. The same couldn't be said, on the other hand, for the Heartbreakers' longtime label. MCA initially balked at releasing Full Moon Fever, stunning Petty. He refused to budge, however, and the album eventually became a five-times platinum Top 5 smash – but only after Petty nearly left for Warner Bros. Buy 'Full Moon Fever' on vinyl

'Into the Great Wide Open' (1991): "Into the Great Wide Open"

Though all but one of them played a role on Petty's previous album, the Heartbreakers officially returned to sew up one of Petty's very best story-songs. "It's an old but accurate analogy: It's like a marriage," Campbell told Stuff in 2017. "You do need breaks, and we take breaks. It's really healthy to do other projects outside the group, to grow and get other input and inspirations form different situations." In this case, they brought Jeff Lynne into the fold. "Into the Great Wide Open" also sparked one of Petty's very best narrative videos, starring Johnny Depp as a one-hit-wonder who gets chewed up by the music business. After issuing a sophomore album that yielded zero Top 40 hits, the Heartbreakers knew a thing or two about the difficulty in delivering a follow-up. Petty wrapped up the song by borrowing a line ("a rebel without a clue") from the 1989 single "I'll Be You" by the Replacements, who opened for the Heartbreakers.Buy 'Into the Great Wide Open' on vinyl

'Wildflowers' (1994): "It's Good to Be King"

There are moments, surely, when Wildflowers was more fun ("You Don't Know How It Feels"), when it is louder ("You Wreck Me") and when it is quieter ("Time to Move On"). But no song was more effective in showing how rock can mature into meaningful music as we age. With "It's Good to Be King," Petty owned up to the doubts of growing old, embracing received wisdom along the way. The song doesn't sound like anything Petty had ever put out – and maybe that's why it crept up to only No. 68 on the chart. Sure, there's that slow, self-conscious drawl, and an incisive guitar solo that's in keeping with Petty’s core sound alongside the Heartbreakers. But we're led along by an insistent piano signature, one with depths of meaning never hinted at in the gutty simplicity of Petty's early recordings. Then there was that crescendo of swirling string-fueled emotions from arranger Michael Kamen – first of euphoria and then, finally, of dark certainty.Buy 'Wildflowers' on vinyl

'She's the One' (1996): "Walls (No. 3)"

A few months before Johnny Cash's update of "Southern Accents" arrived, Petty nicked one of the country legend's best quips to kick off "Walls." "He said to me, 'Some days are diamonds, and some days are rocks,'" Petty told Rolling Stone in 2017. "I took that line and wrote the song." Except Petty – then in the throes of a divorce-sparked depression – clearly struggled with how to complete it, ultimately releasing two very different versions: One, subtitled "Circus," features a lush, almost psychedelic arrangement and backing vocals from Lindsey Buckingham. The other, oddly subtitled "No. 3," picks up the pace a little, fitting more snugly into the Heartbreakers' musical pocket.Buy 'She's the One' on vinyl

'Echo' (1999): "Room at the Top"

How else to begin a song cycle where Petty slipped off into drug abuse after a broken marriage than with something he once told USA Today was the "most depressing song I've ever written"? Thing us, "Room at the Top" actually points to better times, as Petty begins Echo by reaching out for love. He had started a new relationship by then, and finally got cleaned up in time to tour in support of this record. Ron Blair later called "Room at the Top" his favorite Heartbreakers song, despite the fact that he didn't take part in the session. Still, Petty so keenly felt the emotions surrounding the track that he kept away from it during his last years, avoiding "Room at the Top" onstage and rarely even cueing up Echo on his turntable.Buy 'Echo' on vinyl

'The Last DJ' (2002): "Dreamville"

The Last DJ, in particular on its title track, sometimes used nostalgia as a weapon as Petty lashed out at the changing times. "Dreamville" was different. A song that could have easily fit among the more personal moments on 1985's Southern Accents, "Dreamville" traces back to a simpler time when a youthful Petty – who we find buying guitar strings and listening intently to early rock 'n' roll – could focus on music, rather than the music business. He began this life of wonder at the Glen Springs city pool in his hometown of Gainesville, Fla. "They had one of the first outdoor jukeboxes I’d seen, with extension speakers," he later told Guitar World. "And it just rocked the place, and the music was really good. It's one of the first times I really remember hearing rock and realizing I liked it." The goal was to tap into a sense of lost idealism that we all could share, regardless of our own backstories. Introducing "Dreamville" during a 2002 concert in Los Angeles, Petty said it took place "back when times were good – whenever that was."Buy 'The Last DJ' on vinyl

'Highway Companion' (2006): "Down South"

Conversely, this song feels more personal than it really is. Petty took an imaginary trip back home, but this time stayed in character – though his father, who Petty once described to NPR's Terry Gross as a "cad," really did have a string of mistresses. "I wrote the lyrics out first before I did the music, which is unusual for me," he said. "Then I searched for a long time to find music that created the right tonal kind of thing with the lyric. So, it took a little while to pull the whole thing together, but it's one that I'm most pleased with from the record." The laconic, smartly detailed "Down South" was more than the highlight on one of Petty's most underrated albums. It debunked, once again, the wrongheaded caricature of Petty – this decidedly literate writer of pinpoint narrative accuracy – as another in the long line of common-folk rockers.Buy 'Highway Companion' on vinyl

Mudcrutch (2008): "Crystal River"

Petty floats down a seven-mile Citrus County tributary into Florida's western Gulf of Mexico coast on the longest song from <a href="https://ultimateclassicrock.com/tags/mudcrutch/">Mudcrutch</a>'s long-awaited debut album. That's fitting, since the group traces back to his pre-Heartbreakers days in Gainsville, about an hour and a half away. Like Petty's early heroes in the Byrds, who used to take "Eight Miles High" on a wildly extended psychedelic journey, Mudcrutch eventually turned this nine-minute, vaguely Grateful Dead-ish song into a 15-minute Mike Campbell-fired jam in the live setting. That gave them time to actually learn the song. The studio recording of "Crystal River" represents the one and only time Mudcrutch ever played the track. "It all happened so quickly," drummer Randall Marsh told The New York Times in 2008, "that there wasn't much chance to get freaked out."Buy 'Mudcrutch' on vinyl

'Mojo' (2010): "High in the Morning"

Time away, not to mention the critical success of the revived Mudcrutch, could very well have taken the wind out of the Heartbreakers' sails. Instead, the band returned for the first time since 2002's The Last DJ with a vengeance. They got there by trying to stay more true to what they actually sounded like at this point: a flinty group of blues-rocking vets. "Every rehearsal started with the blues," Petty told the Los Angeles Times in 2010. "It's how we sound after hours. I thought we should stay where we naturally play." Still, Mojo was more than roadhouse stuff, as the plucky throwback "High in the Morning" illustrated. Though they were recording in the band's Los Angeles rehearsal space, typically in one or two takes, this song boasted the spacious, polished feel of the Heartbreakers' earliest sides. It sounded like the happiest of homecomings.Buy 'Mojo' on vinyl

'Hypnotic Eye' (2014): "Fault Lines"

A hard-charging Ron Blair-driven groover featuring one of Petty's weariest vocals, "Fault Lines" smartly employed the imagery of fractured landmasses spidering across his home state of California to craft a personal tale of overcoming past hurts. "Fault Lines" was finalized by a squalling harmonica, some greasy keyboard work and relentless stick work – to say nothing of Mike Campbell's devastatingly cathartic solo. The second consecutive full-length project to feature Blair, who left as the Heartbreakers' founding bassist following 1981's Hard Promises, hailed a complete return to straight-ahead rock after a detour toward more blues-based sounds on 2010's Mojo.Buy 'Hypnotic Eye' on vinyl

'Mudcrutch 2' (2016): "Hungry No More"

If Mudcrutch's surprise 2008 debut seemed like the joyous first moments that surround a reunion, Mudcrutch 2 was the sound of perspective setting in. Their subject matter delved ever more deeply into roads not taken, coming to terms with life's passages and the sweet reverie of memory. "Hungry No More," the album's soaring final number, puts period to a very grown-up record, with keen insights into how the choices we make turn into the lives we ultimately lead. Petty took chances here with the kind of mature subject matter that likely escaped the members of Mudcrutch as rough-housing youngsters – then wisely sat back as Mike Campbell summed up his thoughts on an extended coda. It's a richly rewarding experience, and final proof that Petty still had plenty to say.Buy 'Mudcrutch 2' on vinyl

Next: The Most Overlooked Song From Each Tom Petty Album