Greatest Hits is a compilation album by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, released on November 16, 1993. It is Petty's best-selling album to date and was certified 12× Platinum by the RIAA on April 28, 2015. The single "Mary Jane's Last Dance", one of two previously unreleased tracks on the album, became one of Petty's most popular songs, reaching No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. The other new song on the album is a cover of the Thunderclap Newman hit "Something in the Air", which reached No. 19 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. The album contains no songs from 1987's Let Me Up (I've Had Enough). However, three songs from Petty's 1989 solo album Full Moon Fever, along with four tracks from 1979's Damn the Torpedoes were included.
On its original release in November 1993, the album debuted at No. 8 on Billboard 200, and first peaked at No. 5 on the chart in February 1994. It reached a new peak of No. 2 following Petty's death in 2017.
The new tracks "Mary Jane's Last Dance" and "Something in the Air" were the band's last recordings with drummer Stan Lynch.
Reissues In 2008, Greatest Hits was reissued by Geffen Records. This edition replaced "Something in the Air" with "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around", Petty's duet with Stevie Nicks from her 1981 album Bella Donna. The album's photos and artwork replaced the Wildflowers and Into the Great Wide Open session photos with outtakes from You're Gonna Get It!. In 2010 the album was once again reissued, this time reverting to the original 1993 track listing but keeping the artwork from the 2008 edition. In 2016 the album was made available on vinyl for the first time since 1993.
Track listing
Personnel Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
Tom Petty – vocals, guitar, piano, harmonica, percussion (all tracks) Mike Campbell – lead guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, squeeze box (all tracks) Benmont Tench – keyboards, piano, backing vocals (tracks 1–11, 15–18) Ron Blair – bass guitar (tracks 1–8) Howie Epstein – bass guitar, backing vocals (tracks 10–12, 15–18) Stan Lynch – drums, percussion, backing vocals (tracks 1–11, 15–18)
Additional musicians
George Harrison – acoustic guitar, backing vocals (track 12) Jeff Lynne – bass guitar, guitar, guitar synthesizer, piano, keyboards, backing vocals (tracks 12–16) David A. Stewart – sitar, keyboards, backing vocals (track 11)
Uncredited musicians
Donald "Duck" Dunn – bass guitar (track 18, 2008 release) Dean Garcia – intro bass guitar (track 11) Phil Jones – percussion, drums (tracks 9–10, 12–14) Jeff Jourard, Mike Slee – guitar (track 2) Jim Keltner – percussion (track 5) Stevie Nicks – co-lead vocals (track 18, 2008 release) Lori Perry, Sharon Celani – backing vocals (track 18, 2008 release) Daniel Rothmuller – cello (track 11) Phil Seymour – backing vocals (tracks 1–2) Chris Trujillo – percussion (tracks 17–18) Alan "Bugs" Weidel – "wild dog" piano (track 11) Sharon Celani, Marilyn Martin, Stephanie Sprull – backing vocals (track 11)
Charts
Weekly charts +1993 weekly chart performance for Greatest HitsChart (1993)Peakposition
+1994 weekly chart performance for Greatest HitsChart (1994)PeakpositionCanadian Top Albums4
+2017 weekly chart performance for Greatest HitsChart (2017)PeakpositionUK Albums (OCC)14
+2023 weekly chart performance for Greatest HitsChart (2023)Peakposition Greek Albums (IFPI) 1
Year-end charts +1994 annual chart performance for Greatest Hits Chart (1994) Position Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM) 22 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) 91 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) 43 US Billboard 200 14 +1995 annual chart performance for Greatest Hits Chart (1995) Position US Billboard 200 93 +1996 annual chart performance for Greatest Hits Chart (1996) Position US Billboard 200 167 +2017 annual chart performance for Greatest Hits Chart (2017) Position US Billboard 200 116 US Top Rock Albums (Billboard) 10 +2018 annual chart performance for Greatest Hits Chart (2018) Position US Billboard 200 74 US Top Rock Albums (Billboard) 5 +2019 annual chart performance for Greatest Hits Chart (2019) Position US Billboard 200 148 US Top Rock Albums (Billboard) 25 +2020 annual chart performance for Greatest Hits Chart (2020) Position US Billboard 200 81 US Top Rock Albums (Billboard) 8 +2021 annual chart performance for Greatest Hits Chart (2021) Position US Billboard 200 76 US Top Rock Albums (Billboard) 8 +2022 annual chart performance for Greatest Hits Chart (2022) Position US Billboard 200 78 US Top Rock Albums (Billboard) 8 +2023 annual chart performance for Greatest Hits Chart (2023) Position US Billboard 200 79 US Top Rock Albums (Billboard) 10 +2024 annual chart performance for Greatest Hits Chart (2024) Position US Billboard 200 94
Certifications
Release history +Release formats for Greatest Hits Region Date Label Format CatalogEuropeOctober 30, 1993MCA Recordsdouble LPMCA 10964CassetteMCC 10964CDMCD 10964North AmericaNovember 16, 1993CassetteMCAC 10813CDMCAD 10813May 20, 2008Geffen RecordsB0010327-02Europe1774395
See also List of best-selling albums in the United States
References