Willie Nelson and Dolly Parton sing for Tom Petty

When Tom Petty and Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell heard of plans for country greats such as Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, George Strait, Chris Stapleton and Dierks Bentley to honor the band’s music on the covers, Petty Country: A country music tribute to Tom PettHe thought it made perfect sense, even though they were a rock band at their core.

“We all grew up in the South and were immersed in the music of Hank Williams and George Jones that we heard on the radio,” he says RS. “We all loved the Flying Burrito Brothers and the Byrds when they played country (on Rodeo favorite). We listened to a lot of country music and some of it got into our consciousness.”

This explains why they were a natural choice to back Johnny Cash on his 1994 comeback LP. American recordingsand why Kenny Chesney has been incorporating songs like “Runnin’ Down a Dream,” “Free Fallin’,” and “Mary Jane’s Last Dance” into his live set for over a decade. But the idea for Small country — which hit stores this week — only began to leak out in 2018, when the posthumous Petty compilation An American treasure was compiled from lesser-known songs from his extensive catalogue.

“After everyone put it together, they realized he was just a great songwriter,” says longtime Petty producer George Drakoulias, the curator Small country with Randall Poster. “We wanted to celebrate him as a writer and we knew he loved the Nashville community and its commitment to the craft of songwriting.”

They sought out artists from all over the country music world, starting with two absolute titans: Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson. Once both were on board, it wasn’t a big problem to bring in more. “It wasn’t like we started with Joe Six Pack,” says Drakoulias. “Willie and Dolly made people sit up and take notice.”

They soon had commitments from Luke Combs, Thomas Rhett, Brothers Osborne, Steve Earle and many others. They worked primarily in studios in Nashville, mostly during Covid. “We kept getting sent these amazing mixes,” says Drakoulias. “I wish I could have been there for the sessions, but it was difficult with everything locked down.”

Perhaps the most impressive song was Parton’s rendition of “Southern Accents.” “When Tom recorded the song, he used a kind of defiant growl,” says Drakoulias. “He was championing the South and it was very emotional, because he wrote it right after his mother died. Dolly’s rendition is more genteel, more magnolia-tree-influenced, and she’s just great with her singing.”

“You could tell she was moved by it,” Campbell adds. “She really put her soul into it. God bless her.” (She also added a new closing lyric: “Yeah, I’m proud of who I am/A Southern girl from a Southern town/I’m not ashamed/I’m not ashamed/I’m not ashamed/No, I’m not ashamed.”)

Earle chose “Yer So Bad” by Full moon fever. “What he did was fantastic,” says Drakoulias. “Like a lot of people, he brought the front-porch hoedown thing. You hear things like banjos and fiddles. He added a railroad beat that drives the song differently. That gave Steve more room to change his vocal phrasing.”

Rhiannon Giddens stripped away all the synthpop elements from “Don’t Come Around Here No More” and brought in violinist Yo-Yo Ma and pianist Benmont Tench of the Heartbreakers to transform the song into what Drakoulias calls “country bayou.” “She brought the Creole into it,” he says. “By the time you get to the outro, you feel like you’ve been on a weird journey, like you’ve been chasing alligators or something. And it was my idea to bring in Belmont. He’s just super talented.”

Tench isn’t the only Heartbreaker to guest on the album. Campbell recorded a new version of the obscure 1986 song “Ways to Be Wicked” with Margo Price. “The Heartbreakers never made a proper recording of it,” he says. “But the lyrics are great. It’s a really rollicking song, and Margo sings it damn well.”

Other highlights include Thomas Rett’s fiddle-driven “Wildflowers”, Willie and Lukas Nelson’s delicate interpretation of the she is the one cut “Angel Dream (No. 2),” Jamey Johnson’s haunting “I Forgive It All” and Lady A’s country-tinged “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around.” It ends with Strait running through “You Wreck Me” live in concert. “It felt honest to George Strait,” says Drakoulias. “When you get a chance to hear George Strait sing, ‘I’m gonna be the boy in the corduroys,’ you take it.”

Now that Small country in the shops, the property turns its attention to a Long after dark box set that they plan to release in the fall. “I’ve heard some of it and it’s going to be great,” says Drakoulias. “I’ve been working on the reproduction box set. The big joke we always made was, ‘What were you thinking, leaving this out?’ Tom always said, ‘Jimmy thought it was too country.’ I think it was ‘Keeping Me Alive.’ I thought, ‘Too country?’ It sounds great.”

Going through Petty’s vault is an emotional process for Drakoulias. “He was also the first person I called during an earthquake,” he says. “I’d ask him, ‘Did you feel that?’ Or I’d call him when a politician did something stupid. He just had so much joy about him. He was the greatest. I can’t believe I was around him. But I don’t miss Tom Petty the rock star. I just miss Tom Petty, my friend.”