Gibson Goes Full Heartbreaker With Tom Petty’s 50th Anniversary Collection
Tom Petty fans, your guitar rack, and your closet… may be in trouble!
Gibson is celebrating 50 years of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers with a collection of limited-edition Flying V guitars, anniversary gear and a leather jacket that takes things back to the band’s beginning.
The centerpiece is the Tom Petty 50th Anniversary Flying V, inspired by the guitar-through-the-heart logo on the Heartbreakers’ self-titled 1976 debut. Gibson calls the lineup the “Flying Five,” with finishes in Gainesville Gold, Graphite Metallic, Heartbreaker Red, Pearl White Metallic and Pelham Blue. Just 250 guitars are being produced worldwide, with 50 in each color.
That’s a pretty small club of Heartbreakers.
Each guitar features a mahogany body and neck, rosewood fretboard, a pair of ’70s Tribute humbucker pickups and gold-plated hardware. Anniversary details include a Heartbreaker 50th truss rod cover and a reproduction of Petty’s signature on the back of the headstock. A Gibson hardshell case comes with it, too.
For fans whose guitar solos happen mostly on the steering wheel, there’s plenty to wear.
Developed with the Tom Petty Estate, the accompanying collection includes graphic tees, a military-style shirt jacket, a black work jacket, hats, guitar straps and collectibles. Gibson’s team dug through artifacts at the Heartbreakers’ California clubhouse to help shape the designs.
One standout: a black leather jacket created with imogene + willie, Gibson and Schott N.Y.C., modeled after the one Petty wore on the debut album cover. Only 75 are being made worldwide, with striped lining that references his look on the UK “Listen to Her Heart” single sleeve.
The anniversary celebration also has something for your speakers. Origins 1971–1978 arrives November 6, exploring Petty’s early recording years through rare material, live performances and the Heartbreakers’ first two albums. The four-CD edition features 51 tracks, including 27 unreleased, live, extended or previously unheard recordings.
Check out the guitars, clothing and accessories through Gibson’s official anniversary collection.
Fifty years later, the Heartbreakers still give us a reason to turn it up. Apparently, they’re giving us a reason to clear some closet space, too.