Tom Petty, the rock and roll legend, frontman for The Heartbreakers, and member of Mudcrutch, and the Traveling Wilburys passed away today at the age of 66. He was admitted to hospital on Sunday night after suffering a cardiac arrest, and he died on Monday night.
Petty rose to fame in the 1970s with his band, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. The group put out several hits, including "American Girl," "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around," "Breakdown," "Listen to Her Heart" and more. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002.
In 1989, Petty went solo, and delivered the mega-hit “Free Fallin’," as well as collaborations with the likes of Stevie Nicks (the details of which were recently celebrated in HBO's docuseries The Defiant Ones), Bob Dylan, George Harrison and Johnny Cash. He and the Heartbreakers were inducted into the Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame in 2002, and in 2014, after 38 years, the Heartbreakers finally got a #1 album, their 13th studio effort, “Hypnotic Eye."
In March of 2016, Petty was inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame. The next month, he and the Heartbreakers embarked on a U.S. tour to celebrate the 40th anniversary of their debut album. "This might be the last big one," Petty told Rolling Stone. "We're all on the backside of our sixties. I have a granddaughter now I'd like to see as much as I can. I don't want to spend my life on the road."
RIP Mr. Petty
Full statement: pic.twitter.com/FGCVI5yIaa— Tom Petty (@tompetty) October 3, 2017
