ROCK LEGEND PETTY DIES AT 66
TOM Petty, an old-fashioned rock superstar who drew upon the Byrds, the Beatles and other bands he worshipped as a boy and produced new classics such as Free Fallin, Refugee and American Girl, has died. He was 66.
Petty passed away Monday night at UCLA Medical Centre in Los Angeles after he suffered cardiac arrest at his home in Malibu, California, spokeswoman Carla Sacks said.
Petty and his longtime band the Heartbreakers had recently completed a 40th anniversary tour, one he hinted would be their last.
“I’m thinking it may be the last trip around the country,” Petty told Rolling Stone last year.
“We’re all on the backside of our 60s. 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.”
Usually backed by the Heartbreakers, Petty broke through in the 1970s and went on to sell more than 80 million records.
The Gainesville, Florida, native with the shaggy blond hair and gaunt features was loved for his melodic hard rock, nasally vocals and down-to-earth style.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which inducted Petty and the Heartbreakers in 2002, praised them as “durable, resourceful, hardworking, likeable and unpretentious.” Petty’s albums included Damn the Torpedoes, Hard Promises and Full Moon Fever, although his first No. 1 did not come until 2014 and Hypnotic Eye. As a songwriter, he focused often on daily struggles and the will to overcome them.