ROCK LEGEND PASSES ON
Tom Petty dead at 66
I loved Tom Petty and I covered his songs because I wanted (to) know what it felt like to fly. JOHN MAYER, on Twitter
Tom Petty’s hit songs crossed adult contemporary and rock ’n’ roll genres, selling more than 80 million records worldwide, and making him one of the world’s bestselling artists.
Petty, 66, died late Monday in a hospital in Santa Monica, Calif., after being found unconscious Sunday night at his home in Malibu, according to Tony Dimitriades, longtime manager of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers. He had suffered cardiac arrest.
After the earlier shock of a mass shooting at a concert in Las Vegas, friends and fans reacted to Petty’s condition with dismay.
“It’s shocking, crushing news,” Petty’s friend and Traveling Wilburys bandmate Bob Dylan told Rolling Stone magazine. “I thought the world of Tom. He was great performer, full of the light, a friend and I’ll never forget him.”
Fellow guitarist John Mayer tweeted: “I loved Tom Petty and I covered his songs because I wanted (to) know what it felt like to fly. “you belong somewhere you feel free.””
Thomas Earl Petty was born Oct. 20, 1950, in Gainesville, Fla. Among the things that inspired him to become a musician was a meeting with Elvis Presley when Petty was 10 years old. Seven years later, Petty dropped out of high school to join a band.
After that band, Mudcrutch, broke up, Petty went the solo route. He eventually reunited with two former Mudcrutch members — guitarist Mike Campbell and keyboardist Benmont Tench — who joined Petty’s backing band, the Heartbreakers.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers released their self-titled debut album in 1976, containing beloved tracks Breakdown and American Girl. But it was the third album that brought the band to stardom.
Damn the Torpedoes, released in 1979, was the band’s first top-10 album and has since gone triple platinum. A critical and fan favourite, Damn the Torpedoes contained the single Refugee, which reached No. 2 in Canada.
In addition to the Heartbreakers, Petty frequently collaborated with other artists. His duet with Stevie Nicks, Stop Dragging My Heart Around, from the Fleetwood Mac singer’s solo album Bella Donna, was an international hit. Petty and Nicks were nominated for a Grammy for best rock performance by a duo or group. Eight years later, Petty would win his first Grammy with another collaboration.
The Traveling Wilburys were an “anonymous” supergroup with Petty and his friends Dylan, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison and George Harrison. The band’s debut album, Vol. 1, seemingly came out of nowhere and took the world by storm: It went gold in Germany, Sweden and Switzerland, platinum in the U.K., triple platinum in the U.S. and six-times platinum in the Canada.
In addition to his successful collaborations, Petty also captured the zeitgeist with his solo work. Full Moon Fever (1989) contained some of Petty’s most popular songs, including Free Fallin’, Runnin’ Down a Dream, and I Won’t Back Down.
I Won’t Back Down took on a more profound resonance after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and Petty performed a memorable version of the song at the victims’ tribute concert.
In more recent years, Petty served as a radio host on XM Radio, performed at the halftime show during the 2008 Super Bowl and in 2014, had a career high: The Heartbreakers album Hypnotic Eye was their first to top the Billboard U.S. chart.
In February, the 2017 MusiCares concert honoured Petty as its person of the year. Wrapping up a tour this past summer to mark the Heartbreakers’ 40th anniversary, he said he was making it his last big tour so he could spend more time with his granddaughter.
Petty’s first marriage, to Jane Benyo, lasted 22 years, from 1974 to 1996. Petty and Benyo had two daughters Adria and Annakim. Petty married Dana York Epperson in 2001 and he had a stepson, Dylan, from York’s earlier marriage.