Tom Petty, the frontman of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, died Monday after he was found unconscious at his California home. He was 66.
Tony Dimitriades, the band's manager, announced the singer's death in a statement. Petty was reportedly taken off life support after going into cardiac arrest on Sunday at his Malibu home.
Celebrities paid their tributes to the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer after his death. Here's what's being said:
"It's shocking, crushing news. I thought the world of Tom," Bob Dylan said in a statement to Rolling Stone. "He was a great performer, full of the light, a friend, and I'll never forget him."
"He suffered cardiac arrest at his home in Malibu in the early hours of this morning and was taken to UCLA Medical Center but could not be revived. He died peacefully at 8:40pm PT surrounded by family, his bandmates and friends," Dimitriades said in a statement.
With his nasally voice and chiming guitar, Petty and his longtime band, the Heartbreakers, churned out an instantly recognizable brand of sturdy, heartland rock that made them a classic-radio staple for decades. Petty, along with the band, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002.
The group finished a summer tour with three performances at the Hollywood Bowl last week.
Petty and the Heartbreakers first came to fame in the 1970s. It was both with that group and as a solo artist that Petty had a string of hits across the decades, including "Free Fallin'," "American Girl" and "I Won't Back Down."
Their 1976 debut contained a minor hit, "Breakdown," but it wasn't until Petty's third album, "Damn the Torpedoes," that he and the band broke through to the mainstream.
That 1980 album won critical raves, went platinum and spawned the hits "Don't Do Me Like That" and "Refugee."
Petty's final tour was one of the country's top grossing, clocking in at at #9, with over $1.6 million in ticket sales.
During an October 2015 interview with Men’s Journal, Petty reflected on his famous determination.
“Probably the greatest achievement you can reach is when you're able to forgive the most heinous thing in your life. I forgive anyone. That's where I've arrived. And if I'm not successful at that, I forgive myself,” he said with a smile.
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, most memorably on "Refugee," ''Even the Losers" and "I Won't Back Down."
"It's sort of the classic theme of a lot of the work I've done," he told The Associated Press in 1989. "I think faith is very important just to get through life. I think it's really important that you believe in yourself, first of all. It's a very hard to thing to come by. But when you get it, it's invaluable."
Petty didn't just sing about not backing down, he lived it. In 1979, he was enraged when his record label was sold and his contract transferred. Stating that he would not be "bought and sold like a piece of meat," he self-financed what became "Damn the Torpedoes" and declared bankruptcy rather than allowing his label, MCA, to release it. He eventually reached a new deal with MCA, for better terms. In the early 1980s, he was again at war with MCA, this time over the label's plans to charge extra money, a dollar higher than the standard $8.98, for his album "Hard Promises." He again prevailed.
Petty was both a musician and obsessive fan, one who met his childhood heroes and lived out the fantasies of countless young rock lovers. He befriended Byrds leader Roger McGuinn and became close to George Harrison, who performed on "I Won't Back Down" and joined Petty, Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison and Jeff Lynne in the impromptu super group the Traveling Wilburys. Petty inducted Harrison into the Rock Hall in 2004; two years earlier Dylan's son Jakob inducted Petty. In the 1980s, Petty and the Heartbreakers supported Bob Dylan on a nationwide tour.
The world changed more than Petty did over the past few decades. In 2014, around the time he received an ASCAP Founders Award, he told The Associated Press that he thought of himself as "kind of a music historian."
The Wizard of "OZ' will miss Tom.
Tony Dimitriades, the band's manager, announced the singer's death in a statement. Petty was reportedly taken off life support after going into cardiac arrest on Sunday at his Malibu home.
Celebrities paid their tributes to the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer after his death. Here's what's being said:
"It's shocking, crushing news. I thought the world of Tom," Bob Dylan said in a statement to Rolling Stone. "He was a great performer, full of the light, a friend, and I'll never forget him."
With his nasally voice and chiming guitar, Petty and his longtime band, the Heartbreakers, churned out an instantly recognizable brand of sturdy, heartland rock that made them a classic-radio staple for decades. Petty, along with the band, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002.
The group finished a summer tour with three performances at the Hollywood Bowl last week.
Petty and the Heartbreakers first came to fame in the 1970s. It was both with that group and as a solo artist that Petty had a string of hits across the decades, including "Free Fallin'," "American Girl" and "I Won't Back Down."
Their 1976 debut contained a minor hit, "Breakdown," but it wasn't until Petty's third album, "Damn the Torpedoes," that he and the band broke through to the mainstream.
That 1980 album won critical raves, went platinum and spawned the hits "Don't Do Me Like That" and "Refugee."
Petty's final tour was one of the country's top grossing, clocking in at at #9, with over $1.6 million in ticket sales.
During an October 2015 interview with Men’s Journal, Petty reflected on his famous determination.
“Probably the greatest achievement you can reach is when you're able to forgive the most heinous thing in your life. I forgive anyone. That's where I've arrived. And if I'm not successful at that, I forgive myself,” he said with a smile.
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, most memorably on "Refugee," ''Even the Losers" and "I Won't Back Down."
"It's sort of the classic theme of a lot of the work I've done," he told The Associated Press in 1989. "I think faith is very important just to get through life. I think it's really important that you believe in yourself, first of all. It's a very hard to thing to come by. But when you get it, it's invaluable."
Petty was both a musician and obsessive fan, one who met his childhood heroes and lived out the fantasies of countless young rock lovers. He befriended Byrds leader Roger McGuinn and became close to George Harrison, who performed on "I Won't Back Down" and joined Petty, Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison and Jeff Lynne in the impromptu super group the Traveling Wilburys. Petty inducted Harrison into the Rock Hall in 2004; two years earlier Dylan's son Jakob inducted Petty. In the 1980s, Petty and the Heartbreakers supported Bob Dylan on a nationwide tour.
The world changed more than Petty did over the past few decades. In 2014, around the time he received an ASCAP Founders Award, he told The Associated Press that he thought of himself as "kind of a music historian."
The Wizard of "OZ' will miss Tom.
Tom Petty: his 10 best songs.
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