Legendary rock musician Tom Petty has died at the age of 66. The news was confirmed by his manager Tony Dimitriades last night via Twitter.
The native of Gainesville, Florida – known as the frontman of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers since 1976 – was found in full cardiac arrest, unconscious and not breathing, at his home in Malibu on Sunday night. He was then taken to the UCLA Santa Monica Hospital, where he was unable to be revived. He passed away at 8:40 p.m. PT, with friends and family surrounding him in his final hours. News outlets had initially erroneously reported his death earlier yesterday afternoon, but the reports could not be confirmed by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) at that time.
Petty became known as an extremely successful musician both as a member of the Heartbreakers and as a solo artist, with more than 80 million albums sold worldwide and major hits like “Mary Jane’s Last Dance”, “Don’t Do Me Like That”, “Free Fallin'”, “I Won’t Back Down”, and the Stevie Nicks duet “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” among his best-known songs. In 2002, Petty was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Most recently, Petty and the Heartbreakers completed a 40th anniversary tour, which concluded this past Monday with the last of three shows the band played at the Hollywood Bowl. He was due to play two shows in New York this November.
Featured image credit: Richard E. Aaron/Redferns