Thomas Earl Petty
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Film credits
10
Books
1
Award
Tom Petty, frontman of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, sold over 80 million records and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002. He also co-founded the Traveling Wilburys and released solo albums including Full Moon Fever 1989 with the hit Free Fallin’. Petty died at 66 from an accidental drug overdose in October 2017, one week after the Heartbreakers’ 40th Anniversary Tour.
Names, aliases, and relatives of Tom Petty — birth name, kin, and personal ties.
Tom Petty by the numbers — life, work, and family.
Tom Petty — early life, career, personal life, and legacy.
Born in Gainesville, Florida in 1950, Tom Petty was raised in the South. He attended Gainesville High School and formed his first band, Mudcrutch, in the early 1970s. The band relocated to Los Angeles and evolved into Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers in 1976.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers released their debut album in 1976, but mainstream success arrived with Damn the Torpedoes 1979, which sold millions and included the hit Refugee. Petty also formed the supergroup Traveling Wilburys with Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, and Roy Orbison in 1988. As a solo artist, he released Full Moon Fever in 1989, featuring the chart-topping single Free Fallin’. He continued to tour into the 2010s, with the Heartbreakers’ 40th Anniversary Tour in 2017.
Tom Petty married Jane Ann Benyo in 1974; they divorced in 1996 and had two daughters, Adria and Annakim. He later married Dana York in 2001, and they had a son, Dylan. Petty maintained close friendships with musicians such as Stevie Nicks, Bob Dylan, and George Harrison. In 1987, an arsonist set fire to his home in Encino, California, destroying his signature gray top hat but sparing his recording studio and guitar.
Tom Petty was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002 and honored as MusiCares Person of the Year in 2017. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1999 and was posthumously interred at Westwood Village Memorial Park. With over 80 million records sold, Petty’s songwriting and distinct vocal style continue to influence musicians. He is most remembered for his catalog of hits with the Heartbreakers and the Traveling Wilburys.
The complete filmography of Tom Petty — every film, TV show, and documentary credit, ranked by popularity.
Every award, honor, and recognition received by Tom Petty — Grammys, hall-of-fame inductions, civic honors, lifetime achievements.
Tom Petty's bibliography — every authored, edited, and co-written book, ranked by edition count.
A wall of memorable lines from Tom Petty — lyrics, interviews, and off-the-cuff remarks captured over a lifetime.
I’m Not Exactly a Guy Who Makes New Friends Easily.
It’s Funny How the Music Industry Is Enraged About the Internet and the Way Things Are Copied Without Being Paid For. but You Know Why People Steal the Music? Because They Can’t Afford the Music.
Rock ‘N’ Roll Is a Music That Represents Truth. Your TV Channel Has Taken the Word Rock and Knocked the Roll off the End. You Made Rock This Umbrella Term for Everything. That’s Wrong. Shakira Isn’t Rock. These Country Artists with Fur Coats Aren’t Rock – or Country. I Offered a Video to VH1 of My Band Playing in the Studio and They Don’t Want to Air It Because It Had Musicians Playing in It. They Want Some Babe Walking on the Beach or Whatever.
Music Is Probably the Only Real Magic I Have Encountered in My Life. There’s Not Some Trick Involved with It. It’s Pure and It’s Real. It Moves, It Heals, It Communicates and Does All These Incredible Things.
Little-known facts about Tom Petty — origins, oddities, and behind-the-scenes details from a public life.
Teamed up with Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, and Roy Orbison in the group the Traveling Wilburys.
On July 9, 2017, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers headlined the final night of the British Summer Tour festival in Hyde Park, London, supported by Stevie Nicks.
Led Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers from 1975 to 2017, both recording and performing as a solo artist and with the band.
Awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording at 7018 Hollywood Boulevard on April 28, 1999.
Had two daughters: Adria Petty and Annakim Petty Annakim Violette.
Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers in 2002.
Early morning of October 2, 2017, found unconscious at his Malibu home in cardiac arrest; died at UCLA Medical Center that evening. The cause was accidental mixed drug toxicity.
Interred at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles on October 16, 2017, less than three weeks before his 67th birthday.
He considered the Heartbreakers’ collaboration with Johnny Cash on the album Unchained 1996 their best work. The Heartbreakers later played on Cash’s next two albums.
Ranked number 43 on VH1’s 100 Greatest Artists of Rock and Roll.
Recorded several platinum albums at Cherokee Recording Studios, including Damn the Torpedoes 1979 and Hard Promises 1981, and collaborated there with Stevie Nicks on Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around.
Shared the same birthday, October 20, with Viggo Mortensen and Snoop Dogg.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers appeared at the Live Aid charity concert on July 13, 1985, broadcast from Philadelphia and London.
In May 1987, an arsonist set fire to his home in Encino, California. Firefighters saved the basement studio and his Gibson Dove guitar, but his signature gray top hat was destroyed.
All Tom Petty albums were credited to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers except for the solo albums Full Moon Fever 1989, Wildflowers 1994, and Highway Companion 2006, though Heartbreakers members played on them.
Close friends with Jackson Browne, Lindsey Buckingham, Bob Dylan, Don Henley, Jeff Lynne, John Mellencamp, Stevie Nicks, Linda Ronstadt, Bob Seger, Bruce Springsteen, and late musicians David Bowie, George Harrison, and Warren Zevon.
Quick answers to the questions readers ask most about Tom Petty.
Celebrities similar to Tom Petty — same craft, ranked by reach.
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