Tom Petty
American musician (1950-2017) · United States · Musicians · Died at 66
Tom Petty is read about 5,285 times a day, in 50 languages.
A typical day, 30 days to 15 October 2026
The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 390 days, one point a day.
Something wrong?He wrote songs that sounded like they'd always existed - straightforward, defiant, built to outlast the decade that made them. "Free Fallin'," "I Won't Back Down," "American Girl": the kind of tracks that fill arenas and car radios in equal measure, forty years on.
A life in dates
Highway CompanionAlbum2002“I don't think it's a good attitude in your life to feel that you have to be rich to have self-esteem. You know, I saw a billboard in New York I wish I had photographed.”In their words23 October 2002"Tom Petty Is Pissed" in Rolling Stone (23 October 2002)“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?”In their words23 October 2002"Tom Petty Is Pissed" in Rolling Stone (23 October 2002)“I'm frustrated by what I hear. Maybe it's not meant for me. Personally, I'm way too bright for a lot of the hip-hop lyrics to affect.”In their words23 October 2002"Tom Petty Is Pissed" in Rolling Stone (23 October 2002)“I think television's become a downright dangerous thing. It has no moral barometer whatsoever.”In their words23 October 2002"Tom Petty Is Pissed" in Rolling Stone (23 October 2002)1999“Young people are very cynical now, you know? Very cynical! They've been taught cynicism, they've been - they've been bred cynicism.”In their wordsInterview with Alan Bangs (1999)“I don't understand the ones that have no sense of hope and invest in hate. That's not gonna work out, you know? It's a waste of your time!”In their wordsInterview with Alan Bangs (1999)1994
WildflowersAlbum, Editions: The Indulgent Version1989
Full Moon FeverAlbum1950Born20 October 1950Also in Deutsch
Photos 8
Tom Petty Live in Horsens
E-Gitarre von Tom Petty London Hardrock-Café 1. Juni 2013
El Rey Covid 19 sign 2_-_Tom_Petty_-_Musicians_Hall_of_Fame_and_Museum_(2018-09-06_16.39.55_by_Michael_Gaylard)_clip.jpg?width=1200)
Gibson SG Junior with Maestro Vibrola (VMB-1-2) - Tom Petty - Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum (2018-09-06 16.39.55 by Michael Gaylard) clip.jpg?width=1200)
Mike Campbell & Tom Petty (7314690670).jpg?width=1200)
Mike Campbell & Tom Petty (7314694800).jpg?width=1200)
Mudcrutch, June 2016 (cropped)
Mudcrutch, June 2016In their own words 10
, You don't hear any more of, 'Hey, we did something creative and we turned a profit, how about that?' Everywhere we look, we want to make the most money possible.
I don't think it's a good attitude in your life to feel that you have to be rich to have self-esteem. You know, I saw a billboard in New York I wish I had photographed.
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?
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Thomas Earl Petty was born October 20, 1950, and grew up to front Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, later joining the Traveling Wilburys and recording solo work that moved more than 80 million records worldwide. The hits came in waves: "American Girl" in 1976, "Refugee" in 1980, "Don't Come Around Here No More" in 1985, then the solo run with "Free Fallin'" and "I Won't Back Down" in 1989. The Heartbreakers entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002; fifteen years later, MusiCares named him Person of the Year for his music and philanthropy. He also voiced Lucky Kleinschmidt on King of the Hill from 2004 to 2009. One week after closing the band's 40th Anniversary Tour, Petty died of an accidental drug overdose on October 2, 2017, at 66.
In common with Tom
Neil YoungAlso in Made in Heaven (1987)
Kevin CostnerAlso in The Postman (1997)
Mike CampbellAlso in Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers - High Grass Dogs - Live from the Fillmore (1999)
Ric OcasekAlso in Made in Heaven (1987)
Giovanni RibisiAlso in The Postman (1997)
Jon BrionAlso in Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers - Live at the Olympic (The Last DJ) (2003)Fame.am measures public visibility signals. It does not measure human value, talent, morality, or credibility.