Thomas Earl Petty (October 20, 1950 – October 2, 2017) was an American musician. He was the leader of the rock bands Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Mudcrutch. Petty was also a member of the late 1980s supergroup the Traveling Wilburys, and had success as a solo artist.
Petty had many hit records. Hit singles with the Heartbreakers include "American Girl" (1976), "Don't Do Me Like That" (1979), "Refugee" (1980), "The Waiting" (1981), "Don't Come Around Here No More" (1985) and "Learning to Fly" (1991). Petty's solo hits include "I Won't Back Down" (1989), "Free Fallin'" (1989), and "You Don't Know How It Feels" (1994). Solo or with the Heartbreakers, he had hit albums from the 1970s through the 2010s and sold more than 80 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. Petty and the Heartbreakers were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002. Petty was honored as MusiCares Person of the Year in February 2017 for his contributions to music and for his philanthropy. He also had a minor acting career, most notably starring in a recurring role as the voice of Lucky Kleinschmidt in the animated comedy series King of the Hill from 2004 to the show's end in 2009.
Petty died of an accidental drug overdose at the age of 66, one week after the end of the Heartbreakers' 40th Anniversary Tour in 2017.
Early life
Petty was born on October 20, 1950, in Gainesville, Florida, the first of two sons of Kitty Petty (nee Avery), a local tax office worker, and Earl Petty, who was a traveling salesman. His brother Bruce was seven years younger.
Petty grew up in the Northeast Gainesville Residential District, known locally as the Duckpond. After his death, a historical marker was placed in the neighborhood and a nearby park was renamed to Tom Petty Park.
His interest in rock and roll music began at age ten when he met Elvis Presley.
In the summer of 1961, his uncle was working on the set of Presley's film Follow That Dream, in nearby Ocala, and invited Petty to watch the shoot. He instantly became a Presley fan, and when he returned that Saturday, he was greeted by his friend Keith Harben, and soon traded his Wham-O slingshot for a collection of Elvis 45s. Of that meeting with Presley, Petty said, "Elvis glowed."
Don Felder, a fellow Gainesville resident who later joined the Eagles, claimed in his autobiography that he was one of Petty's first guitar teachers although Petty said that Felder taught him to play piano instead. As a young man, Petty worked briefly on the grounds crew of the University of Florida, but never attended as a student. An Ogeechee lime tree that he purportedly planted while employed at the university is now called the Tom Petty tree (Petty stated that he did not recall planting any trees). He also worked briefly as a gravedigger.
Petty also overcame a difficult relationship with his father. According to Petty, his father found it difficult to accept that Petty was "a mild-mannered kid who was interested in the arts" and subjected him to verbal and physical abuse on a regular basis. Petty has described his father as a "wild, gambling drinker guy". Petty was close to his mother and remained close to his brother, Bruce.
