Tom Petty, the rocker best known as the frontman of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, is dead at 66, CBS News has confirmed.
The legendary musician suffered a full cardiac arrest and was found unconscious and not breathing in his Malibu home Sunday night. He was taken to UCLA Santa Monica Hospital and put on life support, reports TMZ.
Petty rose to fame in the 1970s with his band, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. The group put out several hits, including "American Girl," "Free Fallin'," "Breakdown," "Listen to Her Heart" and more. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002.
Though Petty and his band debuted their first self-titled record in 1976, they continued to perform over the past four decades. Petty played his last show last Monday, performing three sold-out shows at the Hollywood Bowl to conclude their 40th anniversary tour. The band wrote on their website that the tour included 53 shows in 24 states.
In December, Petty told Rolling Stone that he thought this would be the group's last tour together. He said, "It's very likely we'll keep playing, but will we take on 50 shows in one tour? I don't think so. I'd be lying if I didn't say I was thinking this might be the last big one. We're all on the backside of our sixties. I have a granddaughter now I'd like to see as much as I can. I don't want to spend my life on the road. This tour will take me away for four months. With a little kid, that's a lot of time."
RIP Mr. Petty
"Don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things." George Carlin
apparently CBS jumped the gun on their coverage yesterday, which is pretty sad given the person and circumstances ... one would think getting the facts correct would have been a priority over getting the story out first
Mr. Petty did pass last evening after being taken off life support
Tom Petty, the dynamic and iconoclastic frontman who led the band the Heartbreakers, died Monday. He was 66. Petty's death was confirmed by Tony Dimitriades, longtime manager of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, on behalf of the family.
"On behalf of the Tom Petty family, we are devastated to announce the untimely death of of our father, husband, brother, leader and friend Tom Petty. 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 8:40 p.m. PT surrounded by family, his bandmates and friends," Dimitriades wrote.
On Sunday, Petty was found unconscious, not breathing and in full cardiac arrest at his Malibu home, according to TMZ, where he was rushed to the hospital and placed on life support. EMTs were able to find a pulse when they found him, but TMZ reported that the hospital found no brain activity when he arrived. A decision was made to pull life support.
"Don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things." George Carlin
Daughter, "who's that."
Me, "Tom Petty and the heart breakers, I start to sing, I won't back down" realizing I can't sign I play 10 songs.
Daughter, "I have no clue who that is. "
I saw a documentary on Tom Petty on the old Documentary Network, I don't know what it's called now. Super interesting.
The funny thing is that I think of Tom Petty as very American type of music, however, he caught on and was a big star in Britain before he was really noticed in the states.
RIP Thomas Earl Petty, you will be missed.
The universe is under no obligation to make any sense to you...
Neil deGrasse Tyson
I've never been a huge Petty fan, but the dude has definitely earned his place in rock n' roll Valhalla. And everyone who met him, inside or out of the music business, says he was the greatest guy in the world.