Tom Petty was born October 20, 1953. He was born in
Florida and would form his first band 18 years later in 1971 named Mud
crutch. This band wouldn't last long but from it's failure would rise
Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers. They would go on to be one of the most long standing
rock bands of all time.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were first accepted by
British audiences who were entranced by Petty's tendency to sound like
Roger Mcguinn from
The Byrds. The first album, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, was released in 1976 and eventually got a foothold in the U.s. market almost a year after it was released. It wasn't until the band's
sophomore release, You're Gonna Get It!, in '78 that Petty gained the affection of the U.S. critics. The band had managed to create an album that satisfied both the
New Wave audiences and the
West Coast rock audiences.
In '78, Petty was forced to file for
bankruptcy due to a long legal battle. This was a short lived woe for him because soon after, the band released
Damn the Torpedoes which was second only to
Pink Floyd's epic
The Wall on the charts. Torpedoes would go
platinum and it was an omen of the success to come. The band went on to release 12 albums including a Greatest Hits and the soundtrack for
She's the One. Petty released two
solo albums,
Full Moon Fever and
Wildflowers. In my opinion, Petty did the best work of his life on Wildflowers. The album is a mixture of the
mellow style that Petty is known for and energetic rock that only a child of the
sixties could create.
Petty is not one of the stars of the music business that you see on
T.V. every other night. He lives a fairly quiet life and stays fairly free from controversy aside from his well-known affinity for certain
substances. Throughout the years he has spent his time supporting
activist groups and charities through his notoriety. Petty is currently involved with
Amnesty International,
No Nukes, and
Rock and Wrap it Up. In 2001, Tom married his girlfriend, Dana York, in
Las Vegas on June 3rd. There was no ceremony and they simply took care of the
legal issues. Two weeks later the couple were married a second time with a small ceremony including family and friends. The minister for the ceremony was none other than
Little Richard and Petty was quoted as saying that "This time it was for spiritual reasons".
Petty shows no signs of slowing down and is touring in 2002 with The Heartbreakers. The band has also been making its rounds on the
late night T.V. circuit performing. He is one of the most enduring figures in rock and will most likely be around for quite a while longer.
Info drawn from tompetty.com, cdnow.com and personal recollection of VH1 programs.
Editors Note:
Tom Petty suffered cardiac arrest early in the morning of October 2, 2017, and died later that night at a hospital in Santa Monica, California. He was 66 years old.