profile image

Tom Petty

Oct 20, 1950 - Oct 02, 2017 (66 years old) in Gainesville, Florida, USA

Thomas Earl Petty (October 20, 1950 – October 2, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He was the leader and frontman of the rock bands Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Mudcrutch and a member of the late 1980s supergroup the Traveling Wilburys. He was also a successful solo artist.

Over the course of his career, Petty sold more than 80 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling artists of all time. His 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).

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 acted; he had a recurring role as the voice of Lucky Kleinschmidt in the animated comedy series King of the Hill from 2004 to the show's conclusion in 2009. Petty died of an accidental drug overdose in 2017 at the age of 66, one week after the end of the Heartbreakers' 40th Anniversary Tour. Description above from the Wikipedia article Tom Petty, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Known For

poster
The Simpsons
Tom Petty (voice)
poster
King of the Hill
Lucky (voice)
poster
The Old Grey Whistle Test
poster
Behind the Music
Self
poster
MTV Video Music Awards
Self
poster
It's Garry Shandling's Show
Tom Petty
poster
Classic Albums
Self
poster
SNL Digital Shorts
poster
The History of Rock 'n' Roll
self
poster
The Defiant Ones
Self

Credits