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| Wikimedia Commons |
Legendary musician, singer and songwriter – Tom Petty has passed away as confirmed by CBS.
The beloved music icon, was admitted to the UCLA Santa Monica Hospital on Sunday, where he was put in life support – which reportedly, later had to be removed after his brain stopped functioning.
Petty’s longtime manager and friend Tony Dimitriades, released an official statement formerly confirming his death to public. “On behalf of the Tom Petty family,” he said, “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.”
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| A file photo of Tom Petty and The Chainsmokers (Source: Wikimedia Commons) |
Born in Gainesville, Florida, U.S., back in 1950, Petty dropped out of high school at the age of 17 in his pursuit of music. His meeting with Elvis Presley in the early 1960’s further ignited his interest in Rock n Roll, which was later geared ahead by watching The Beatles perform on Television.
Petty’s prominence and rise in mainstream music scene started in the early to mid 70’s, when he formed and fronted ‘Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers’ ho were best known for hits like “The Waiting”, “Learning to Fly”, “American Girl”, “Breakdown”, “Mary Jane’s Last Dance” and “Refugee.”
As a lead vocalist of the band and also as a solo artist, Petty had a string of memorable hits covering genres like rock and roll, heartland rock, and stoner rock. His influence and accomplishments in music also led him to be honored with a star in the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame, inducted back in 2002.
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| Wikimedia Commons |
In a career spanning almost 5 decades, the singer-songwriter sold over 80 million records worldwide – ranking among one of the biggest selling music artists of all time.
Petty is survived by his two daughters and his widow Dana York Epperson.
He was 66