Beech Tree News Network

I was going to do my column this week on the college basketball scandal, most recently(and publicly), the Louisville basketball scandal.  After Monday and the sudden death of Tom Petty, I decided to table that until next week.  That still doesn’t look right written out: the death of Tom Petty. 

The 66 year-old Rock & Roll Hall of Famer suffered cardiac arrest at his home in Malibu in the early hours of Monday morning.  He was taken to UCLA medical but couldn’t be revived.  He died peacefully at 8:40 PT surrounded by his family, bandmates and friends.

Thomas Earl Petty was born in Gainsville, Florida, the son of an insurance salesman, on October 20, 1950.  He joined Mutcrutch at age 17 with future fellow Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell and keyboardist Benmont Tench.  In 1975, Petty cut a demo with Campbell and Tench, bassist Ron Blair and drummer Stan Lynch.  They called themselves the Heartbreakers.  The debut album’s lead singer, which I love, “Breakdown”, didn’t even chart. 

“Breakdown” was reissued and it reached the bottom rung of the top 40.  “Listen to Her Heart” and :I Need To Know” from their second LP You’re Gonna Get It! Charted in the upper half of the pop chart.  Before the decade was up, Petty was bankrupt after MCA attempted to buy his contract from ABC records, which distributed Petty’s label. 

Along with his solo work, Tom joined Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison and Jeff Lynn to form the Travelling Wilburys.  The songs everyone loves, however, are songs like “Free Fallin’”, “Runnin’ Down A Dream”, Mary Jane’s Last Dance”(my favorite to play on guitar), “I Need To Know” and so many more.  2006’s Highway Companion and 2008’s Mojo were two of the last truly great Petty albums.  That was until they hit a milestone in 2014 when Hypnotic Eye became their first #1 album. 

They supported it with a U.S. tour and went back on the road in 2017 to commemorate their 40^th anniversary.  April 25 of that year, they played Bridgestone Arena.  I was lucky enough to be there.  Unfortunately, my pictures are on an old computer and have since been lost. 

XM’s Tom Petty Radio has been paying tribute the day I’m writing this(Tuesday) with his music, accounts from fellow artists like John Fogerty, Bruce Springsteen, fans and SIRIUS hosts Bill Flanigan and David Frick.   He would’ve been 67 October 20. This one’s gonna hurt for a long time.  Farewell, Tom.  Your music and legacy will live forever.