Today we celebrate Tom Petty’s birthday!
The leader of the Heartbreakers and Mudcrutch and a member of the Traveling Wilburys, as well as a Hall of Fame career on his own, Tom Petty sold more than 80 million records, making him one of the biggest selling artists of all time. With hit singles like "American Girl", "Don't Do Me Like That", "Refugee", "The Waiting". Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers helped redefine rock music in the 80’s, as they also rode the wave of MTV with hit music videos, like "Don't Come Around Here No More".
In the 90’s Petty would begin a solo career with massive hits like "I Won't Back Down", which has become a stadium anthem, "Free Fallin'", and "You Don't Know How It Feels". That would lead to his work in the supergroup The Traveling Wilburys, as he was joined by George Harrison of The Beatles, Roy Orbison, Bob Dylan, and ELO’s Jeff Lynne.
Petty and the Heartbreakers were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002, and Petty himself was ranked 91 on Rolling Stones greatest artists of all time. Tom Petty died of a heart attack at the age of 66, one week after the Heartbreakers' 40th Anniversary Tour.
Happy Birthday Tom, because of you we never back down.