History Music / TomPetty

* FrivolousLawsuit: Petty quoted the trope word-for-word when mentioning why he never took legal action in response to the [[SuspiciouslySimilarSong similarities]] between the ''Music/RedHotChiliPeppers'' song "Dani California" and his song "Mary Jane's Last Dance," adding that most songs sound similar.

* LongRunnerLineUp: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were Tom Petty, Mike Campbell, Scott Thurston, Ron Blair, Bennmont Tench, and Steve Ferrone from 2002 until 2017. Petty, Campbell, and Tench had played together since 1971, when they were all part of the band Mudcrutch. Blair was with the Heartbreakers from 1975-1982 and returned in 2002, replacing his own replacement, the late Howie Epstein . Original drummer, Stan Lynch, was with the band for eighteen years as well.

* FrivolousLawsuit: Petty quoted the trope word-for-word when mentioning why he never took legal action in response to the [[SuspiciouslySimilarSong similarities]] between the ''Music/RedHotChiliPeppers'' song "Dani California" and his song "Last Dance with Mary Jane," adding that most songs sound similar.

* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: Played with in "Free Fallin.'"

* [[AbusiveParents Abusive Dad]]: Unfortunately for Tom.

* {{Determinator}}: "I Won't Back Down."

** "Yeah the world would swing, oh if I were king"

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Thomas Earl "Tom" Petty (October 20, 1950 – October 2, 2017) was an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Gainesville, Florida. He was the frontman of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and a member of Mudcrutch''. He was also a member of the {{supergroup}} Music/TheTravelingWilburys, under the pseudonym of Charlie T. Wilbury Jr. He recorded a number of hit singles, many of which remain heavily played on adult contemporary and classic rock radio. Likewise, his music, most notably his hits, have become increasingly popular among younger fans as he hosted sold-out shows in his recent tour dates.

He was supported by his band, ''The Heartbreakers,'' for the majority of his career. He occasionally released solo work, as is the case with 2006's ''Highway Companion,'' on which he performed most of the backing instrumentation himself. However, members of The Heartbreakers have played on each of his solo albums and the band has always backed him when touring in support of those albums. He has also toured with ''Mudcrutch'' in order to promote their debut album. Petty has been managed by Tony Dimitriades since 1976. On February 3, 2008, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers performed at the Super Bowl XLII Halftime show.

[[quoteright:250:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Silly_Hat_6736.jpg]]

-->--6"Learning to Fly"

-->"Learning to Fly"

-->"Learning To Fly"

Thomas Earl "Tom" Petty (October 20, 1950 – October 2, 2017) was an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Gainesville, Florida. He was the frontman of ''Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers'' and a member of ''Mudcrutch.'' He was also a member of the {{supergroup}} Music/TheTravelingWilburys under the pseudonym of Charlie T. Wilbury Jr. He recorded a number of hit singles, many of which remain heavily played on adult contemporary and classic rock radio. Likewise, his music, most notably his hits, have become increasingly popular among younger fans as he hosted sold-out shows in his recent tour dates.

'''Thomas Earl "Tom" Petty''' (October 20, 1950 - October 2, 2017) was an American singer songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Gainesville, Florida. He was the frontman of ''Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers'' and a member of ''Mudcrutch.'' He was also a member of the {{supergroup}} Music/TheTravelingWilburys under the pseudonym of Charlie T. Wilbury Jr. He recorded a number of hit singles, many of which remain heavily played on adult contemporary and classic rock radio. Likewise, his music, most notably his hits, have become increasingly popular among younger fans as he hosted sold-out shows in his recent tour dates.

Petty died on October 2, 2017 in Malibu, California, after suffering cardiac arrest earlier in the day. He had just played the final gig of the Heartbreakers' year-long 40th anniversary tour the week before

He had a minor but credited acting role as a mayor in Creator/KevinCostner's post-apocalyptic (and [[SnarkBait box office]]) disaster film ''Film/ThePostman'' and was the voice of Lucky (Luanne Platter's redneck boyfriend turned husband) on the later seasons of the Creator/{{FOX}} sitcom ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'' (though the first time Lucky appeared on a ''King of the Hill'' episode was "The Redneck of Rainey Street," which focused on Kahn and Minh becoming trailer trash after Kahn, Jr. gets rejected from a college prep summer school program).

Petty was found unresponsive and not breathing at his home in Malibu, California early in the morning of October 2nd and rushed to the hospital, where he was diagnosed as having suffered a heart attack. It was determined shortly afterwards that he was brain dead, causing numerous media outlets to erroneously report his death. Petty's family chose to take him off life support that afternoon, and he died at 8:40 p.m. Pacific Daylight Savings Time according to his longtime manager and friend Tony Dimitriades.

* LongRunnerLineUp: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers have been Tom Petty, Mike Campbell, Scott Thurston, Ron Blair, Bennmont Tench, and Steve Ferrone since 2002. Petty, Campbell, and Tench have been playing together since 1971, when they were all part of the band Mudcrutch. Blair was with the Heartbreakers from 1975-1982 and returned in 2002, replacing his own replacement, the late Howie Epstein . Original drummer, Stan Lynch, was with the band for 18 years as well.

* NotableMusicVideos

* StepUpToTheMicrophone: Scott Thurston sang Music/RoyOrbison's lines when Petty performs Wilburys material live. While Roy's voice was pretty much unique, Thurston does a very fine job of capturing the feel and sound of his singing -- audiences often spontaneously cheer at his renditions.

* AudienceParticipationSong: "Breakdown." He didn't even need to sing it live during his later years, he just gave the cue and let the audience do the work. On the ''Pack Up the Plantation - Live'' album, recorded in 1985, after the audience belts out an excellent rendition of the first verse and the chorus, he quips: "You people are gonna put me out of a job." On "Learning to Fly" he often got the audience to sing the chorus while he sings counterpoint lines between them as seen [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4p_f7Df2-oM here.]]

* AudienceParticipationSong: "Breakdown." He didn't even need to sing it live during his later years, just give the cue and let the audience do the work. On the ''Pack Up the Plantation - Live'' album, recorded in 1985, after the audience belts out an excellent rendition of the first verse and the chorus, he quips: "You people are gonna put me out of a job." On "Learning to Fly" he often gets the audience to sing the chorus while he sings counterpoint lines between them as seen [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4p_f7Df2-oM here.]]

* StepUpToTheMicrophone: Scott Thurston sings Music/RoyOrbison's lines when Petty performs Wilburys material live. While Roy's voice was pretty much unique, Thurston does a very fine job of capturing the feel and sound of his singing -- audiences often spontaneously cheer at his renditions.
* StudioChatter: Several times. One notable example is on an obscure BSide called "Heartbreakers Beach Party;" at the end Tom says: "All right, another modern classic."

Petty was found unresponsive and not breathing at his home in Malibu, California early in the morning of October 2nd and rushed to the hospital, where he was diagnosed as having suffered a heart attack. It was determined shortly afterwards that he was brain dead, causing numerous media outlets to erroneously report his death that afternoon. Petty's family chose to take him off life support that afternoon, and he died at 8:40 p.m. Pacific Daylight Savings Time according to his longtime manager and friend Tony Dimitriades.

'''Thomas Earl "Tom" Petty''' (born October 20, 1950) is an American singer songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Gainesville, Florida. He is the frontman of ''Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers'' and a member of ''Mudcrutch.'' He was also a member of the {{supergroup}} Music/TheTravelingWilburys under the pseudonym of Charlie T. Wilbury Jr. He recorded a number of hit singles, many of which remain heavily played on adult contemporary and classic rock radio. Likewise, his music, most notably his hits, have become increasingly popular among younger fans as he hosted sold-out shows in his recent tour dates.

Petty is also a vocal critic of the modern recording industry and the disappearance of independent radio stations.

He is supported by his band, ''The Heartbreakers,'' for the majority of his career. He occasionally releases solo work, as is the case with 2006's ''Highway Companion,'' on which he performed most of the backing instrumentation himself. However, members of The Heartbreakers have played on each of his solo albums and the band has always backed him when touring in support of those albums. He has also toured with ''Mudcrutch'' in order to promote their debut album. Petty has been managed by Tony Dimitriades since 1976. On February 3, 2008, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers performed at the Super Bowl XLII Halftime show.

%%Please do not change all current tense terms to past tense. As of this writing it has not been confirmed whether Petty has passed or not, regardless of what some news publications may have stated.

'''Thomas Earl "Tom" Petty''' (October 20, 1950 - October 2, 2017) was an American singer songwriter and multi instrumentalist from Gainesville, Florida. He was the frontman of ''Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers'' and a member of ''Mudcrutch.'' He was also a member of the {{supergroup}} Music/TheTravelingWilburys under the pseudonym of Charlie T. Wilbury Jr. He recorded a number of hit singles, many of which remain heavily played on adult contemporary and classic rock radio. Likewise, his music, most notably his hits, have become increasingly popular among younger fans as he hosted sold-out shows in his recent tour dates.

Petty was also a vocal critic of the modern recording industry and the disappearance of independent radio stations.

He was supported by his band, ''The Heartbreakers,'' for the majority of his career. He occasionally released solo work, as is the case with 2006's ''Highway Companion,'' on which he performed most of the backing instrumentation himself. However, members of The Heartbreakers have played on each of his solo albums and the band has always backed him when touring in support of those albums. He has also toured with ''Mudcrutch'' in order to promote their debut album. Petty was managed by Tony Dimitriades since 1976 all the way to his death. On February 3, 2008, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers performed at the Super Bowl XLII Halftime show.

'''Thomas Earl "Tom" Petty''' (October 20, 1950 - ) was an American singer songwriter and multi instrumentalist from Gainesville, Florida. He was the frontman of ''Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers'' and a member of ''Mudcrutch.'' He was also a member of the {{supergroup}} Music/TheTravelingWilburys under the pseudonym of Charlie T. Wilbury Jr. He recorded a number of hit singles, many of which remain heavily played on adult contemporary and classic rock radio. Likewise, his music, most notably his hits, have become increasingly popular among younger fans as he hosted sold-out shows in his recent tour dates.

'''Thomas Earl "Tom" Petty''' (October 20, 1950 - October 2, 2017) was an American singer songwriter and multi instrumentalist from Gainesville, Florida. He was the frontman of ''Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers'' and a member of ''Mudcrutch.'' He was also a member of the {{supergroup}} Music/TheTravelingWilburys under the pseudonym of Charlie T. Wilbury Jr. He recorded a number of hit singles, many of which remain heavily played on adult contemporary and classic rock radio. Likewise, his music, most notably his hits, have become increasingly popular among younger fans as he hosted sold-out shows in his recent tour dates.

Sadly, he died on October 2, 2017 of a heart attack, a mere eighteen days before what would have been his 67th birthday. May he rest in peace.

'''Thomas Earl "Tom" Petty''' (October 20, 1950 - October 2, 2017) was an American singer songwriter and multi instrumentalist from Gainesville, Florida. He is the frontman of ''Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers'' and a member of ''Mudcrutch.'' He was also a member of the {{supergroup}} Music/TheTravelingWilburys under the pseudonym of Charlie T. Wilbury Jr. He has recorded a number of hit singles, many of which remain heavily played on adult contemporary and classic rock radio. Likewise, his music, most notably his hits, have become increasingly popular among younger fans as he continues to host sold-out shows in his recent tour dates.

He has been supported by his band, ''The Heartbreakers,'' for the majority of his career. He has occasionally released solo work, as is the case with 2006's ''Highway Companion,'' on which he performed most of the backing instrumentation himself. However, members of The Heartbreakers have played on each of his solo albums and the band has always backed him when touring in support of those albums. He has also toured with ''Mudcrutch'' in order to promote their debut album. Petty has been managed by Tony Dimitriades since 1976. On February 3, 2008, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers performed at the Super Bowl XLII Halftime show.