Photo by Flickr user NRK P3
Social media was frenzied yesterday with news of a mass shooting in Las Vegas and of Tom Petty’s death. To add to the confusion, reports of Petty’s death were released without official confirmation. It became unclear whether or not he was still on life support. However, hours later, his manager confirmed that he had died of cardiac arrest.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers had hit songs that spanned decades, among them, "American Girl," "Breakdown," and "Mary Jane’s Last Dance." Memphis was fortunate enough to have gotten to see Petty this summer for his last dance off Beale, at a stop at FedExForum on May 8th, part of the five-month Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers 40th Anniversary Tour.
Petty told Rolling Stone in December 2016, this tour "might be the last big one."
The first and last time I saw Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers perform was at the 2013 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Manchester, Tennessee. The band headlined the festival alongside Paul McCartney and Jack Johnson.
Tom Petty was 66 years old. In the early hours of the morning, he was rushed to UCLA Medical Center near his home in Malibu after suffering cardiac arrest. He was not able to be revived and died at 8:40 p.m. the same day.
Petty had a long and successful life, playing alongside legends the likes of Stevie Nicks, Bob Dylan, Grateful Dead, George Harrison, Roy Orbison, and many more. He also did a little bit of acting, appearing in The Postman and King of the Hill. He kept it up until the end, playing three shows — the last of the 40th Anniversary Tour — at Hollywood Bowl just last week.
Now, Tom Petty is learning to fly in the great wide open.
