Trivia

Teamed up with Bob Dylan, Beatle George Harrison, Jeff Lynne from Electric Light Orchestra and Roy Orbison in the group The Traveling Wilburys.

On July 9, 2017, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers headlined the final night of the British Summer Tour festival in Hyde Park in London, supported by Stevie Nicks, who joined them on stage for the performance of "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around".

He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording at 7018 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on April 28, 1999.

Rock singer/guitarist, recording and performing solo as well as leader of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (1975-2017).

Had two daughters: Adria Petty and Anna Kim Petty (Annakim Violette).

Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (as a member of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers) (2002).

Had said that he regarded his and the Heartbreakers' best work was when they collaborated with Johnny Cash on the legend's album "Unchained" (1996). The Heartbreakers would perform on Cash's next two albums after that (which would be his last), but due to other engagements, Petty was less involved with those.

Early in the morning of October 2, 2017, Petty was found unconscious at his Malibu home, not breathing and in full cardiac arrest. He was taken to the UCLA Medical Center in Santa Monica, California, where he died at 8:40 pm PDT that evening. According to Los Angeles County Medical Examiner, the cause of death was "multisystem organ failure due to resuscitated cardiopulmonary arrest due to mixed drug toxicity" and the manner of death was "accident". He also suffered from coronary artery atherosclerosis and emphysema.

On October 16, 2017, he was interred at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles, California. He passed away less than three weeks away from what would have been his 67th birthday on October 20, 2017.

Ranked #43 on VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Rock & Roll.

He and his band recorded several platinum selling albums at Cherokee Recording Studios, including "Damn the Torpedoes" (1979) and "Hard Promises" (1981). He also collaborated with Stevie Nicks at Cherokee on the platinum recording "Stop Dragging My Heart Around".

Shared the same birthday with Viggo Mortensen and Snoop Dogg.

On July 13, 1985, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers appeared at the world-spanning charity rock concert Live Aid which was broadcast on MTV uninterrupted from Philadelphia and London.

In May 1987, an arsonist set fire to Petty's house in Encino, California. Firefighters were able to salvage the basement recording studio and the original tapes stored there, as well his Gibson Dove acoustic guitar. However, his signature gray top hat was destroyed. Petty later rebuilt the house with fire-resistant materials.

Each and every Tom Petty album was credited as Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, with the exception of "Full Moon Fever" (1989), "Wildflowers" (1994) and "Highway Companion" (2006). The latter three were released as solo albums by Petty, although some members of The Heartbreakers did appear on those albums as studio musicians.

Was close friends with Jackson Browne, Lindsey Buckingham, Bob Dylan, Don Henley, Jeff Lynne, John Mellencamp, Stevie Nicks, Linda Ronstadt, Bob Seger and Bruce Springsteen, and with late musicians David Bowie, George Harrison and Warren Zevon (Petty was actually one of the guests on the latter's final album "The Wind").