Getty NASHVILLE, TN - APRIL 25: (EDITOR'S NOTE: Image has been converted to black and white.) Tom Petty of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers performs during their 40th Anniversary Tour at Bridgestone Arena on April 25, 2017 in Nashville, Tennessee.
*This post will be updated with more information as it becomes available.
Tom Petty died Monday night around 8:40pm surrounded by friends, family, and bandmates. The news was confirmed by his longtime manager, Tony Dimitriades. Petty was 66.
Petty suffered a full cardiac arrest on Sunday night at his home in Malibu. His wife, Dana York, called 911 and told the dispatcher that Petty wasn’t breathing. He was rushed to UCLA Santa Monica Hospital by EMTs, where he was immediately put on life support, according to TMZ.
The outlet reports that once the family learned Petty had no brain activity, they took him off life support.
TMZ has obtained the 911 audio call, which you can listen to here.
https://twitter.com/RollingStone/status/914944347661066240
Petty rose to fame in the 70s with his band, Petty and the Heartbreakers. He recorded a number of hit songs with his band, and as a solo artist. Over the course of his career, he’s sold over 80 million records worldwide. In 2002, he was in ducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
The musician and his longtime band had just finished their 40th anniversary tour. Speaking to Rolling Stone last year, Petty said of the tour, “I’m thinking it may be the last trip around the country… We’re all on the backside of our 60s. I have a granddaughter now I’d like to see as much as I can. I don’t want to spend my life on the road. This tour will take me away for four months. With a little kid, that’s a lot of time.”
Fans and fellow musicians have shared their condolences on social media. Josh Groban took to Twitter to write, “What a horrid day for our country, music fans and music itself. RIP Tom Petty. His songs are always good medicine. Love to his family.”
What a horrid day for our country, music fans and music itself. RIP Tom Petty. His songs are always good medicine. Love to his family.
Meat Loaf tweeted, “Today Just gets worse . The very talented musician , writer Tom Petty has just passed away.”
Petty is survived by his wife, Dana York, and his two daughters from his first marriage, Adria and Kimberly Violette Petty.
