"On behalf of the Tom Petty family, we are devastated to announce the untimely death of our father, husband, brother, leader and friend Tom Petty. He suffered cardiac arrest at his home in Malibu in the early hours of this morning and was taken to UCLA Medical Center but could not be revived. He died peacefully at 8:40PM PST surrounded by family, his bandmates, and friends. - Tony Dimitriades, longtime manager of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, on behalf of the family"
Thank you @TobyC for the "official" report. There was a leak by someone in the L.A. Police Department before the family had time to set things in order. Over eager media reported before it should have. While the public has a right to know, decorum dictates they confirm a death before rushing to be first with the story.
I've been a big Tom Petty fan as long as I can remember. I remember as a little girl, being astonished during the cake scene in the music video, Don't Come Around Here No More. I remember shrieking, "They're eating her guts!" I remember playing Free Fallin, while swinging on the swingset in my backyard. I remember singing Mary Jane's Last Dance, and always switching the lyrics "Indiana" with "Oklahoma" because I too, grew up tall & grew up right. I remember my last summer nights in Oklahoma, before moving to California, drinking beer on the porch with friends and family and everybody getting a little teary eyed listening to my song, American Girl. I remember hitting the highway on our cross country road trip and insisting Learning to Fly be on our playlist...For me, and many people, I'm sure, it felt like Tom Petty made the soundtrack to my life and his songs were about me. That is one of the many gifts he had. His songs could reach right in, and complete your story. His music felt as natural as the moment itself. I'm thankful to have had his music in good times and bad. During a "Breakdown" or whenever I was "Running Down a Dream" he was there. He will live on through his music and the wonderful message he's left behind. He's not gone. He's just "Into the Great Wide Open."
I don't often tell these stories, but here we go... In 1995 Petty was in my town in Alabama for a tour stop. The girl I was dating worked for the biz that held the catering contract for the venue. Being the good rock and roll kids that we were, hanging out near the tour buses and catering tent after sound check seemed like a foregone conclusion. I was twenty, and had messed around in garage bands and was really excited about being backstage. When Tom Petty walked out of the dining area with his manager, the band was on a break, so Tom said something and sent his manager back into the dining room. As he stood there waiting we introduced ourselves and just said hello. He was receptive and friendly, asked us our names and what we were about. I asked a bit about his guitar playing, and he got a silly grin and said to follow him. When his manager came out, he introduced us and led us into the venue back door. We went to his dressing area and he said, "What do you wanna know?" I jumped at the chance and asked him some dumb question about how he decided on his chords for songs. To our, wonderment, he lit a joint and picked up a guitar. He then proceeded to sit and play made up stuff on the fly and talk to us about how he just "felt it", and that he just liked to tell stories on his records. He sang Free Falling in duet with my girlfriend while I messed up his song-- on one of his practice acoustics. He'd stop, show me how to finger it again, and resume. We almost finished. After about fifteen or twenty minutes, there was a knock upon the door, and some man in a suit said he was needed for a radio interview. He very graciously sent us on our way, and as magically as it had started, it was over. Will never forget it.
Not much has been said about Tom's involvement with the Traveling Wilburys. What a group of talented musicians that was. Now Tom has gone on to join Roy Orbison and George Harrison, leaving Bob Dylan and Jeff Lynne behind.
