Rock Legend Tom Petty Dies Aged 66, Manager Confirms

Rock legend Tom Petty — best known as frontman of Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers — has died at the age of 66, it has been confirmed by his manager Tony Dimitriades.

“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 says in a statement.

“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.”

Petty was found unconscious and not breathing in his home in Malibu on Sunday night, before reportedly being put on life support. His life support was supposedly turned off on Monday afternoon local time. There were conflicting reports soon after, leading to confusion surrounding whether or not Petty had died.

Musicians and industry figures from around the world have already paid tribute to the singer-songwriter online, reflecting on how his music shaped their lives. View a number of the tributes, below.

Petty rose to fame in the ’70s with his bands Mudcrutch and (later) The Heartbreakers, before going solo. During his career, he wrote iconic songs like ‘Breakdown’, ‘American Girl’, ‘Don’t Do Me Like That’, ‘Freefallin” and ‘Here Comes My Girl’.

Petty was also a part of the Traveling Wilburys supergroup in the ’80s, alongside Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Roy Orbison, and Jeff Lynne. He released his first solo album Full Moon Fever in 1989, and his final solo album Highway Companion in 2006.

Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers were touring the US this year, to celebrate the band’s 40th anniversary.

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