Tom Petty

"You can stand me up at the gates of hell

but I won't back down"

Yesterday was a sad day in the music world. Many of us woke up Monday morning to hear about the tragic events in Las Vegas at a country music festival. It's a scary world we live in when we can't even enjoy music without fear of being attacked. My heart goes out to those affected (although this kind of thing affects us all in one way or another) by this senseless violence. Then as the day went on we learned that Tom Petty had been rushed to the hospital after suffering a heart attack. Initial reports claimed that he had passed away; these were later retracted and word came out that he was clinging to life. Tom did pass away last night, and the world has lost another musical giant.

Tom Petty (along with his band, The Heartbreakers) was one of those rare musicians that could transcend genres. Yes, he was a rock artist, but he appealed to lovers of all music genres. Some of his music could be very bluesy; some of his music had more of a folk or country vibe. He was no nonsense, either. He did what he wanted to do and didn't care what others thought about it. The man declared bankruptcy just to get out of a terrible record deal - just to prove a point.

Petty's musical career started out in the early 1970s in the band Mudcrutch. After little success, Petty and band members Mike Campbell (one of the most underrated guitarists in the world, by the way) and Benmont Tench (one of the best keyboardists in the rock world) formed Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers with two new members, and the rest is history.

Tom and the Heartbreakers put out some incredible music over the years, and Tom put out some fantastic solo albums as well. Tom was also one-fifth of the supergroup The Traveling Wilburys, along with Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, George Harrison, and Jeff Lynne of Electric Light Orchestra. Mudcrutch reunited in 2007 and put out two albums - I highly recommend checking them out. Fans of the animated show King of the Hill will know that Tom also voiced the character Lucky - who marries Hank's niece Luanne. One of the coolest things Tom and the Heartbreakers ever did was back Johnny Cash on his 1996 album Unchained, which included a cover of Petty's song "Southern Accents." They also played on Cash's follow up album American III: Solitary Man, with a cover of the song "I Won't Back Down." Tom's career was rich and he has left us as one of the greatest American rock musicians in history.

I'm not quite sure when I first heard Tom Petty - my brother bought the CD Into the Great Wide Open when it came out in 1991. A few years later the song "Mary Jane's Last Dance" came out and I bought the greatest hits album that song was on. I was hooked from then on. Petty was one of the great songwriters - his songs were catchy and easy to sing along to, but still had substance and meaning. Someone wrote yesterday that Petty was rock's greatest writer of opening lines; I think that's a fair statement. Tom Petty will be missed immensely by those closest to him as well as his many fans around the world.

The documentary Runnin' Down a Dream is available to stream on Netflix. It tells the story of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and is a great watch. It's four hours long so it might take a few sittings, but it's worth it.