Tom Petty, the front man for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers,
began his music career in the early 1970’s by
playing blues style rock in his hometown of Gainesville,
Florida. The Heartbreakers debut album had two major
hits that are now classics, “Breakdown”
and “American Girl.” This album made them
huge in not only the US but the UK as well. With all
the other rock bands surfacing in the 70’s era,
very few of them are still around today to be on tour
more than 35 years later. Not only are Tom Petty and
the Heartbreakers on tour but currently their concert
tickets have sold out across the nation.
Thomas Earl Petty, born on October 20, 1950 did not
have any musical inspirations until Elvis Presley visited
his hometown. After performing with several bands with
a multitude of different names, he finally settled with
the Heartbreakers and they have written and produced
more than 10 albums. Tom Petty has been nominated for
10 Grammy awards since 1981 and won three. He has performed
with George Harrison, Bob Dylan and Roy Orbison in the
Traveling Wilburys. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
are one of the few rock bands that have earned a star
on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and in 2002 the group
was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The
group has had numerous triple platinum albums and continues
to influence upcoming rock bands with such classics
as; “Free Fallin,” “I Won’t
Back Down,” “Learning to Fly,” and
his duo with Stevie Nicks, “Stop Draggin’
my Heart Around.”
Tom Petty also has made huge contributions to such
humanitarian organizations like Greenpeace, the National
Veteran’s Foundation and AmFAR (the American Foundation
for AIDS Research). Spanning the country playing classic
rock for fans is what Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
have been successful at for more than 35 years and with
their recent tour, that reputation is not about to waver.