91 Facts About Tom Petty

1. In 2008, Tom Petty reunited them for an album and a tour —which especially shocked his early bandmates.

2. In 2008, Tom Petty reunited them for an album and a tour —which especially shocked his early bandmates.

3. Tom Petty spent time in Tulsa early in his career while in the Shelter Records stable and is among many Super Bowl halftime performers who have performed at Tulsa's BOK Center.

4. In 2008, Tom Petty reunited them for an album and a tour —which especially shocked his early bandmates.

5. In 2008, Tom Petty reunited them for an album and a tour —which especially shocked his early bandmates.

6. Tom Petty was an American singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, and actor.

7. In 2008, Tom Petty reunited them for an album and a tour —which especially shocked his early bandmates.

8. Tom Petty had no recollection of this, but a certain tree has nevertheless been dubbed the Tom Petty Tree.

9. Tom Petty worked more extensively as a voice actor in 28 episodes of King of the Hill.

10. Tom Petty admitted in his biography that he instead felt hurt by the surreal experience.

11. In 2008, Tom Petty reunited them for an album and a tour —which especially shocked his early bandmates.

12. Tom Petty used a Gibson J-200 in a natural finish and a late 1970s Guild D25 12-string acoustic.

13. Tom Petty was found unconscious at his home, not breathing and in full cardiac arrest, early in the morning of Monday, October 2, 2017.

14. Tom Petty refused to be transferred to another record label without his consent.

15. Tom Petty instantly became a Presley fan, and when he returned that Saturday, he was greeted by his friend Keith Harben, and soon traded his Wham-O slingshot for a collection of Elvis 45s.

16. Tom Petty had a brother, Bruce, who was seven years younger.

17. Tom Petty was born October 20, 1950, in Gainesville, Florida, the first of two sons of Kitty Petty, a local tax office worker, and Earl Petty, who worked in a grocery store.

18. Tom Petty was a co-founder of the late 1980s supergroup the Traveling Wilburys.

19. Tom Petty teamed up with George Harrison to record the song, who can be heard singing and playing guitar on the track alongside Ringo Starr on drums.

20. On the morning of May 17th, 1987, Tom Petty was enjoying breakfast with his wife and 5-year-old daughter when they smelled smoke.

21. In 2006, Tom Petty revealed that seeing The Beatles on\u00a0The Ed Sullivan Show\u00a0was a major revelation for him.

22. In the summer of 1961, a 10-year-old Tom Petty met Presley.

23. Tom Petty was going through a rough time when he made his album "Echo", and he revealed to Rolling Stone that in the end he wasn't a fan of the album.

24. Tom Petty has a stepson named Dylan from Dana's previous marriage.

25. Tom Petty had mentioned these in his book 'Petty: The Biography'.

26. Tom Petty formed a supergroup with Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, and Roy Orbison, and spent his free time fighting for the rights of every musician who wanted to step on a stage and share their art with the world.

27. Tom Petty was talented, hard-working, generous, respected, and loved by everyone.

28. Tom Petty has two daughters from his first marriage to Jane Benyo in 1974 named Adria and AnnaKim Violet.

29. Tom Petty had a successful solo career and often sang with other artists.

30. Tom Petty dropped out of school and formed his first band called Mudcrutch, whose only single "Depot Street" remains popular, even today.

31. Tom Petty was not breathing and suffered a cardiac arrest in the early morning on October 2, 2017.

32. Tom Petty went through a struggle with heroin addiction, including hospitalization, depression, and continued treatment, all with his girlfriend York by his side.

33. Tom Petty was reeling from the fallout of his first marriage, his wife Jane Benyo's alleged mental illness and threats of suicide, and a new heroin addiction.

34. In a 2005 Journal story, York said Tom Petty would travel with her back to Genessee County, Michigan, where she grew up.

35. Tom Petty was married twice in his life, most recently to 53-year-old Dana York Epperson.

36. Tom Petty would come to openly credit his wife Dana with saving him from drug addiction.

37. Over the course of his career, Tom Petty had an estimated net worth of $ 95 million.

38. Tom Petty died on January 19, 2018, from an accidental overdose of prescription pain medication.

39. Tom Petty was married to Jane Benyo from 1974 to 1996.

40. Tom Petty was one of SNL's most prominent musical guests, appearing on the show eight different times.

41. Tom Petty was in this band with Heartbreakers Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench, along with Tom Leadon and Randall Marsh.

42. Tom Petty gets a small bit of screen time in this film.

43. Towards the end of the show's run, Tom Petty was more or less a regular part of King Of The Hill's cast, even though he was still credited as a guest star.

44. Tom Petty helped rebuild schools' music programs after Katrina alongside other legends such as Elton John, Paul McCartney, and Neil Young.

45. Tom Petty has often referred to his decades-long friendship with Stevie Nicks as fiery and intense.

46. Tom Petty took guitar lessons from Don Felder of The Eagles.

47. At the age of 24, the late rock legend Tom Petty tied the knot with his first wife Jane Benyo on March 26, 1974.

48. Tom Petty died on October 2, 2017, having suffered a full cardiac arrest in the early hours of the day at his home in Malibu.

49. Tom Petty was featured on an episode of The Simpsons in 2002.

50. Tom Petty died too soon, as so many of the greats do.

51. Over the course of his career, Tom Petty had to fight many uphill battles— but again and again, he won.

52. In 2008, Tom Petty reunited them for an album and a tour —which especially shocked his early bandmates.

53. Tom Petty married Jane Benyo in 1974, and they had two daughters, Adria and Kimberly,  before divorcing in 1996.

54. Tom Petty died just a couple weeks shy of his 67th birthday on Oct 2, 2017.

55. Tom Petty declared bankruptcy in 1979, refusing to release Damn the Torpedoes in order to get out of an abusive contract at his record label, MCA.

56. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Tom Petty talked about his plans after he wrapped with The Heartbreakers.

57. Tom Petty worked for a time as a gravedigger in his youth.

58. Tom Petty has had several small film roles, most notably a post-apocalyptic mayor in Kevin Costner's 1997 flop The Postman.

59. Tom Petty reportedly took guitar lessons from Don Felder of the Eagles, who was three years his senior and another resident of Gainesville.

60. Tom Petty performed the song with the Heartbreakers at the Super Bowl XLII halftime show in 2008.

61. Tom Petty dropped out of high school at 17 to join the southern-rock group Mudcrutch.

62. Tom Petty appeared on Saturday Night Live eight different times, making him one of the show's most frequent musical guests.

63. In 1991 Tom Petty reunited with the Heartbreakers for the band's ninth record, Into the Great Wide Open.

64. In 2006, Tom Petty went solo once more, working with Jeff Lynne to produce the No 4-charting album Highway Companion, before reuniting with the Heartbreakers for a 30th anniversary tour.

65. Tom Petty was born in Gainesville, Florida, on October 20, 1950, the first son of Earl and Kitty Petty.

66. Tom Petty died last year at the age of 66 from a drug overdose.

67. Tom Petty was right, the waiting is the hardest part.

68. Tom Petty is legendary, and his music will live on forever.

69. Tom Petty was honored as MusiCares Person of the Year in February 2017 for his contributions to music and for his philanthropy.

70. Tom Petty received the Billboard Century Award, the organization's highest honor for creative achievement, at a ceremony on December 6, 2005, during the Billboard Music Awards at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

71. Tom Petty owned and used a number of guitars over the years.

72. While the official announcement said Tom Petty collapsed early Monday morning, original reports claimed the incident happened Sunday night.

73. Tom Petty was found unconscious at his home, not breathing and in full cardiac arrest, early in the morning of October 2, 2017.

74. Tom Petty spoke in 2014 of the benefits from his practice of Transcendental Meditation.

75. Tom Petty married Dana York on June 3, 2001, and had a stepson, Dylan, from York's earlier marriage.

76. Tom Petty clarified that he did not believe Smith plagiarized him, saying, "All my years of songwriting have shown me these things can happen.

77. Tom Petty told Rolling Stone Magazine, "I seriously doubt that there is any negative intent there.

78. Tom Petty was known as a staunch guardian of his artistic control and artistic freedom.

79. Tom Petty had a recurring role as the voice of Elroy "Lucky" Kleinschmidt in the animated comedy series King of the Hill from 2004 to 2009.

80. Tom Petty appeared in the 1997 film The Postman, directed by and starring Kevin Costner, as the Bridge City Mayor.

81. In the episode, Tom Petty gets bumped from the show and nearly comes to blows with Greg Kinnear.

82. Tom Petty was featured in Shandling's other show, The Larry Sanders Show, as one of the Story within a story final guests.

83. In July 2006, Tom Petty released a solo album titled Highway Companion, which included the hit "Saving Grace".

84. In 2005, Tom Petty began hosting his own show "Buried Treasure" on XM Satellite Radio, on which he shared selections from his personal record collection.

85. Tom Petty commented "He left right after the session without really saying goodbye.

86. Tom Petty incorporated Traveling Wilburys songs into his live shows, consistently playing "Handle with Care" in shows from 2003 to 2006, and for his 2008 tour adding "surprises" such as "End of the Line" to the set list.

87. Tom Petty was close to his mother and remained close to his brother, Bruce.

88. In an interview with the CBC in 2014, Tom Petty stated that the Rolling Stones were "my punk music".

89. Tom Petty died on October 2, 2017, one week after the completion of the Heartbreakers' 40th anniversary tour.

90. Tom Petty recorded a number of hit singles with the Heartbreakers and as a solo artist.

91. Tom Petty played a variety of different guitars and even designed several of the instruments—specifically the Rickenbacker 660.