On October 2, 2017, the music industry lost one if it’s greats… American musician, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer Tom Petty suffered a cardiac arrest at his home and was rushed to UCLA Medical Center where, surrounded by family and friends, he passed away peacefully at 8:40 PM PST. He was 66 years young. (For those of you who want to learn more about Tom Petty and his amazing career, click here.)
I first heard this shocking news while visiting London, England with my brother… we were having breakfast when the news of Tom Petty’s passing was announced by a television reporter on the BBC. My first reaction was disbelief…the news story couldn’t be right…Tom Petty was currently on tour, and he was only 66 years old…the news story had to be wrong. As I stared dumbfounded at the television screen, my brother quickly pulled out his cell phone and checked a few reputable news sites…he confirmed the bad news…Tom Petty was dead. My next reaction was sadness. As I mentioned earlier, Tom Petty had been on what he said would be his last tour…he was planning on retiring and spending more time with his family (a luxury he didn’t have much of because of his busy and demanding schedule). Sadly, Tom’s retirement plans never came to be, and I would like to express my deepest sympathy to his family and friends who lost the opportunity to spend more quality time with their loved one. My final reaction was that of reflection, and I looked at my brother and said “I’m so glad I made that trip to Minneapolis a few years ago to see Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers”, and I shared with him this story:
I have been a Tom Petty fan for years…I grew up with his music. In the early months of 2008 I discovered that Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were going on tour and coming to the Target Center (a multi-purpose arena located in downtown in Minneapolis, Minnesota), the nearest large venue to my home town of Thunder Bay, Ontario. So, I made sure my calendar was cleared for the last few days of July, 2008 and bought my ticket. Time went by quickly, and the next thing I knew it was July 23, 2008, and I was standing outside the doors of the Target Center, mere hours away for this concert I had eagerly been waiting for. You could feel the excitement in the air as over 20,000 fans started pouring into the Target Center for this sold out show. Finally, the lights dimmed, and Steve Winwood (the opening act) took to the stage and sounded as great as he did when he first started his career decades earlier. After an awesome set, Steve left the stage, there was a short intermission, and then the lights dimmed again, and Tom Petty and the Hearbreakers came on stage.
The setlist for the show was as follows:
“You Wreck Me”, “Listen to Her Heart”, “I Won’t Back Down”…
“Even the Losers”, “Free Fallin”, “Mary Jane’s Last Dance”…
“End of the Line”, “Breakdown”, “Saving Grace”…
“A Face in the Crowd”, “Honey Bee”, “Learning to Fly”…
“Don’t Come Around Here No More”, and “Refugee”.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers then left the stage and the houselights came up. I was expecting a lot from this concert, and I wasn’t disappointed. I knew and loved every song that Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers performed, and what was even more enjoyable was watching these talented musicians do what they loved and enjoying their time on stage. The fun these amazing musicians had on stage was infectious and passed through the crowd which was jumping up and down, waving their arms, and yelling for more. After a few minutes, the houselights dimmed again, and Tom Petty and Heartbreakers took to the stage once more and sang “Runnin’ Down a Dream”, “Gloria”, and “American Girl”.
Then Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers said their final farewell to their adoring fans, and left the stage.
Tom Petty may be gone, but the music he left the world will live on, as will the memories that I have from this wonderful concert I attended.
I would like to end this POD with two of my favorite Tom Petty music videos.
The first music video is “Runnin’ Down a Dream”…
The second music video is “Handle With Care”.
R.I.P. Tom Petty. Thank you for sharing your musical talent with the world. You’ll be missed.
A great tribute!
I’ve always liked the songs of Tom Petty but I listened to them differently when I lived in Gainesville, Fl, his home town. Although a cute town with the thriving University of Florida, part of the town feels like they got left out of that success and dream of escaping to places of more opportunity. In his case he used his talents to escape his father.
The city is rightfully proud he was able to make it big in California.