Thomas Earl Petty was born on October 20th in, 1950. He was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He was the leader and frontman of the rock bands Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Mudcrutch, and a member of the late 1980s supergroup the Traveling Wilburys.

His interest in rock and roll music began at age 10 when he met Elvis Presley and instantly became a fan. In 2006, he said he knew he wanted to be in a band the moment he saw the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show.

Over the course of his career, Petty sold more than 80 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling artists of all time. His hit singles with the Heartbreakers include “American Girl,” “Don’t Do Me Like That,” “Refugee,” “The Waiting,” “Don’t Come Around Here No More,” and “Learning to Fly.” In 2002, Petty and the Heartbreakers were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Petty died of an accidental drug overdose in Oct 2017 at the age of 66, one week after the end of the Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ 40th Anniversary tour.