Tom Petty, Heartbreakers frontman who sang 'Breakdown,' 'Free Fallin' ' and other hits, dies at 66
LOS ANGELES - Tom Petty rode to the pinnacle of pop music stardom with his beloved and long-running rock band the Heartbreakers, born out of the ashes of a group that flopped when he brought them from Gainesville, Fla., to California in the mid-1970s. He emerged as one of the most vocal and tireless champions of artistic integrity and musical purity in the record business.
Reportedly found unconscious at his Malibu home on Sunday night, Petty was rushed to UCLA's Santa Monica hospital in full cardiac arrest and died Monday at 66. For hours, multiple media outlets reported his death only to retract those reports; his death was confirmed Monday night by his family's spokeswoman. A cause has not been announced.
The family's spokeswoman, publicist Carla Sacks, released this statement Monday night: "On behalf of the Tom Petty family, we are devastated to announce the untimely death of our father, husband, brother, leader and friend Tom Petty. He suffered cardiac arrest at his home in Malibu in the early hours of this morning and was taken to UCLA Medical Center but could not be revived. He died peacefully at 8:40 p.m. PT surrounded by family, his bandmates and friends.
