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The Pitch

The official student newspaper of Walter Johnson High School

The Pitch

The official student newspaper of Walter Johnson High School

The Pitch

The end of a legend: Tom Petty’s death

The end of a legend: Tom Pettys death

Tom Petty, a universally beloved rock musician died on October 2, 2017 at the age of 66. He went into cardiac arrest in the morning, then died that night at the UCLA Medical Center. His many accomplishments will be remembered by his adoring fans.

“Tom Petty produced such great music, and I will miss him greatly,” junior Samantha Heald said.

Petty had a wife of 16 years named Dana, two daughters, Annakim and Adria, a stepson, Dylan and a grandaughter Everly. His family is supported by his millions of fans.

Petty was born on October 20, 1950, and developed the love for music at a very young age. He got his first guitar at the age of 12 in 1962 and played nonstop. That guitar lead him to be one of the most beloved musicians in the world.

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The first band Petty joined was Mudcrutch when he was 20-years-old. Mudcrutch was an American country rock band that broke up when Petty grew to fame and formed The Heartbreakers in 1976 with Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench. Petty was the lead singer for The Heartbreakers.

Some of the Heartbreakers most popular songs were “Free Fallin”, “I Won’t Back Down” and “You Don’t Know How it Feels”. Petty’s first album with The Heartbreakers came out in 1976 as “Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers”. In 1979, The Heartbreakers came out with their second album “Damn the Torpedos”. In 1989, the very popular “Full Moon Fever” album came out and in 1994 the album “Wildflowers”. Petty continued to make music with The Heartbreakers throughout his life. A few days before Petty passed away, he ended the 40th anniversary tour with The Heartbreakers.

Petty wrote his songs and was devoted to his music.

Sometimes you come home and you didn’t catch anything and sometimes you caught a huge fish. But that was the work part of it to me. … I just remember being excited when I had a song done, and I knew I had a song in my pocket, I always felt really excited about it,” Petty said of writing music, according to The LA Times.

Petty had a huge amount of achievements throughout his life such as being entered in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002, playing the Super Bowl halftime show in 2008 and sold over 80 million records worldwide.

In 2005, Petty began a radio show called “Tom Petty’s Buried Treasures”. Petty never stopped making new music and remained relevant through all of his career.

According to Rolling Stone,Mr. Petty sold millions of albums and headlined arenas and festivals well into 2017.”

“I was upset when I heard Tom Petty past away. I would listen to his music with my dad,” freshman Callie Metzman said.

Petty remains a musical legend and he will be missed by millions.

 

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