Thomas Earl Petty (October 20, 1950 – October 2, 2017) was an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and actor. He was the lead singer and guitarist of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, formed in 1976. He previously led the band Mudcrutch, and was also a member of the late 1980s supergroup the Traveling Wilburys.
Petty recorded a number of hit singles with the Heartbreakers and as a solo artist. In his career, he sold more than 80 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. He and the Heartbreakers were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002. Petty died in 2017, one week after the end of the Heartbreakers 40th Anniversary Tour, from an overdose on prescription drugs. It is stated that Petty had been suffering with pain throughout the tour, but refused to cancel due to it potentially being the final Heartbreakers tour and not wanting to let anyone down. As a result, he took progressively higher doses to ensure the tour would continue and help him cope with the pain, culminating in his death at age 66 in his home.