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<\/a>REUTERS – Tom Petty was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002<\/p><\/div>\n
BBC<\/p>\n
US musician Tom Petty has died in California aged 66, says a statement issued on behalf of his family.<\/strong><\/p>\n Petty was found unconscious, not breathing and in full cardiac arrest at his Malibu home early on Monday.<\/p>\n He was taken to hospital, but could not be revived and died later that evening.<\/p>\n Petty was best known as the lead singer of Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, and his hits included American Girl, Breakdown, Free Fallin’, Learning to Fly and Refugee.<\/p>\n Obituary: A quiet, unassuming legend<\/a><\/p>\n “He died peacefully at 20:40 Pacific time (03:40 GMT Tuesday) surrounded by family, his bandmates and friends,” said his long-time manager Tony Dimitriades.<\/p>\n A statement on the singer’s Twitter page described Petty’s passing as an “untimely death”.<\/p>\n End of Twitter post by @tompetty<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Petty was also a co-founder of the Traveling Wilburys group in the late 1980s, recording a clutch of Grammy-winning albums with Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, Jeff Lynne and George Harrison.<\/p>\n “It’s shocking, crushing news,” Dylan told the\u00a0Los Angeles Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n “I thought the world of Tom. He was a great performer, full of the light, a friend, and I’ll never forget him.”<\/p>\n Other tributes include those from fellow musicians Sir Paul McCartney, Carole King, Brian Wilson and Cyndi Lauper.<\/p>\n McCartney tweeted that he was\u00a0“sending his love”<\/a>\u00a0to Petty and his family, while\u00a0King said her “heart goes out”<\/a>\u00a0to “family, friends and fans of Tom Petty, of which I’m one”.<\/p>\n Beach Boys star Brian Wilson tweeted that he was “heartbroken” to hear of the news.<\/p>\n End of Twitter post by @BrianWilsonLive<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Canadian singer\u00a0Bryan Adams thanked Petty<\/a>\u00a0“for all the great rockin’ music”.<\/p>\n Actor Kiefer Sutherland also paid tribute.<\/p>\n He tweeted<\/a>: “Today America lost one of its musical giants. Thank you Tom Petty for all the music. To me you will live forever.”<\/p>\n Petty also found solo success in 1989 with his album Full Moon Fever, which featured one of his most popular songs, Free Fallin’, co-written with Jeff Lynne.<\/p>\n In 2002, Petty was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n Tom Petty was known for his songs American Girl and and Free Fallin’<\/p><\/div>\n Petty was born in Gainesville, Florida, on 20 October, 1950.<\/p>\n He endured a rough childhood, living in poverty with an alcoholic, abusive father – but his life changed in 1961 when he met Elvis Presley and shook his hand.<\/p>\n “That was the end of doing anything other than music with my life,” he said.<\/p>\n He joined two bands at school, The Sundowners and The Epics, before dropping out to play with Mudcrutch, aged 17.<\/p>\n After that band broke up, Petty and several of its members formed Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, releasing their debut album in 1976.<\/p>\n GETTY IMAGES –\u00a0Tom Petty (right) and The Heartbreakers just last week wrapped up a tour to mark 40 years of the band<\/p><\/div>\n Their career was slow to take off, but heavy touring – including a well-received support slot with future E Street Band member Nils Lofgren in the UK – eventually pushed them into the chart.<\/p>\n Over the next four decades, they became one of rock’s most reliable live acts, doggedly sticking to their no-frills rock template, and producing a stream of radio staples including Don’t Come Around Here No More and the Stevie Nicks duet Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around.<\/p>\n Petty scored solo hits with the platinum-selling albums Full Moon Fever and Wildflowers, while the 1991 album Into The Great Wide Open gave the band a number one single, Learning To Fly.<\/p>\n The video for the title track was also in constant rotation on MTV, thanks in no small part to cameos by Johnny Depp, Faye Dunaway and a then-unknown Matt LeBlanc.<\/p>\n Petty gave his last live shows just a week ago, playing three sold-out dates at the Hollywood Bowl as part of a 40th anniversary tour.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a>