October
20, 1950
Tom
Petty
Thomas Earl "Tom"
Petty (born October 20, 1950) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter,
multi-instrumentalist and record producer. He is best known as the lead singer
of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, but is also known as a member and
co-founder of the late 1980s super-group the Traveling Wilburys and
Mudcrutch (under the pseudonyms of Charlie T. Wilbury, Jr. and Muddy Wilbury).
Petty was born and raised in
Gainesville, Florida and attended Gainesville High School. His interest in rock
and roll music began at age ten when he met Elvis Presley. In the summer of
1961, his uncle was working on the set of Presley's film Follow That Dream in
nearby Ocala, Florida, and invited Petty to come down and watch the shoot He
instantly became an Elvis Presley fan, and when he returned that Saturday he
was greeted by his friend Keith Harben and soon traded his Wham-O slingshot for
a collection of Elvis 45s.
Tom Petty and the
Heartbreakers were on the forefront of the heartland rock movement, alongside
artists such as Bruce Springsteen and Bob Seger, which arose in the late 1970s
and 1980s. Petty and the Heartbreakers are known for hit singles such as
"American Girl", "Breakdown", "The Waiting", "Learning
to Fly", "Refugee" and "Mary Jane's Last Dance”. Tom Petty
and the Heartbreakers have sold more than 80 million records worldwide, making
them one of the world’s best-selling bands of all time. In 2002, he was inducted into the Rock and
Roll Hall of Fame.
Born in 1950?
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