One year ago today the music world lost one of its true greats when Tom Petty died after suffering cardiac arrest due to an accidental overdose. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers had just finished a 56-show tour in honor of their 40th anniversary. Petty went forward with the tour despite dealing with a fractured hip.
“Woven into the fabric of American rock ‘n’ roll music are the songs of Tom Petty,” wrote JamBase’s Andy Kahn in a remembrance of the 66-year-old musician. “He wasn’t merely a voice for his generation, instead his music transcended generations, becoming a voice for an entire nation and a reflection of its culture.”
Tom Petty was born in Gainesville, Florida on October 20, 1950. He formed Mudcrutch in 1970 and moved with the band to Los Angeles in 1974. Out of the ashes of Mudcrutch’s 1975 breakup came the birth of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, a band that sold over 80 million records worldwide. The group initially found success with a string of hits in the late ’70s that included “Breakdown,” “American Girl,” “I Need To Know” and “Listen To Her Heart.” Petty mostly recorded with the Heartbreakers over the last 40 years of his life but also released a handful of solo albums, was part of the supergroup the Traveling Wilburys and reunited Mudcrutch for a pair of LPs.
In addition to their recording prowess, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers were an incredible live band. On April 28, 2012 the group headlined the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. A portion of their set was webcast and that footage was uploaded to YouTube a few months ago. Petty and his band tackle the classic “Listen To Her Heart” to begin the 20+ minute segment. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers then show off their ability to improvise on “Have Love Will Travel” from 2002’s The Last DJ and beloved deep cut “Something Big” from 1981’s Hard Promises. Guitarist Mike Campbell, who begins his first tour as a member of Fleetwood Mac tomorrow, shines on the “Mary Jane’s Last Dance” that brings the video to its conclusion. Watch a portion of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers’ 2012 Jazz Fest set below:
- 0:26 Listen To Her Heart
- 3:51 Have Love Will Travel
- 8:19 Something Big
- 14:50 Mary Jane’s Last Dance
