Tom Petty's Real Name: Thomas Petty

Quick answer: Tom Petty's documented full name in Encyclopaedia Britannica is Thomas Petty. The entry records that he was born October 20, 1950, in Gainesville, Florida, and died October 2, 2017, in Santa Monica, California (Encyclopaedia Britannica; Encyclopedia.com).

Real name and early life

Britannica gives the form "Also known as: Thomas Petty." A longer form with a middle name appears in some databases, but this page follows the independently sourced shorter form. Encyclopedia.com says he was the son of an insurance salesman in Gainesville. At age 10, Britannica records, an uncle introduced him to Elvis Presley, who was filming Follow That Dream (1962) in Florida; within two years Petty had taken up the guitar. Encyclopedia.com says he learned on a guitar purchased from a Sears catalogue and was playing in Gainesville bands by 14, including the Epics. Britannica notes that Mudcrutch (originally called the Epics) was touring while he was still in high school, and that he skipped his graduation ceremony to play a gig.

Career highlights

After Mudcrutch disintegrated in Los Angeles, Petty and former members Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench joined Ron Blair and Stan Lynch in 1975 to form Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Britannica says. Their 1976 debut made little initial stir in the United States, but "Breakdown" was a hit in Britain and reached the U.S. Top 40 on re-release in 1978. Damn the Torpedoes (1979), with "Don't Do Me Like That" and "Refugee," rose to number two. A 1981 duet with Stevie Nicks, "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around," was among the 1980s hits, along with "Don't Come Around Here No More" (1985). The Heartbreakers backed Bob Dylan on tour in 1986. Petty later joined Dylan, George Harrison, Roy Orbison, and Jeff Lynne in the Traveling Wilburys, earning a Grammy Award in 1989, the same year Lynne produced Petty's first solo album, Full Moon Fever, and the single "Free Fallin'." Wildflowers (1994) was a multimillion-selling solo set that still featured Heartbreakers contributions, especially from Campbell. Petty and the Heartbreakers were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002, performed the Super Bowl halftime show in 2008, and topped the Billboard album chart with Hypnotic Eye in 2014.

Death

In October 2017, during celebrations of the Heartbreakers' 40th anniversary, Petty died after suffering full cardiac arrest brought on by an accidental overdose of medications, including opioids, sedatives, and an antidepressant, Britannica records. He had been dealing with a fractured hip, knee problems, and emphysema.

Name notes for searchers

Thomas Petty is the form given by Britannica; he was known professionally as Tom Petty. Searchers looking for the Heartbreakers, the Traveling Wilburys, or the singer of "Free Fallin'" and "Refugee" are usually aiming at the same person.