LOS ANGELES OCT 3 (TNS): Veteran rocker Tom Petty, best known for hits such as Free Fallin and American Girl, died on Monday after he was found unconscious and in cardiac arrest, his manager said. He was 66.
Petty suffered cardiac arrest at his home in Malibu early on Monday morning and was taken to UCLA Medical Center but could not be revived, his long-time manager Tony Dimitriades said in a statement.
“We are devastated to announce the untimely death of our father, husband, brother, leader and friend Tom Petty,” Dimitriades said on behalf of the family.
He died peacefully at 8:40 pm local time (0340 GMT Tuesday) surrounded by family, his bandmates and friends.
Petty, best known for his roots-infused rock music, carved a career as a solo artist as well as with his band The Heartbreakers and as part of supergroup The Traveling Wilburys.
Petty and The Heartbreakers embarked on a 40th anniversary tour of the United States this year and last played three dates in late September at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. The band was scheduled to perform two dates in New York in November.
Petty formed The Heartbreakers in the mid 1970s, but it wasn’t until the band’s third album Damn the Torpedoes in 1979 that their music really took off, with hits such as
