On this date in 1950, musician Tom Petty was born in Gainesville, Fla. Petty described his relationship with his father, an insurance salesman, as tumultuous, but he was close to his mother and his brother, Bruce. When he saw the Beatles perform on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964, he became focused on making his way as a musician. He dropped out of high school at 17 to tour with one of his early bands, Mudcrutch. The band moved to Los Angeles to pursue a record deal, but broke up and became known as Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers in 1975. In 1976, they released their first album, which included hit singles “American Girl” and “Break Down.” They continued to release a string of successful albums throughout the 1970s and ‘80s. In 1988, Petty joined up with rock star friends George Harrison, Roy Orbison, Bob Dylan and Jeff Lynne to form the Traveling Wilburys, a successful side project that won a Grammy in 1990 for best performance by a duo or group with vocals. In 1989, Petty released his first solo album, “Full Moon Fever,” featuring singles, “Free Fallin,” and “I Won’t Back Down.” The album, “Wildflowers,” was released in 1994. Petty won his first Grammy in 1995 for “You Don’t Know How It Feels.”

Petty was married twice, first to Jane Benyo, with whom he had two daughters. The couple divorced in 1996. In 2001, he married Dana York and became a stepfather to her son. The three lived together in Malibu. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001. Tom Petty continued to record albums until the final years of his life, releasing his most recent album with the Heartbreakers in 2014. The album was somewhat controversial and contained a bonus track, “Playing Dumb,” that deals with the sex abuse epidemic and cover-up within the Catholic Church. When asked about the song during an interview with Billboard Magazine (July 29, 2014), Petty explained, “If I was in a club, and I found out that there had been generations of people abusing children, and then that club was covering that up, I would quit the club. And I wouldn't give them any more money.” Tom Petty was not religious, instead he referred to music as his religion. D. 2017.