Pick a Day

Tom Petty is born in Gainesville, Florida, where he forms Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers. He fronts the band until his death in 2017 but along the way also releases three solo albums, forms the supergroup The Traveling Wilburys, and teams with Stevie Nicks on the classic duet "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around."

Tom Petty marries his first wife, Jane Benyo. The couple met when they were both 17, which provides the title for the Stevie Nicks song "Edge Of Seventeen." They have two daughters before their divorce in 1996.

Tom Petty, with his band Mudcrutch, leaves Gainesville for Los Angeles, and never looks back. The group breaks up in late 1975, but Petty and two Mudcrutch members - guitarist Mike Campbell and keyboardist Benmont Tench - soon re-team to form Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers with drummer Stan Lynch and bassist Ron Blair.

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers release their self-titled debut album. The album features the band's debut single, "Breakdown," and one of their all-time signature tunes, "American Girl," but it takes a while before it receives commercial attention in the US. It's eventually certified Gold for sales of 500,000 copies in the United States.

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers release their second album, You're Gonna Get It!, featuring the enduring songs "I Need To Know" and "Listen To Her Heart."

Tom Petty meets Bob Dylan for the first time backstage after Dylan's show at the Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles.More

Responding to a wave of lawsuits after refusing to transfer his contract to MCA Records, Tom Petty files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a bold move that halts the legal proceedings and forces MCA to negotiate.More

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers conclude their "Lawsuit Tour" with a show at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles. Petty embarked on the tour to raise money for his legal battles with MCA Records.More

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers' third album, Damn The Torpedoes, is released. It includes the band's first two Top 20 hits, "Don't Do Me Like That" and "Refugee," and well as the popular songs "Here Comes My Girl" and "Even The Losers." The album reaches #2 in the US, and becomes Petty & the Heartbreakers' most-successful non-compilation record there, selling over 3 million copies.

The "Peace Sunday: We Have a Dream" concert takes place in Los Angeles, featuring Tom Petty, Stevie Nicks, Bob Dylan, Jackson Browne and Stevie Wonder. 85,000 attend the show, which supports nuclear disarmament.

Tom Petty's home in Encino, California, burns to the ground. Petty and his family escape unharmed, but are traumatized by the blaze, which is determined to be arson. The perpetrator is never caught.More

The Traveling Wilburys, a supergroup for the ages, release their debut album, Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1. The band is comprised of Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Roy Orbison, Tom Petty and Electric Light Orchestra frontman Jeff Lynne. For the project, the five music legends humorously take on Wilbury family pseudonyms: Lucky (Dylan), Nelson (Harrison), Lefty (Orbison), Charlie T. Jr. (Petty) and Otis (Lynne). The album includes two popular songs, "Handle With Care" and "End Of The Line," and goes on to win a Grammy for the Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group in 1990.

Los Angeles' Wiltern Theatre plays host to a Roy Orbison tribute concert, featuring Don Henley, Tom Petty, Graham Nash and Bonnie Raitt.

Initially rejected by his label, the Tom Petty album Full Moon Fever is finally released, the first credited to him as a solo artist.More

On the United Nations deadline for Iraq to remove troops from Kuwait, a new version of "Give Peace A Chance" is released, with contributions from Iggy Pop, Tom Petty, LL Cool J and dozens of others.More

Tom Petty marries Dana York in a ceremony officiated by Little Richard. It's his second marriage, and his last - he and Dana are still married when he dies in 2017.

The benefit concert America: A Tribute To Heroes airs on most major TV networks, raising over $128 million for victims of the September 11 attacks. Performers include Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, Paul Simon, Billy Joel, Tom Petty and Willie Nelson.

Talking Heads play live for the first time since 1984 when they are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame along with Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, The Ramones, Brenda Lee, Gene Pitney and Isaac Hayes.More

In one of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's most memorable performances, Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne, Steve Winwood and Dhani Harrison team up for "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" in honor of posthumous inductee George Harrison. Midway through, Prince - inducted this night in his first year of eligibility - emerges to deliver a stunning guitar solo before tossing his axe high in the air and calmly walking off stage.

The Tom Petty documentary film Running Down A Dream debuts at the New York Film Festival.

The re-formed Mudcrutch, Tom Petty's band before The Heartbreakers, release their self-titled debut album. Petty plays bass and sings lead in the group, which also features Heartbreakers lead guitarist Mike Campbell and keyboardist Benmont Tench, as well as founding guitarist and vocalist Tom Leadon and drummer Randall Marsh. Leadon is the younger brother of Eagles co-founder Bernie Leadon. The Mudcrutch album includes a mix of old and new tunes, plus a couple of covers.

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers release their 13th and final album, Hypnotic Eye. It debuts at #1, and is the band's only album ever to top the US chart.

Tom Petty's reunited pre-Heartbreakers band Mudcrutch release their second and final album, 2. It's the last album of original material Petty puts out before his death in 2017.

The 47th annual Songwriters Hall of Fame induction ceremony is held at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City. The inductees are Tom Petty, Elvis Costello, Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards of Chic, Chip Taylor, and the late Marvin Gaye. Lionel Richie also is honored at the event with the organization's prestigious Johnny Mercer Award.

Tom Petty is honored as Person of the Year at the MusiCares gala, held two days before the Grammy Awards. "Twenty years ago I'd have been way too cynical to do this, but I'm 66 now and I feel ya," he says in his speech.More

At the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers play their last concert, as Petty dies a week later. The show is the last stop on their 40th Anniversary tour.

Tom Petty dies at age 66 after going into cardiac arrest the previous evening at his home in Malibu, California. He is found unconscious by his wife, Dana, and is rushed to UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center, but cannot be revived. On the night of October 2, after his friends and family gather, Petty is taken off life support.More