Tom Petty

For more than 40 years, the rocker made music that was pure America through and through.

- Eric Renner Brown

“WE’RE JUST GONNA THROW A BUNCH OF RECORD  UP IN THE AIR and see where they fall tonight,” Tom Petty told the crowd at the Hollywood Bowl during the penultimate performance of his career on Sept. 22. Like the rest of the dates on the 40th-anniversary tour he staged this year with the Heartbreakers, Petty’s string of three shows late last month at the iconic California venue felt a lot like the best classic-rock radio station you could imagine: packed with hit after hit, rendered vividly by Petty’s grizzled twang and the nimble playing of his longtime bandmates.

By all accounts, the tour was a triumph—and a jovial Petty seemed to have plenty of gas left in the tank during the Bowl gigs. He affably chatted with the crowds, recalling his humble origins in Gainesville, Fla., and sending well wishes to hurricane victims in Texas and Florida. At 66, the freewheeling rock icon was chugging along with understated verve—a quality he shared with the numerous foundational anthems he contributed to the rock & roll canon across his acclaimed multi decade career.

So when news broke on Oct. 2 that Petty was on the verge of death after going into cardiac arrest at his Malibu home, it took many by surprise. And for a few hours, it appeared he might pull through—the LAPD quashed initial reports of his passing. Hours later, the worst was confirmed: Petty died at UCLA Medical Center at 8:40 p.m.