Tom petty how old is he

There were signs of thawing. But then he was gone. Petty was always at his lightest, his most comfortable and open, when the artist being discussed was someone other than Tom Petty. And the topic was Elvis. Which brings me to the story I want to tell. I think Petty did what he could to go back and see him, back to Dreamville, whenever and wherever and however he could. Starbucks sells some overly large cups of coffee.

I drank the whole thing. Forty-five minutes into the interview and all the way through that coffee, I found myself in a semihallucinatory state, thinking I might be talking to George Harrison. What you want is the next size down from that.

It was always there. I never saw anyone deliver it or remove it, but it was always hot and fresh. Tom Petty with author Warren Zanes, far right, in Photo credit: Alison Reynolds.

The interviews for Petty: The Biography took place over a period of years. During one of the final sessions, knowing this was near the end, I mentioned to Tom that he always provided a great cup of coffee, better than what I brought myself. Now, please understand, not every thought I shared with Petty got a response.

Petty had those pale-blue eyes, and when he fixed them on you the effect was arresting. My comment about the coffee had gotten his attention. What Petty went on to say certainly felt like book-worthy material. No matter, it was in my version of the book, the one I kept in my head. And, yes, it was about coffee. Petty went for 20 minutes, maybe more, talking about what a good cup of coffee should be, how to recognize one, where to find one.

It was the level of engagement he reserved for subjects like Fender Telecasters or the Beatles. The coffee there, he told me, was close to perfect. Generally reserved, even shy, he felt compelled to ask the waitress what kind it was.

It was Maxwell House. Clifford Spiller? Good to the last drop? In his view, it was a great cup of coffee. His response? If you look in most any diner across America, the Bunn Automatic is a pretty standard fixture. For the places that do high-volume work, their units are professional-grade, tied into the plumbing rather than just sitting on the countertop.

Two of them, in fact. The chef was using the Maxwell House, the Bunn Automatic … yet the coffee tasted even better. As the man explained, before he put the Maxwell House into the machine, he used a knife to level off every cup he measured out. In , Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers released their 11th album, The Last DJ , on which Petty aired his ongoing grievances about the record industry. Whatever he thought of it, however, the music industry loved him back, and later that year Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Amid the accolades, Epstein was fired from the group when his own heroin addiction grew problematic. He died of an overdose the following year, at which point original bassist Ron Blair rejoined the Heartbreakers. In , Petty went solo once more, working with Lynne to produce the No. That same year, Petty returned to his roots by re-forming Mudcrutch to record their self-titled debut album, more than 30 years after its original inception.

Amazingly, it was their first album ever to reach No. In September , Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers wrapped up a leg of their 40th-anniversary tour with a performance at the Hollywood Bowl.

He died on October 2, , at the age of Petty's longtime manager, Tony Dimitriades, released a statement on behalf of the family and band: "On behalf of the Tom Petty family, we are devastated to announce the untimely death of our father, husband, brother, leader and friend Tom Petty.

He suffered cardiac arrest at his home in Malibu in the early hours of this morning and was taken to UCLA Medical Center but could not be revived.

He died peacefully at p. PST surrounded by his family, bandmates, and friends. The artist's music was sure to endure, but not without a legal battle: In late December , Wixen Music Publishing, which administers song compositions by Petty and other musicians, filed a lawsuit against streaming giant Spotify, alleging the use of hits like "Free Fallin'" without a license and compensation.

Petty fired him shortly after the group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in , replacing him with original Heartbreakers bassist Blair. Epstein died of an overdose in But then you look out there one day, and they cut it down.

Petty had put his life back together and remarried in , to Dana York, and the band soldiered on and hit the road hard to support The Last DJ , a scathing indictment of a record industry without any regard for art or artists.

That has made pop music what it is today. Everything — morals, truth — is all going out the window in favor of profit. With his days as a radio hitmaker behind him, Petty felt tremendous freedom to do whatever he wanted with his career.

In , he shocked everyone — especially his old bandmates — by reforming Mudcrutch for a new album and tour. Three years ago, Petty and the Heartbreakers reached a shocking milestone when their new LP, Hypnotic Eye , became their first Number 1 album.

They supported it with a U. After years of swimming upstream, Petty was at ease with his legacy in the later years of his life. His hits have defined rock radio since the Seventies, and he never stopped writing great music. Watch here.

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