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5 facts about Tom Petty | TribLIVE.com
Music

5 facts about Tom Petty

Tribune-Review
APTOPIXObitTomPetty85115jpgbd5cb
In this June 17, 2008 file photo, Tom Petty performs with The Heartbreakers at Madison Square Garden in New York. Petty died at age 66 on Oct. 2, 2017, at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles after he suffered cardiac arrest.
APTOPIXObitTomPetty85115jpgbd5cb
In this June 17, 2008 file photo, Tom Petty performs with The Heartbreakers at Madison Square Garden in New York. Petty died at age 66 on Oct. 2, 2017, at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles after he suffered cardiac arrest.
APTOPIXObitTomPetty85115jpgbd5cb
In this June 17, 2008 file photo, Tom Petty performs with The Heartbreakers at Madison Square Garden in New York. Petty died at age 66 on Oct. 2, 2017, at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles after he suffered cardiac arrest.
APTOPIXObitTomPetty85115jpgbd5cb
In this June 17, 2008 file photo, Tom Petty performs with The Heartbreakers at Madison Square Garden in New York. Petty died at age 66 on Oct. 2, 2017, at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles after he suffered cardiac arrest.

1. Petty's first band, Mudcrutch, was signed to Shelter Records in 1974. But after the single "Depot Street" failed to chart, the band was dropped. Petty then signed a solo contract with Shelter, recruited Mudcrutch bandmates Benmont Tench and Mike Campbell, and formed the Heartbreakers, releasing the debut album, "Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers" in 1975.

2. The Heartbreakers first album was more popular in England than in the U.S. It wasn't until Petty and the band had success overseas that the group began to garner attention in the U.S. The song "American Girl" from the debut didn't reach the singles charts until it was re-released in 1994.

3. Petty was the voice of Elroy "Lucky" Kleinschmidt on the animated comedy "King of the Hill."

4. In a Rolling Stone interview in 2015, Petty expressed remorse about the use of the Confederate flag on stage at his concerts. "If you think a bit longer, there's bad connotations to this," Petty said. "They might have it at the football game or whatever, but they also have it at Klan rallies. If that's part of it in any way, it doesn't belong, in any way, representing the United States of America."

5."Full Moon Fever," Petty's bestselling album, was rejected by his label, MCA. Petty signed a secret contract with Warner Brothers to release the work which featured the songs "Free Fallin'," "I Won't Back Down" and "Runnin' Down a Dream."