Tom Petty Passed away on 10-2-17 at the age of 66. Tom's music touched so many people in a special way and we are so fortunate that he left behind so much great music.
In a recent Rolling Stone interview, Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell talks about Tom's final days.
He said that discussing whether getting Tom off the road and into a hospital during his final tour is useless. “What’s the point of hindsight? Once Tom made up his mind, nobody was going to talk him out of anything. If you said, ‘Oh, you should go to the hospital,’ he’d be like, ‘Fuck you, I’m doing the tour.’ Campbell went on to say, "he was having the time of his life. I’m not jiving you. He was loving that tour.”
In an interview in Billboard, His widow Dana says, "the day before he died he was pounding his chest going, 'I'm on top of the world ! ” Next thing you know, he was gone. You just don't know from one day to the next.
Dana says he would do anything to help anyone and that's why he did the last tour with a broken hip. On top of that, he found out a few days before it was time to hit the road that he had emphysema. But he was going to do it no matter what. He still went out there and put on some of his best shows ever.
The Tom Petty An American Treasure Box set is out now. It was put together by Tom's widow, his daughter Adria, and Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench of the band. The 60-song collection covers Tom's entire career and features a mix of rarities, live performances, deep tracks and other lost gems. It is available in two-CD, four-CD and six-LP packages.
Watch Tom's remarks at gala in his honor 2-10-17 in recognition of creative accomplishments and philanthropic endeavors.