Thomas Earl Petty was born on 20 Ocober 1950, in Florida, US, and was a singer, songwriter, musician and actor, as well as a record producer, but best known as the lead vocalist and guitar player of the rock band “Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers”. The band was formed in 1976 and consisted of bassist Ron Blair, lead guitarist Mike Campbell, keyboardist Benmont Tench and drummer Stan Lynch. The band became very successful in the 1980s, and to date has sold over 80 million copies around the world. Tom Petty passed away in 2017.
So just how rich was Tom Petty? According to sources, Petty’s net worth was estimated to be over $75 million, the majority of Tom’s wealth coming from his singing career which began in the early 1970s.
Tom Petty Net Worth $75 Million
Tom Petty underwent a rough childhood, mainly due to his verbally and physically abusive father. A defining moment in Petty’s early years was meeting Elvis Presley, a hero who inspired Petty to pursue his dream of becoming a singer. Petty had always dreamt of playing in a band, and therefore took guitar lessons. His first teacher was Don Felder, subsequently a lead guitarist of the band called “The Eagles”. In 1976, Petty founded what would soon become an international success called “Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers”. Some of their best known singles are “American Girl”, “Learning to Fly” and “The Waiting”. “American Girl” was one of the singles released in the band’s self-titled debut album; the song peaked at #9 on the Billboard chart and was featured in several films and television series, including “The Silence of the Lambs” starring Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins, “Scrubs”, as well as an episode of “Parks and Recreation”. It is also featured on “The 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time” list compiled by Rolling Stone magazine. “Learning to Fly” was a single from the band’s eighth studio album called “Into the Great Wide Open” and peaked at #1 on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks. “The Waiting” did as well on the charts as the above-mentioned singles, with a #19 spot on the Billboard 100 chart and a feature on “The Simpsons”.
Petty stayed with his band until 1988, when he became a member of a supergroup that also consisted of George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison and Bob Dylan. The group released their debut album “The Traveling Wilburys” in 1988, which was certified triple platinum, won a Grammy Award and was nominated for American Music Awards. The group’s second album released in 1990 was almost as successful.
Meantime in 1989 Tom Petty came out with his first solo album called “Full Moon Fever”, which became an instant success and earned a five times platinum certification from the RIAA. The album also peaked at #3 on the Billboard 200 chart, and produced five singles. More recently, in 2014, Petty released “Hypnotic Eye”, which is his thirteenth album with “Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers”. In addition to spawning five singles, the album enjoyed a #1 spot on the Billboard 200 chart, proving that the band was still very relevant in the music industry.
Petty’s acting career was very intermittent, and he didn’t take himself very seriously as an actor. He had a cameo in “FM” in 1978, a small part in “Made in Heaven” in 1987, between 1987 and 1990 had several guest spots in episodes of “It’s Garry Shandling’s Show” as himself, and appeared in “The Postman” in 1997, starring and directed by Kevin Costner, then in an episode of “The Simpsons”, parodying himself as Homer Simpson’s tutor.
Petty voiced Elroy “Lucky” Kleinschmidt in “King of the Hill”, the animated comedy series betwen 2004 and 2009, and in 2010 made a five-second cameo appearance in the musical video entitled “Great Day” with comedian Andy Samberg, for the DVD as part of Lonely Island‘s new album “Turtleneck & Chain”.
In his personal life, Tom Petty was married to Jane Benyo from 1974 to 1996; they had two daughters. He married Dana York Epperson in 2001, inheriting a stepson. Tom Petty passed away at UCLA Santa Monica hospital on 2 October 2017. after suffering a heart attack at his nearby home.
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