Remembering Thomas Earl Petty (October 20, 1950 – October 2, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He was the leader and frontman of the rock bands Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Mudcrutch and a member of the late 1980s supergroup the Traveling Wilburys. He was also a successful solo artist. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers “Breakdown” 1978 This is the first single from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ self-titled debut album. It became a Top 40 hit in the United States an