Update: Tom Petty Passes Away

This afternoon CBS erroneously reported that Tom Petty died. In fact, Petty suffered a massive cardiac episode and many outlets blasted the news that he was was pronounced dead upon arrival to the hospital in Santa Monica. However, we're happy to say that the beloved musician is not dead, but instead is seriously ill in hospital after a suspected heart attack.UPDATE: Regrettably the Rock icon passed the following day peacefully, surrounded by family, band mates and close friends.The scare made us want to take the opportunity to remember the great contributions that Tom Petty made to music, including how songs like “I Won’t Back Down” and “Running Down a Dream” affected you. It’s hard to put into words the tremendous effect that Tom Petty’s iconic sound and poetic lyrics had on the culture of Americana and our soul as a country and while he may be clinging to life at this moment, we're all hoping he can pull through and recover!Born in 1950 the iconic rocker quit high school to join his first band, and though they didn’t achieve much acclaim, lessons were obviously learned as Petty formed Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Petty would go on to sell more than 80 million records worldwide with fans spanning generations. You can’t put Tom Petty in a box, while some called it hard rock, others threw out the moniker of stoner rock and some even called it heartland rock. Their music relatable in every sense of the word has lasted almost a half-century churning out new music as recent as 2014. Tom Petty was not a workaholic per say, but he loved to be busy. “I hate to be bored. That is the greatest sin I can commit. I’m sure it irritates a lot of people around me but I like to keep moving,” he said in an interview in 2014. You can’t help but respect a man that wants to keep fine tuning and perfecting his craft as Petty did, finally achieving a number one record in 2014 with “Hypnotic Eye”. A hearty thank you to running down your dreams Tom Petty. We’re all proud of you for not backing down. Your music has inspired so many to forget fear and learn to fly. The world will truly be less because of the loss of such a talented lyricist and kind-hearted man. Even during the Sam Smith debacle, Petty carried himself like a true man of the people calling it a “musical accident no more no less.” If only all people would handle simple mistakes like Tom Petty, maybe this world wouldn’t be living like refugees.Tom Petty is a man of art, love, kindness, and music. Tom stated in an interview “I don’t see that I have anything to offer as a solo artist that I couldn’t do within the group better. We get along so well it’s embarrassing really. It’s a love fest!” How many people have you heard lately give that kind of credit to their team? Keep fighting, Tom. We need your voice in our America for decades to come!