TOM PETTY (1950 - 2017)

It has been sadly confirmed that Tom Petty, the hard-driving rock performer and songwriter, has actually passed away at the age of sixty-six after suffering from full cardiac arrest early on October 2nd. It had been reported that he had died when he had been initially found at his home in Malibu but that was inaccurate at that time. Petty and his band, the Heartbreakers had just completed a fortieth anniversary tour, which he had stated would be their last major cross-country tour, with the final shows held at the Hollywood Bowl near the end of September.

Petty was born on October 20th in Gainesville, Florida and first became interested in rock-n-roll as a child after meeting Elvis Presley when the singer was in town shooting a movie and later when catching The Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show, Petty decided he was going to be a rock performer. He dropped out of school at seventeen to play bass with the band, Mudcrutch. The group found minor local success but eventually disbanded with Petty deciding to go solo. With former Mudcrutch members, Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench by his side, he found additional players to form an early version of The Heartbreakers.

The first self-titled album by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers  in 1976 didn't get much attention in the States but it broke through in Britain with the single, "Breakdown". U.S. audiences soon came around and Petty and the band would have many hits here with  "Refugee", "Don't Do Me Like That", "American Girl" and "The Waiting". Petty would also release three solo albums, was a member of the supergroup, the Traveling Wilburys which included George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison and Bob Dylan and had a smash hit duet with Stevie Nicks with the single,  "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" in 1982.

Tom Petty was inducted in to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2002, won three Grammy Awards and has sold over eighty million records throughout his impressive career. Petty is survived by wife, Dana York and three children. Let's look back on some musical highlights from this incredibly gifted musician who will truly be missed:

SOUND ALIKE?

I was quite surprised to hear how smoothly a settlement was reached between Sam Smith and Tom Petty in regards to the new pop star's hit song sounding very similar to the rocker's 1989 tune. Although Smith and his co-writers, James Napier and William Phillips were not familiar with "I Won't Back Down", the song composed by Petty and co-writer Jeff Lynne of Electric Light Orchestra, the trio agreed to add them as writers to last year's smash, "Stay With Me" which earned Sam Smith multiple Grammy nominations. It's pretty amazing how there was no ugly, drawn-out legal battle and the situation was resolved very amicably.

Do they really sound alike? Well, maybe it's just me but I can't really hear it. Here are the two songs together, so listen and judge for yourself:

"Stay With Me" - Sam Smith (2014)  vs.

"I Won't Back Down" - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (1989)

This is hardly the first time this situation of songs sounding similar has arisen. Below are a few famous examples that were eventually settled in court. These cases, I can hear the similarities, (especially Harrison vs. The Chiffons):

The Rolling Stones - "Anybody Seem My Baby" (1997)  vs.

k.d. Lang - "Constant Craving"(1992)

George Harrison - "My Sweet Lord" (1971)  vs.

The Chiffons - "He's So Fine" (1962)