“A Sky Full of Stars”
Single by Coldplay
from the album Ghost Stories
B-side	“All Your Friends” “Ghost Story” “O (Reprise)“
Released	2 May 2014
Format	CD digital download
Studio	The Bakery and The Beehive (London, England)
Genre	EDM[1][2] pop[3]
Length	4:28 (album version) 3:56 (radio edit) 5:38 (extended mix)
Label	Parlophone Atlantic
Songwriter(s)	Chris Martin Jonny Buckland Guy Berryman Will Champion Avicii
Producer(s)	Avicii Coldplay Paul Epworth Daniel Green Rik Simpson
Coldplay singles chronology
“Midnight” (2014) “A Sky Full of Stars” (2014) “True Love” (2014)
Coldplay albums chronology
Coldplay Live 2012 (2012) A Sky Full of Stars EP (2014) Ghost Stories (2014)
Ghost Stories track listing
“Oceans” (7) “A Sky Full of Stars” (8) “O” (9)
Music video
“A Sky Full Of Stars” on YouTube “A Sky Full Of Stars” (Alternative version) on Vimeo “A Sky Full Of Stars” (Live) on YouTube

“A Sky Full of Stars” is a song by the British rock band Coldplay. It was released in 2014 as the third single from their sixth album, Ghost Stories (2014). The band co-wrote and co-produced the song with Avicii and received production assistance from Paul Epworth, Daniel Green and Rik Simpson. It was recorded at The Bakery and The Beehive in North London, England.

Upon its release, “A Sky Full of Stars” garnered mostly positive reviews from music critics and charted inside the top 10 in over 16 countries such as Australia, Canada, Ireland, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and United States. A music video for the song was directed by Mat Whitecross and was released on 19 June 2014. The single peaked at number one in Italy, Israel, Luxembourg, Portugal, Lebanon, and the Walloon region of Belgium. It also topped the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart. It was nominated for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the 57th Grammy Awards.

Composition[edit]

	A Sky Full of Stars MENU 0:00 Sample of “A Sky Full of Stars” from Coldplay’s 2014 album Ghost Stories.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

“A Sky Full of Stars” marks the band’s first dance track, being outlined as an EDM track with houseinfluences.^[1][2][4] A piano-centric song which is written in the key of G♭ major, the track opens as a piano ballad, with progressive house-influenced electronic music that plays out in between verses. According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com, the song follows a chord progression of E♭m7– Bmaj9 –G♭–B♭m(♭6) with a tempo of 125 beats per minute,^[5] and the vocals span from A♭₃ to G♭₅. The track has been described as “[falling] in line with the synth-heavy soundscapes of ‘Midnight‘, but with more danceable flavor”.^[6] The song’s repeating chord sequence and varied melody was inspired by the work of American pop singer Katy Perry and Nirvana‘s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” (1991).^[7]

Recording[edit]

“A Sky Full of Stars” was recorded during the sessions for the band’s sixth studio album, at their purpose-built studios The Bakery and The Beehive in North London, England. The studios were both originally constructed for work on their two previous studio albums, 2008’s Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friendsand 2011’s Mylo Xyloto.

Swedish record producer Avicii was invited by the band to collaborate on “A Sky Full of Stars”. In addition to producing the track, he was also asked by lead singer Chris Martin to play and record the piano parts. However, Martin later stated in a BBC Radio 1 interview with Zane Lowe that he felt that he had “cheated” on the band by asking Avicii to play the piano instead of playing it himself.^[8]

Release[edit]

On 2 May 2014, “A Sky Full of Stars” was released early through Ghost Stories on the iTunes Store worldwide,^[9] and on Spotify.^[10] On 5 May 2014, the single was released on Google Play store in Australia. On 26 June, Coldplay announced the A Sky Full of Stars EP. It would feature the radio edit of the song, as well as the three bonus tracks from the deluxe version of Ghost Stories: “All Your Friends”, the title track “Ghost Story” and “O (Reprise)”, sold by Target. The extended play was available worldwide, with the exception of the United States, as the deluxe version of the album was only available in the U.S. The EP was released on 29 June 2014.^[11]

Packaging[edit]

The single art for “A Sky Full of Stars” was etched by UK-based, Czech etching artist Mila Fürstová.^[9][12] The artwork continues the motif of artworks in the Ghost Stories album cycle, which feature a scene occurring in a larger, enclosed body. Multiple figures such as angels with wings like of the Ghost Stories artwork, buildings such as a church, and objects such as a maze and a chair, also alluding to those in the Ghost Stories artwork, are depicted encased in a three-dimensional star chart. The artwork is reminiscent of Fürstová’s earlier work, Other Skies, which also features various figures, buildings and objects imposed onto a star map.^[13]

Critical reception[edit]

“A Sky Full of Stars” was met with positive reception upon its release. Carl Williott of Idolator gave the track a positive review, stating: “Quite honestly it sounds more like a Zedd or Avicii offering than a Coldplay one, and it’s certainly the loudest and most joyful cut we’ve heard from the album so far”.^[14]Melinda Newman of HitFix had similar thoughts, calling the song “the most commercial and dance-y track so far” from the album.^[15] Chris De Ville of Stereogum gave “A Sky Full of Stars” an overwhelmingly positive comment, stating that the song is “the most energetic and classically Coldplay song we’ve heard from the album so far”.^[16] Chris Martins of Spin magazine also commented relatively positively, writing that “The big-tent EDM offering is pretty satisfying in all of the ways that those things are”.^[1]

Consequence of Sound‘s wrote the song “starts off as a heartfelt piano ballad before flourishes of pounding electronics take over the chorus” and noted that it “falls in line with the synth-heavy soundscapes of ‘Midnight’, but with more danceable flavor.”^[17] Zane Lowe of BBC Radio 1 named the track his ‘Hottest Record’ for 29 April 2014.^[18] However, a negative review came from Carolyn Menyes of Music Times who criticized the song for “lack[ing] a personality or heart, something that the best Coldplay songs are chock full of.”^[19] Josh Modell of The A.V. Club panned it as a “blatantly pandering, album-interrupting, mood-f*cking-up [track] which is destined to be a hit and also instantly dated.”^[20]

Chart performance[edit]

Within 24 hours of its iTunes release, the track had sold 121,690 units worldwide,^[21] peaking at number one in 86 countries on the iTunes Store Charts.^{[citation needed]} As of July 2014, the song reached the Top 10 of nearly every country it charted in, including the bands’ homeland country, the United Kingdom where it reached number 9 on UK Singles Chart.^[22] The single enjoyed massive commercial success in Australia and New Zealand. In Australia, the song reached number two on the ARIA Charts,^[23] their highest-charting single since 2008’s “Viva La Vida“,^[24] and became one of their three highest-charting singles in the country.^[25] In New Zealand, the song reached number two on New Zealand Singles Chart,^[26] becoming the band’s highest-charting single to date and their fifth top-ten single in the country.^[27]

On the issue dated 21 May 2014, the song reached number ten on the Billboard Hot 100, making it their third top 10 hit and first since their number-one single “Viva la Vida” in 2008.^[28] It also became their first number-one single on the Billboard Hot Rock Songs chart. “A Sky Full of Stars” was the band’s second number one on the US Hot Dance Club Songs chart.^[29] The song has sold over a million digital copies in the U.S. as of November 2014.^[30]

Music video[edit]

The official music video was directed by Mat Whitecross and the shooting took place on King Street in the inner Sydney suburb of Newtown, on 17 June 2014.^[31] It was released on 19 June 2014.

At the beginning of the video, Coldplay‘s lead singer, Chris Martin, walks through Sydney’s streets dressed as a one-man band, singing the first verse of the song. Then he reaches the other members of the band (also dressed as one-man bands) and, together, they play the instrumental refrain. Martin is then seen walking through the street, without the other members, while he sings the second verse. At the end of the video the band reunites in a square, singing and playing the final part of the song with a crowd of fans. While Martin is singing the final part, many paper-made stars are blown into the square.

An alternate music video leaked onto the internet in late 2014.^[32] No further information was given about it. However, snippets from the alternate video can be seen in the first video,^[33] playing on the TVs in a shop’s showcase, proving the former video is a scrapped version.

Live performances[edit]

“A Sky Full of Stars” was first played in closed-audience performances. The band, when performing the song before the release of the “A Sky Full of Stars” single, would routinely ask the audience not to record their performance of the song, in an attempt to prevent the song from leaking ahead of its release. Despite their intentions, the song was leaked after their performance of the song during the opening night of their Ghost Stories Promotional Tour at E-Werk in Cologne, Germany on 25 April 2014.^[34] The song was premiered live on the 29 April 2014 airing of BBC Two music television show Later… with Jools Holland.^[35] The band then performed the song on Saturday Night Live on 3 May 2014. The band also performed the song on The Graham Norton Show, in the UK, on 30 May 2014.^[36]

The song was also played during the 3-Point Shootout of the 2015 NBA All-Star Game weekend.

Track listing[edit]

All tracks written by Chris Martin, Jonny Buckland, Guy Berryman, and Will Champion, except “A Sky Full of Stars” (co-written with Avicii).

Personnel[edit]

Adapted from Ghost Stories liner notes.^[39]

Charts[edit]

Certifications[edit]

Region	Certification	Certified units/Sales
Australia (ARIA)[112]	2× Platinum	140,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[113]	Gold	15,000*
Belgium (BEA)[114]	2× Platinum	60,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[115]	3× Platinum	240,000^
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[116]	Platinum	90,000^
France (SNEP)[117]	Gold	75,000*
Germany (BVMI)[118]	Gold	200,000^
Italy (FIMI)[119]	5× Platinum	150,000*
Mexico (AMPROFON)[120]	Platinum	60,000*
New Zealand (RMNZ)[121]	Gold	15,000*
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[122]	2× Platinum	50,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[123]	Platinum	30,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[124]	Platinum	352,000[125]
United States (RIAA)[126]	2× Platinum	2,000,000[30]
Streaming
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[127]	Platinum	2,600,000^
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[128]	Platinum	8,000,000^
*sales figures based on certification alone ^shipments figures based on certification alone sales+streaming figures based on certification alone

Release history[edit]

External links[edit]

• “A Sky Full of Stars” Official music video on YouTube
• “A Sky Full of Stars” (Alternative version) on Vimeo
• “A Sky Full of Stars” (Live) on YouTube
• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics
• Official website

Tom Petty
Petty performing in June 2012
Born	Thomas Earl Petty October 20, 1950 Gainesville, Florida, U.S.
Died	October 2, 2017 (aged 66) Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Cause of death	Cardiac arrest caused by an accidental drug overdose
Other names	Charlie T. Wilbury Jr. Muddy Wilbury
Occupation	Singer songwriter multi-instrumentalist record producer actor
Years active	1968–2017
Television	King of the Hill (2004–2009)
Spouse(s)	Jane Benyo (m. 1974; div. 1996) Dana York (m. 2001)
Children	2
Musical career
Genres	Rock
Instruments	Vocals guitar
Labels	Shelter Backstreet MCA Warner Bros. American Reprise
Associated acts	Mudcrutch Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Traveling Wilburys Stevie Nicks Jeff Lynne
Website	tompetty.com

Thomas Earl Petty (October 20, 1950 – October 2, 2017) was an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and actor. He was the lead singer of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, formed in 1976. He previously led the band Mudcrutch. He was also a co-founder of the late 1980s supergroup the Traveling Wilburys.

Petty recorded a number of hit singles with the Heartbreakers and as a solo artist. In his career, he sold more than 80 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time.^[1] He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001.

Early life[edit]

Petty was born October 20, 1950, in Gainesville, Florida, the first of two sons of Kitty (née Avery), a local tax office worker, and Earl Petty, who worked in a grocery store.^[2][3][4] He had a brother, Bruce, who was seven years younger.^[2] His interest in rock and rollmusic began at age ten when he met Elvis Presley.^[5] In the summer of 1961, his uncle was working on the set of Presley’s film Follow That Dream, in nearby Ocala, and invited Petty to watch the shoot.^[6] He instantly became a Presley fan, and when he returned that Saturday, he was greeted by his friend Keith Harben, and soon traded his Wham-O slingshot for a collection of Elvis 45s.^[7] Of that meeting with Presley, Petty said, “Elvis glowed.”^[8] In a 2006 interview, Petty said that he knew he wanted to be in a band the moment he saw the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show.^[9] “The minute I saw the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show—and it’s true of thousands of guys—there was the way out. There was the way to do it. You get your friends and you’re a self-contained unit. And you make the music. And it looked like so much fun. It was something I identified with. I had never been hugely into sports. … I had been a big fan of Elvis. But I really saw in the Beatles that here’s something I could do. I knew I could do it. It wasn’t long before there were groups springing up in garages all over the place.”^[10] He dropped out of high school at age 17 to play bass with his newly formed band.^[3]

In an interview with the CBC in 2014, Petty stated that the Rolling Stones were “my punk music”.^[11] He credited the group with inspiring him by demonstrating that he and musicians like him could make it in rock and roll.^[11]

One of his first guitar teachers was Don Felder, a fellow Gainesville resident, who later joined the Eagles.^[12][13] As a young man, Petty worked briefly on the grounds crew of the University of Florida, but never attended as a student. An Ogeechee lime tree that he planted while employed at the university is now called the Tom Petty tree (Petty stated that he did not recall planting any trees).^[14][15][16] He also worked briefly as a gravedigger.^[16]

Petty also overcame a difficult relationship with his father, who found it hard to accept that his son was “a mild-mannered kid who was interested in the arts” and subjected him to verbal and physical abuse on a regular basis. Petty was close to his mother and remained close to his brother, Bruce.^[17][18][19]

Career[edit]

1976–1987: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers[edit]

Shortly after embracing his musical aspirations, Petty started a band known as the Epics, later to evolve into Mudcrutch. The band included future Heartbreakers Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench and was popular in Gainesville, but their recordings went unnoticed by a mainstream audience. Their only single, “Depot Street”, released in 1975 by Shelter Records, failed to chart.^[20]

After Mudcrutch split up, Petty reluctantly agreed to pursue a solo career. Tench decided to form his own group, whose sound Petty appreciated. Eventually, Petty and Campbell collaborated with Tench, Ron Blair and Stan Lynch, forming the first lineup of the Heartbreakers. Their eponymous debut album gained minute popularity amongst American audiences, achieving greater success in Britain. The single “Breakdown” was re-released in 1977, and peaked at No. 40 in early 1978 after the band toured in the United Kingdom in support of Nils Lofgren. The debut album was released by Shelter Records, which at that time was distributed by ABC Records.^[21]

Their second album, You’re Gonna Get It!, was the band’s first Top 40 album,^[21] featuring the singles “I Need to Know” and “Listen to Her Heart“. Their third album, Damn the Torpedoes, quickly went platinum, selling nearly two million copies; it includes their breakthrough singles “Don’t Do Me Like That“, “Here Comes My Girl” and “Refugee“.^[22]

In September 1979, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers performed at a Musicians United for Safe Energy concert at Madison Square Gardenin New York.^[23] Their rendition of “Cry to Me” was featured on the resulting album, No Nukes.^[24]

The album Hard Promises, released in 1981, became a top-ten hit, going platinum and spawning the hit single “The Waiting“. The album also featured Petty’s first duet, “Insider” with Stevie Nicks.^[25]

Bass player Ron Blair quit the group and was replaced on the fifth album, Long After Dark (1982), by Howie Epstein; the resulting lineup lasted until 1994. In 1985, the band participated in Live Aid, playing four songs at John F. Kennedy Stadium, in Philadelphia. Southern Accents was also released in 1985. This album included the hit single “Don’t Come Around Here No More“, which was produced by Dave Stewart. The song’s video featured Petty dressed as the Mad Hatter, mocking and chasing Alice from the book Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, then cutting and eating her as if she were a cake. The ensuing tour led to the live album Pack Up the Plantation: Live! and an invitation from Bob Dylan—Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers joined him on his True Confessions Tour. They also played some dates with the Grateful Dead in 1986 and 1987. Also in 1987, the group released Let Me Up (I’ve Had Enough) which includes “Jammin’ Me” which Petty wrote with Dylan.^[26]

1988–1991: Traveling Wilburys and solo career[edit]

In 1988, Petty joined George Harrison‘s group, the Traveling Wilburys, which also included Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, and Jeff Lynne. The band’s first song, “Handle with Care“, was intended as a B-side of one of Harrison’s singles, but was judged too good for that purpose and the group decided to record a full album, Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1. A second Wilburys album, mischievously titled Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3 and recorded without the recently deceased Orbison, followed in 1990. The album was named Vol. 3 as a response to a series of bootlegged studio sessions being sold as Travelling Wilburys Vol. 2. Petty incorporated Traveling Wilburys songs into his live shows, consistently playing “Handle with Care” in shows from 2003 to 2006, and for his 2008 tour adding “surprises” such as “End of the Line” to the set list.^[27]

In 1989, Petty released Full Moon Fever, which featured hits “I Won’t Back Down“, “Free Fallin’” and “Runnin’ Down a Dream“. It was nominally his first solo album, although several Heartbreakers and other well-known musicians participated: Mike Campbell co-produced the album with Petty and Jeff Lynne of Electric Light Orchestra, and backing musicians included Campbell, Lynne, and fellow Wilburys Roy Orbison and George Harrison (Ringo Starr appears on drums in the video for “I Won’t Back Down“, but they were actually performed by Phil Jones).^[28]

Petty and the Heartbreakers reformed in 1991 and released Into the Great Wide Open, which was co-produced by Lynne and included the hit singles “Learning To Fly” and “Into the Great Wide Open“, the latter featuring Johnny Depp and Faye Dunaway in the music video.^[29]

Before leaving MCA Records, Petty and the Heartbreakers got together to record, live in the studio, two new songs for a Greatest Hits package: “Mary Jane’s Last Dance” and Thunderclap Newman‘s “Something in the Air“. This was Stan Lynch’s last recorded performance with the Heartbreakers. Petty commented “He left right after the session without really saying goodbye.” The package went on to sell over ten million copies, therefore receiving diamond certification by the RIAA.^[30]

1991–2017: Move to Warner Bros. Records[edit]

In 1989, while still under contract to MCA, Petty secretly signed a lucrative deal with Warner Bros. Records, to which the Traveling Wilburys had been signed.^[31] His first album on his new label, 1994’s Wildflowers (Petty’s second of three solo albums), included the singles “You Don’t Know How It Feels“, “You Wreck Me”, “It’s Good to Be King”, and “A Higher Place”. The album, produced by Rick Rubin, sold over three million copies in the United States.^[30]

In 1996, Petty, with the Heartbreakers, released a soundtrack to the movie She’s the One, starring Cameron Diaz and Jennifer Aniston (see Songs and Music from “She’s the One”). The album’s singles were “Walls (Circus)” (featuring Lindsey Buckingham), “Climb that Hill”, and a song written by Lucinda Williams, “Change the Locks”. The album also included a cover of “Asshole”, a song by Beck. The same year, the band accompanied Johnny Cash on Unchained (provisionally entitled “Petty Cash”), for which Cash would win a Grammyfor Best Country Album (Cash would later cover Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down” on American III: Solitary Man).^[32]

In 1999, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers released their last album with Rubin at the helm, Echo. Two songs were released as singles in the U.S., “Room at the Top” and “Free Girl Now”. The album reached number 10 in the U.S. album charts.^[33]

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers played “I Won’t Back Down” at the America: A Tribute to Heroes benefit concert for victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks. The following year, they played “Taxman“, “I Need You” and “Handle with Care” (joined for the last by Jeff Lynne, Dhani Harrison, and Jim Keltner) at the Concert for George in honor of Petty’s friend and former bandmate George Harrison.^[34]

Petty’s 2002 release, The Last DJ, was an album-length critique of the practices within the music industry.^[35] The title track, inspired by Los Angeles radio personality Jim Ladd, bemoaned the end of the freedom that radio DJs once had to personally select songs for their station’s playlists.^[35][36] The album peaked at number nine on the Billboard 200 album chart in the United States.^[33]

In 2005, Petty began hosting his own show “Buried Treasure” on XM Satellite Radio, on which he shared selections from his personal record collection.^[37]

In 2006, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers headlined the fifth annual Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival as part of their “30th Anniversary Tour”. Special guests included Stevie Nicks, Pearl Jam, the Allman Brothers Band, Trey Anastasio, the Derek Trucks Band, and the Black Crowes. Nicks joined Petty and the Heartbreakers on stage for “a selection of songs” including “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around“.^[38][39]

In July 2006, Petty released a solo album titled Highway Companion, which included the hit “Saving Grace“. It debuted at number four on the Billboard 200, which was Petty’s highest chart position since the introduction of the Nielsen SoundScan system for tracking album sales in 1991. Highway Companion was briefly promoted on the tour with the Heartbreakers in 2006, with performances of “Saving Grace”, “Square One“, “Down South” and “Flirting with Time”.^[40]

During the summer of 2007, Petty reunited with his old bandmates Tom Leadon and Randall Marsh along with Heartbreakers Benmont Tench and Mike Campbell to reform his pre-Heartbreakers band Mudcrutch. The band originally formed in 1970 in Gainesville, Florida, before relocating to California where they released one single in 1975 before breaking up. The quintet recorded an album of 14 songs that was released on April 29, 2008 (on iTunes, an additional song “Special Place” was available if the album was pre-ordered). The band supported the album with a brief tour of California in the spring of 2008.^[41]

In 2007, Petty and the Heartbreakers’ contributed a cover of “I’m Walkin’” to the album Goin’ Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino. The album’s sales helped buy instruments for students in New Orleans public schools and they contributed to the building of a community center in the city’s Hurricane Katrina-damaged Ninth Ward.^[42]

On February 3, 2008, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers performed during the halftime-show of Super Bowl XLII at the University of Phoenix Stadium. They played “American Girl“, “I Won’t Back Down“, “Free Fallin’” and “Runnin’ Down a Dream“.^[43] That summer, the band toured North America with Steve Winwood as the opening act. Winwood joined Petty and the Heartbreakers on stage at select shows and performed his Spencer Davis Group hit “Gimme Some Lovin’“, and occasionally he performed his Blind Faith hit “Can’t Find My Way Home“. In November 2009 the boxed set The Live Anthology, a compilation of live recordings from 1978 to 2006, was released.

The band’s twelfth album Mojo was released on June 15, 2010, and reached number two on the Billboard 200 album chart.^[33] Petty described the album as “Blues-based. Some of the tunes are longer, more jam-y kind of music. A couple of tracks really sound like the Allman Brothers—not the songs but the atmosphere of the band.”^[44] To promote the record, the band appeared as the musical guests on Saturday Night Live on May 15, 2010.^[45] The release of Mojo was followed by a North American summer tour. Prior to the tour, five of the band’s guitars, including two owned by Petty, were stolen from their practice space in Culver City, California in April 2010. The items were recovered by Los Angeles police the next week.^[46]

In 2012, the band went on a world tour that included their first European dates in 20 years and their first ever concerts in the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador.^[47][48]

On July 29, 2014, Reprise Records released Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ thirteenth studio album, Hypnotic Eye. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, becoming the first Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers album to ever top the chart.^[49] On November 20, 2015, the Tom Petty Radio channel debuted on SiriusXM.^[50]

In 2017, the Heartbreakers embarked on a 40th Anniversary Tour of the United States.^[51] The tour began on April 20 in Oklahoma City and ended on September 25 with a performance at the Hollywood Bowl in Hollywood, California.^[51][52] The Hollywood Bowl concert, which would ultimately be the Heartbreakers’ final show, ended with a performance of “American Girl“.^[53]

Acting[edit]

Petty’s first appearance in film took place in 1978, when he had a cameo in FM.^[54] He later had a small part in 1987’s Made in Heaven and appeared in several episodes of It’s Garry Shandling’s Show between 1987 and 1990, playing himself as one of Garry Shandling‘s neighbors.^[54] Petty was also featured in Shandling’s other show, The Larry Sanders Show, as one of the Story within a story final guests. In the episode, Petty gets bumped from the show and nearly comes to blows with Greg Kinnear.^[55]

Petty appeared in the 1997 film The Postman, directed by and starring Kevin Costner, as the Bridge City Mayor (from the dialogue it is implied that he is playing a future historyversion of himself).^[54] In 2002, he appeared on The Simpsons in the episode “How I Spent My Strummer Vacation“, along with Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Lenny Kravitz, Elvis Costello, and Brian Setzer. In it, Petty spoofed himself as a tutor to Homer Simpson on the art of lyric writing, composing a brief song about a drunk girl driving down the road while concerned with the state of public schools. Later in the episode, he loses a toe during a riot.^[56]

Petty had a recurring role as the voice of Elroy “Lucky” Kleinschmidt in the animated comedy series King of the Hill from 2004 to 2009.^[54] In 2010, Petty made a five-second cameoappearance with comedian Andy Samberg in a musical video titled “Great Day” featured on the bonus DVD as part of The Lonely Island‘s new album Turtleneck & Chain.^[57]

Views on artistic control[edit]

Petty was known as a staunch guardian of his artistic control and artistic freedom. In 1979, he was involved in a legal dispute when ABC Records was sold to MCA Records. He refused to be transferred to another record label without his consent. In May 1979, he filed for bankruptcy and was signed to the new MCA subsidiary Backstreet Records.^[58]

In early 1981, the upcoming Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers album, which would become Hard Promises, was slated to be the next MCA release with the new list price of $9.98, following Steely Dan‘s Gaucho and the Olivia Newton-John/Electric Light Orchestra Xanadu soundtrack. This so-called “superstar pricing” was $1.00 more than the usual list price of $8.98.^[59] Petty voiced his objections to the price hike in the press and the issue became a popular cause among music fans. Non-delivery of the album and naming it Eight Ninety-Eight were considered, but eventually MCA decided against the price increase.^[60]

In 1987, Petty sued tire company B.F. Goodrich for $1 million for using a song very similar to his song “Mary’s New Car” in a TV commercial. The ad agency that produced the commercial had previously sought permission to use Petty’s song but was refused.^[61] A judge issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting further use of the ad and the suit was later settled out of court.^[62]

Some have claimed that the Red Hot Chili Peppers single “Dani California“, released in May 2006, is very similar to Petty’s “Mary Jane’s Last Dance“.^[63][64] Petty told Rolling StoneMagazine, “I seriously doubt that there is any negative intent there. And a lot of rock ‘n’ roll songs sound alike. Ask Chuck Berry. The Strokes took ‘American Girl‘ for their song ‘Last Nite‘, and I saw an interview with them where they actually admitted it. That made me laugh out loud. I was like, ‘OK, good for you’ … If someone took my song note for note and stole it maliciously, then maybe [I’d sue]. But I don’t believe in lawsuits much. I think there are enough frivolous lawsuits in this country without people fighting over pop songs.”^[65]

In January 2015, it was revealed that Petty and Jeff Lynne would receive royalties from Sam Smith‘s song “Stay with Me” after its writers acknowledged similarities between it and “I Won’t Back Down“. Petty and co-composer Lynne were awarded 12.5% of the royalties from “Stay with Me”, and their names were added to the ASCAP song credit.^[66] Petty clarified that he did not believe Smith plagiarized him, saying, “All my years of songwriting have shown me these things can happen. Most times you catch it before it gets out the studio door but in this case it got by. Sam’s people were very understanding of our predicament and we easily came to an agreement”.^[67]

Personal life[edit]

Petty married Jane Benyo in 1974, and they divorced in 1996.^[3] Benyo disclosed to Stevie Nicks that she had met Petty at “the age of seventeen.” Nicks misheard Benyo, leading to Nicks’ song “Edge of Seventeen“.^[68] Petty and Benyo had two daughters: Adria, a director, and AnnaKim, an artist.^[69] In 2015, Petty publicly disclosed that he had struggled with heroin addiction following the end of his first marriage.^[70] Petty married Dana York on June 3, 2001,^[71] and had a stepson, Dylan, from York’s earlier marriage.^[69]

In May 1987, an arsonist set fire to Petty’s house in Encino, California. Firefighters were able to salvage the basement recording studio and the original tapes stored there, as well as his Gibson Dove acoustic guitar. His signature gray top hat, however, was destroyed. Petty later rebuilt the house with fire-resistant materials.^[72][73]

Petty spoke in 2014 of the benefits from his practice of Transcendental Meditation.^[74]

Death[edit]

Petty was found unconscious at his home, not breathing and in full cardiac arrest, early in the morning of October 2, 2017. He was taken to the UCLA Medical Center in Santa Monica, California, where he died at 8:40 pm PDT that evening.^[75]

After reports of Petty’s hospitalization, premature reports of his death spread quickly and widely,^[76][77] and without official denial or confirmation, continued throughout the day until the band’s management issued official confirmation shortly after Petty’s actual death Monday evening.^[78] While the official announcement said Petty collapsed early Monday morning, original reports claimed the incident happened Sunday night.^[79]

Petty’s funeral took place at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery on October 16, 2017.^[80]

On January 19, 2018, the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner announced that Petty had died from an accidental overdose of prescription pain medication,^[81] and that the autopsy had found a number of drugs in his system: fentanyl, oxycodone, acetylfentanyl and despropionyl fentanyl (all opioids, two illegal fentanyl analogs); temazepam and alprazolam (both sedatives); and citalopram (an antidepressant).^[82] In a statement on his official website, Petty’s family revealed that he had suffered from multiple medical problems; those medical problems included emphysema, knee difficulties, and a hip fracture that occurred on Petty’s final tour. Petty was prescribed pain medication for these issues.^[83] The statement, which was signed by Petty’s wife Dana and daughter Adria, noted that Petty was informed on the day of his death that his fractured hip had graduated to a full break; the statement read, in part, that “[it] is our feeling that the pain was simply unbearable and was the cause for his over use of medication.[..] We feel confident that this was, as the coroner found, an unfortunate accident.”^[83]

Equipment[edit]

Petty owned and used a number of guitars over the years. From 1976 to 1982, his main instrument was a sunburst 1964 Fender Stratocaster. He also used a number of Rickenbacker guitars from 1979 onward, notably a 1965 Rose Morris 1993 and 1987 reissue of the Rose Morris 1997,^{[clarification needed]} a 1967 360/12 and 1989 660/12TP. The Rickenbacker 660/12TP was designed by Petty (specifically the neck) and featured his signature from 1991 to 1997.^[84]

For acoustic guitars, Petty had a signature C.F. Martin HD-40, and wrote virtually all of his songs on a Gibson Dove acoustic saved from his 1987 house fire. He also used a Gibson J-200 in a natural finish and a late 1970s Guild D25 12-string acoustic.

Petty’s later amplifier setup featured two Fender Vibro-King 60-watt combos.^[85]

Awards and honors[edit]

In 1994, You Got Lucky, a Petty tribute album featuring such bands as Everclear and Silkworm was released.^[86]

In April 1996, Petty received the UCLA‘s George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin Award for Lifetime Musical Achievement.^[87] The next month, Petty won the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers‘ Golden Note Award.^[87][88]

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1999, for their contribution to the recording industry.^[89]

In December 2001, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in New York.^[90]

Petty received the Billboard Century Award, the organization’s highest honor for creative achievement, at a ceremony on December 6, 2005, during the Billboard Music Awards at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.^[91][92]

In September 2006, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers received the keys to the city of Gainesville, Florida, where he and his bandmates either lived or grew up.^[93] From July 2006 until 2007 the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio, featured an exhibit of Tom Petty items; much of the content was donated by Petty during a visit to his home by some of the Hall’s curatorial staff.^[94]

Peter Bogdanovich‘s documentary film on Petty’s career titled Runnin’ Down a Dream premiered at the New York Film Festival in October 2007.^[95]

Petty was honored as MusiCares Person of the Year in February 2017 for his contributions to music and for his philanthropy.^[96]

Discography[edit]

Solo[edit]

• Full Moon Fever (1989)
• Wildflowers (1994)
• Highway Companion (2006)

with the Heartbreakers[edit]

• Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (1976)
• You’re Gonna Get It! (1978)
• Damn the Torpedoes (1979)
• Hard Promises (1981)
• Long After Dark (1982)
• Southern Accents (1985)
• Let Me Up (I’ve Had Enough) (1987)
• Into the Great Wide Open (1991)
• Songs and Music from “She’s the One” (1996)
• Echo (1999)
• The Last DJ (2002)
• Mojo (2010)
• Hypnotic Eye (2014)

with the Traveling Wilburys[edit]

• Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 (1988)
• Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3 (1990)

with Mudcrutch[edit]

• Mudcrutch (2008)
• 2 (2016)

See also[edit]

• List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Mainstream Rock chart
• List of best-selling music artists

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Official website
• Tom Petty on IMDb
• Tom Petty at Encyclopædia Britannica