It's hard to find an artist who was more universally admired than Tom Petty.
Though some may have sold more records than him, or won more Grammys perhaps, his pitch-perfect songwriting, tireless work ethic and fearlessness in standing up to the music industry on behalf of both listeners and artists made him a uniquely beloved figure.
His death on Monday night at the age of 66—after suffering cardiac arrest in his Malibu home on Sunday night—brought forth a remarkable wave of tributes from guitarists and musicians across the musicial spectrum.
Below, you can read some of the many tributes to Petty, without question one of the greatest American songwriters of all time.
Bob Dylan—Petty's bandmate in the Traveling Wilburys, and an artist for whom Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers opened for in the mid-Eighties—shared a statement with Rolling Stone, saying “It’s shocking, crushing news.” “I thought the world of Tom," Dylan continued. "He was great performer, full of the light, a friend, and I’ll never forget him.”
God bless Tom Petty peace and love to his family I'm sure going to miss you Tom pic.twitter.com/CktFyhBdxT
Jackson is an Associate Editor at GuitarWorld.com. He’s been writing and editing stories about new gear, technique and guitar-driven music both old and new since 2014, and has also written extensively on the same topics for Guitar Player. Elsewhere, his album reviews and essays have appeared in Louder and Unrecorded. Though open to music of all kinds, his greatest love has always been indie, and everything that falls under its massive umbrella. To that end, you can find him on Twitter crowing about whatever great new guitar band you need to drop everything to hear right now.
