Famed rock star Tom Petty was rushed to a Los Angeles hospital on Sunday after he was found unconscious in his home.
According to TMZ, the 66-year-old singer/songwriter was in critical condition and not breathing when he was found in his Malibu home. Although paramedics were reportedly able to get a pulse, TMZ reported in an update that “after Petty got to the hospital he had no brain activity and a decision was made to pull life support.”
The classic rocker earned recognition with singles such as “Free Fallin’,” “American Girl,” and “Mary Jane’s Last Dance,” with his band, Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers. Formed in 1976, the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002. Petty had, just a week ago, wrapped up a world tour to honor the 40th anniversary of the Heartbreakers’ debut.
Here’s the video for “Free Fallin,” the opening track from Tom Petty’s solo debut album, Full Moon Fever, which I always thought captured a certain kind of very particular American sadness: