One of the most successful bands of the 1970s and most influential of the 1980s, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers are a platinum-selling rock band whose success is only bested by Tom Petty and his solo career. With a canon of classic hits, Petty remains one of rock’s greatest living legends and still dabbles in music after decades in the industry.

Petty was born Thomas Earl Petty on October 20, 1950 in Gainesville, Florida. Like many boys born in the 50s, Tom found his first real musical influence in Elvis Presley. And after seeing The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show, Petty was positive that he wanted to form a rock band and perform music.

In the 1970s, Tom wasted no time seeing his dream to fruition. He hooked up with a few other young musicians from the area and formed the Sundowners. Later, they switched their name to Mudcrutch and developed a local following. After no commercial success, Petty left to go solo, but would come back quickly to form Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers.

They recorded their first album in 1976, by the same name as the band, but didn’t experience much success until one of the album’s singles, Breakdown, was rereleased in 1967 and hit big in Britain. By 1978, the band was touring all over the UK and developing a cult following.

Meanwhile, the Heartbreakers started to gain steam in America, thanks to Petty’s savvy songwriting and unusual, Dylan-like voice and appeal. Their second album, You’re Gonna Get It, hit the Top 40, and Damn the Torpedoes, the band’s third album, went platinum in a matter of weeks.

In 1981, the band scored their first top-ten album with Hard Promises. The band was quiet for the next few years, as they dealt with inner turmoil, but they still manage to play a slue of live shows and charity events. In 1985, Southern Accents was released and sent the rock band flying into the pop mainstream with hits like Don’t Come Around Here No More.

In 1988, Petty took a break from the Heartbreakers and formed the uber-band, the Traveling Wilburys. Petty joined with fellow superstars of the business, Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, Jeff and George Harrison. They released two albums and subsequently tapered off after the death of Orbison after the first album was released.

Petty went solo in 1989 and released Full Moon Fever. The hits Free Fallin’, Runnin’ Down a Dream and I Won’t Back Down became three of the biggest in Tom’s career. At the very top of his career, Petty decided to rejoin the Heartbreakers and release 1991’s album Into the Great Wide Open.

Even though the reunion was successful by any standards, Petty signed a big contract with Warner Bros. as a solo artist and released Wildflowers in 1994, with hits like You Don’t Know How it Feels and A Higher Place.

Petty would rejoin the Heartbreakers in the late 90s and release 1999’s Echo and 2002’s The Last DJ. Petty’s last solo album was Highway Companion in 2006, and he has recently rejoined the Heartbreakers to release Mojo in 2010.