Thomas Earl Petty was born on this date in 1950 so for today’s Forgotten 45 at 3:45 we go back to 1981 for “The Waiting”.
The native of Gainsville, Florida, Tom became interested in music when he met Elvis Presley on a movie set his uncle was working on. And when he saw The Beatles as a teenager when they appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show. In 1976 he formed Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers who recorded 7 Top 40 hits between 1977 and ’85. “The Waiting” was his first #1 rock hit in ’81 and the song also reached #19 on the pop chart.
In his career he sold over 80 million albums and along with the Heartbreakers was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002. Sadly Tom Petty passed away from an accidental overdose on October 1st, 2017 at the age of 66, just one week after the end of their 40th Anniversary tour.
Remembering Tom Petty with “The Waiting”. The Forgotten 45 is sponsored by Honey Creek Furniture in Manchester, Eastern Iowa’s fastest growing La-Z-Boy store. You’ll find them at honeycreekfurniture.com.
