After conflicting reports regarding the passing of musician Tom Petty, the Hall of Fame rock star's manager has confirmed that he has died.
Multiple sources reported Monday afternoon that the 66-year-old had been removed from life support at the UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles. He had been found Sunday night at his home in Malibu.
The Los Angeles Police Department inaccurately confirmed that Petty passed away, but later since retracted its statement. Later that evening, Petty's manager released a statement confirming his death.
"On behalf of the Tom Petty family, we are devastated to announce the untimely death of our father, husband, brother, leader and friend, Tom Petty," the statement from Tony Dimitriades said.
Petty is known for his work fronting Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, recording 13 albums. He also has a successful solo career and was a part of the supergroup The Traveling Wilburys.
Born in Florida, Petty dropped out of school to join the band Mudcrutch, and worked as a grounds crewman for the University of Florida, though he never attended the school. He took up guitar around this time, with one of his first teachers being Don Felder, who later joined The Eagles.
Mudcrutch broke up in the mid-70s and soon after Petty helped form the Heartbreakers, recording their self-titled first album in 1976. Eight more of their albums cracked the US Top 10 on the Billboard 200 album chart, with their most recent one, 2014's Hypnotic Eye, hitting number one.
Petty recorded three albums as a solo artist, all of them reaching the Top-10. 1989's Full Moon Fever featured the hit singles "Free Fallin'" and "I Won't Back Down". The album peaked at number three.
As a member of The Traveling Wilburys, Petty helped release two studio albums and a box set. The group featured musicians Roy Orbison, George Harrison, Bob Dylan and Jeff Lynne. Their first album, Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1, won the 1990 Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.
Petty won a total of three Grammys and three MTV Video Music Awards. He also received the Billboard Century Award in 2005.
Petty was inducted with the Heartbreakers into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002.
Petty has married twice. His first marriage was to Jane Benyo and they were married for 22 years before divorcing in 1996. They had two children. He married Dana York Epperson in 2001.