LAPD Clarifies It Cannot Confirm Tom Petty's Death
LOS ANGELES (CBS NEWS/CBS SF) -- Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Tom Petty is still clinging to life Monday afternoon at a Los Angeles hospital, according to entertainment news website TMZ.
An earlier LAPD report which confirmed the singer's death, and which CBS News reported, has since been clarified.
Earlier Monday, entertainment news website TMZ reporte that Petty had been taken off life support after sources said he had no signs of brain activity following cardiac arrest.
The site reported that the singer was hospitalized after being found at his Malibu home in full cardiac arrest Sunday night.
The website reported that law enforcement sources said Petty was found unconscious and not breathing at his Malibu home.
TMZ said EMTs rushed to Petty's home and were able to get a pulse. Sources said the 66-year-old rocker was quickly taken to the UCLA Santa Monica Hospital and placed on life support.
The report said that while Petty's current condition is unknown, he was critical when he was found.
Petty and his band the Heartbreakers recently wrapped a nationwide tour that ended with a concert at the Hollywood Bowl one week ago.
Petty and the band played several shows in the Bay Area in late August. While those performances were postponed after the singer had bout with laryngitis and bronchitis, the make-up concerts in Berkeley and Sacramento found Petty in excellent voice.
Petty rose to fame in the 1970s with his band, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. The group put out several hits, including "American Girl," "Free Fallin'," "Breakdown," "Listen to Her Heart" and more. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002.
Though Petty and his band debuted their first self-titled record in 1976, they continued to perform over the past four decades. Petty played his last show last Monday, performing three sold-out shows at the Hollywood Bowl to conclude their 40th anniversary tour. The band wrote on their website that the tour included 53 shows in 24 states.
In December, Petty told Rolling Stone that he thought this would be the group's last tour together. He said, "It's very likely we'll keep playing, but will we take on 50 shows in one tour? I don't think so. I'd be lying if I didn't say I was thinking this might be the last big one. We're all on the backside of our sixties. I have a granddaughter now I'd like to see as much as I can. I don't want to spend my life on the road. This tour will take me away for four months. With a little kid, that's a lot of time."
