More than Free Fallin’

BENGALURU: Anyone who grew up listening to Rock in the 80s and 90s, would’ve come across chart toppers by Tom Petty, especially the famous bad boy track Free Fallin'.Petty, an icon in the world of music, died on Monday at the age of 66 of a cardiac arrest. Petty was the lead singer and guitarist of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, as well as a successful solo artist, known for such rock hits as American Girl, Don’t Do Me Like That, Mary Jane’s Last Dance and I Won’t Back Down.

I’ve grown up listening to Tom Petty. He defined an era of music, and was a trendsetter in a lot of ways. When I heard that he had died, I was heartbroken that I missed a chance to see him perform live. If I had to pick my favourite tracks by him, I'd choose American Girl and I Won't Back Down.     
— Carlton Braganza, founder of Opus

Tom Petty inspired singers and songwriters everywhere. He had this very rare gift when it came to songwriting, and I was highly influenced by him. Every song he wrote had a story to tell. While everyone thinks of Free Fallin as their obvious choice of favourite Petty songs, there are several other great ones. My favourites are Learning To Fly and American Girl.
— Behram Siganporia, lead vocalist, Best Kept Secret

Petty was one of the first artistes who spoke how Country music was heading in the wrong direction and becoming commercial. He spoke about going back the roots of Country, after which other musicians followed suit. Being a Country musician myself, I admire what he did for the genre.
— Sheridan Brass, lead vocalist for WestBlock

 I grew up in Dubai and would hear Tom Petty on the radio. In the 90s, his music videos were very cool, they had a certain look and feel to them. The line ‘You got a heart so big, it could crush this town. And I can't hold out forever, even walls fall down’ from his song Walls has stuck with me. I also love Great Wide Open.
Tony Das, guitarist who has played with bands like Thermal and a Quarter, Moksh