It was five years ago this week that we all learned of the unexpected death of the legendary Tom Petty. He was 66.
In remembrance, the University of Florida in Petty’s hometown of Gainesville, Florida has announced that in addition to singing “I Won’t Back Down” at every Gator home football game, the October 15th game against LSU will be the inaugural “Tom Petty Day.” In recognition, the school will be awarding Petty, who used to mow the lawns at UF, a posthumous honorary Doctorate of Music next May.
The Gators are also selling co-branded merchandise featuring Tom with all of the Petty Estate proceeds going to local charities in the Gainesville area with an emphasis on homelessness and early childhood intervention for underserved parts of the community.
Since his death, the Petty estate has overseen several archival releases. The next one is Live at the Fillmore (1997) on November 25th. It was captured during Petty’s 20-night residency at the iconic San Francisco venue.
[Source: Classic Hits Today]