Happy Birthday, Tom Petty: 5 Petty moments
By Victoria Miller
Philadelphia Examiner - October 19, 2011

It's hard to believe that that skinny blonde kid who emerged on to the rock scene the 1970's is in the over 60 sector now. Tom Petty, that Heartbreaker, is 61 years old on October 20th. Here we take a look back at five of our fave Tom Petty moments.

8.98 Debate
Back in 1981, Petty raised all kinds of hoopla when he protested the rising cost of record albums. When MCA wanted to release his "Hard Promises" album at the list price of $9.98, Petty refused--and even threatened to change the album title to "8.98." He won in the end, but so did the record company: "Hard Promises" went platinum.

Stop Draggin' Stevie Around
That same year, diehard Petty fans may have been a tad miffed when he teamed up with songbird Stevie Nicks for the duet, "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" back in 1981. Why? Because the song was featured on Nicks' "Bella Donna" album, not on a Petty album.

Side Gig
What do you get when you take Tom Petty and add a Dylan a Harrison and an Orbison? The Traveling Wilbury's, of course! The all-star band's "Handle Me With Care" was a surprise hit before Orbison's death in 1988.

Video Killed the Radio Star
Petty tapped Hollywood's elite for some of his greatest music videos. Johnny Depp starred in "Into the Great Wide Open" and Kim Basinger starred in "Mary Jane's Last Dance." And in 1997 Petty himself appeared in the movie "The Postman."

Walk of Famer!
In 1999, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Location: South side of the 7000 block of Hollywood Boulevard.

Tom Petty last performed in the Philadelphia area in August, 2010.

Happy Birthday, Tom!