Biography

Inductees: Tom Petty (vocals, guitar; born October 20, 1950), Ron Blair (bass; born September 16, 1948), Mike Campbell (guitar; born February 1, 1950), Howie Epstein (bass; born July 21, 1955, died February 24, 2003), Stan Lynch (drums; born May 21, 1955), Benmont Tench (keyboards; born September 7, 1953). In a sense, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers are America’s band. Durable, resourceful, hard-working, likeable and unpretentious, they rank among the most capable and classic rock bands of the last quarter century. They’ve mastered the idiom’s fundamentals and digested its history while stretching themselves creatively and contributing to rock’s legacy. Moreover they ...