Rest in peace, Tom Petty.
The iconic singer-songwriter died at age 66 after suffering cardiac arrest. He was found unconscious at his home in Malibu in the early hours of Monday morning and passed away later that night after being taken to UCLA Medical Center, according to Petty’s manager.
The rock ‘n’ roll legend was a touring powerhouse and he spent his life doing what he loved, right up until the end. Along with the Heartbreakers, Petty spent most of 2017 on the road, touring behind the band’s 40th anniversary. Just one week ago, Sept. 25, he wrapped up the trek in what will go down as his last show.
It came as the third and final show of a mini-residency at the Hollywood Bowl. Petty and the Heartbreakers played a 16-song set, followed by a two-song encore: “You Wreck Me,” off his ’94 solo album Wildflowers, and, as he so often closed with, “American Girl.” “I wanna thank you for 40 years of a really great time,” said Petty, right before diving into the opening guitar lines.
Thanks to YouTube user Kim Roberts, here’s a close-up look at the last two songs from Petty’s last concert. After jamming out and extending the “American Girl” outro, the whole band sticks around for a few extra minutes, acknowledging the crowd and taking in the applause. Petty even stops to sign a few autographs.
“American Girl,” like so many others from the Petty catalogue, is going to live on for a long, long time.
A version of this story originally posted on Billboard.
