Shepard Fairey Obey 'Live Anthology' Tom Petty Print Release Details

Artist: Shepard Fairey/Obey
Title: Live Anthology (Tom Petty)
Medium: Multi Color Screen Print
Size: 18 x 24 Inches
Edition: 1,000
Price: $75

Tom Petty was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist whose plain spoken lyrics and chiming guitars helped define heartland rock. Born in Gainesville, Florida in 1950, he formed the Epics at fourteen, then Mudcrutch, which evolved into Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers in 1976. Their debut album delivered radio staples Breakdown and American Girl, establishing a signature sound built on jangling Rickenbacker chords, driving bass and Petty’s nasal, everyman drawl.

Over four decades he released thirteen studio albums with the Heartbreakers, plus three solo projects and two as part of the Traveling Wilburys. Songs like Refugee, Don’t Come Around Here No More and I Won’t Back Down blend defiance with vulnerability, chronicling restless lovers, dreamers and outsiders who refuse to surrender. His writing prizes concise storytelling and memorable hooks, influenced by the Beatles’ melodic craft and Southern roots of Creedence Clearwater Revival.

Petty’s stage presence was deceptively laid back; behind the lacid smile lay meticulous attention to arrangement and dynamics. He fought record industry greed, declaring bankruptcy in 1979 to void a bad contract, and later battled streaming services over artist royalties, earning a reputation as a defender of creative control.

In 2017 he concluded a triumphant fortieth anniversary tour with the Heartbreakers, then died suddenly of cardiac arrest, prompting an outpouring of grief from fans and peers who hailed him as a voice of quiet rebellion. His catalog remains a roadmap for navigating disappointment with melody, humor and stubborn hope, proof that simple chords can carry complex truths and that rock and roll, at its best, is an act of compassionate defiance.