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Tuesday, October 3, 2017 3:33am ET by  
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The legendary US rocker Tom Petty has died at the age of 66

The legendary US rocker Tom Petty has died after suffering a cardiac arrest.

His long-time manger, Tony Dimitriades, said: "He died peacefully at 20:40pm PT (03:40am GMT Tuesday) surrounded by family, his bandmates and friends".

The 66-year-old, who was born in Florida, was rushed to UCLA Santa Monica Hospital yesterday (October 1) after being found unresponsive at his Malibu home.

The rock and roll star was placed on critical life support, but he passed away shortly after his family decided to remove it.

Along with his famous backing band, the Heartbreakers, which he founded in 1976, the "Don't Come Around Here No More" singer released a self-titled debut studio album which spawned the classic hits "Breakdown" and "American Girl".

The singer-songwriter and guitarist released thirteen studio albums as the lead singer of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers in addition to three solo albums.

In 2002, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, alongside Isaac HayesThe RamonesTalking Heads and Brenda Lee.

Throughout his near-50 year career, Petty earned three Grammy Awards and sold more than 80 million albums worldwide.

Watch Tom Petty in action, below:

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