Stevie Nicks Says Tom Petty Was Ill Throughout His Final Tour
Stevie Nicks says she is brokenhearted over the loss of Tom Petty, and she is giving new insight into the Heartbreakers frontman’s final months of life. Nicks, who had a 40-year friendship with Tom Petty, spoke about the late music legend while accepting the 2018 MusiCares Person of the Year Award. Petty received the prestigious award in 2017.
Stevie told the crowd that the loss of Tom Petty in October “just about” broke her heart. Nicks also revealed that Tom spent a lot of time talking to her last year about his own MusiCares award, and now she knows why.
“He did the MusiCares thing last year he spent a lot of time after that night talking to me about how important that was to him,” Nicks said, according to Ultimate Classic Rock.
“And maybe he was talking about it because Tom was ill. He was not well and he fought his way through that tour. He should have canceled, and he should have just gone home and… gone to the hospital. But not Tom. He was going to go down that river. God bless him. He finished his tour at the Hollywood Bowl — three shows — and one week later, he died. But he got down the river.”
Stevie Nicks’ comments about Tom Petty come one week after his autopsy revealed that he died from an accidental overdose of a mixture of prescription medications. Tom Petty died in early October after being rushed to the hospital from his Malibu home. At the time, Stevie Nicks was on tour in Australia, but she did not cut her tour short. Stevie told Australia’s WA Today that Tom “would want” her to continue on with her tour commitment.
Stevie Nick’s friendship with Tom Petty dates back to 1978. The duo recorded several songs together, including the Heartbreakers’ Hard Promises ballad “Insider” and Nicks’ Bella Donna hit, “Stop Dragging’ My Heart Around.” Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty performed together for the last time earlier this year during Petty’s 40th anniversary tour with the Heartbreakers, so she had a first-hand look at the amount of pain Tom had been suffering from.
Last week, Tom Petty’s daughter, AnnaKim Violette Petty, took to Instagram to post about her father’s surprising cause of death, revealing that he had been in excruciating pain before he died due to a hip injury, but that he continued with the Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers 40th anniversary tour because he didn’t want to disappoint his fans.
“[My dad’s] recent death is tragic yet he died from doing what he loved and what will continue to keep his spirit alive,” Anna Kim wrote. “Touring with a broken hip because he would have it no other way. He loved performing. There are no hypothetical questions I love my dad and feel he is an immortal bad*ss. The amount of pain his hip caused was beyond a normal surgery. He is at peace out of pain.”
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