KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Fans of Tom Petty continued to remember the late singer around the metro on Tuesday, a day after he passed away after going into cardiac arrest at his home in California.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member had a big impact on the lives of people who listened to his songs, including Daniel Page.
"I've been playing (guitar) since I was 11 or 12 and started taking lessons,” the musician said. “One of the reasons why I wanted to get into music was because of Tom Petty.”
Page could recall listening to “Breakdown” and “Free Fallin’” and looking up to the music star.
Years later, Page works at a Guitar Center in the metro and is a member of a band called Cudo.
On Tuesday, he told 41 Action News that he still finds time to play his favorite Petty tracks.
“'Breakdown' is the one. That's my favorite Tom Petty song,” he explained. "Having that connection when you actually start to cover and play the songs yourself live, you kind of feel like your somewhat in his shoes playing those songs.”
Page was one of many fans in the Kansas City area mourning the loss of Petty this week.
At the Mills Record Company store in Westport, many customers had come in asking about the Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers collection.
For employee Dylan Pyles, the response showed the reach of Petty’s music.
"You'd be hard-pressed to find somebody who doesn't know a Tom Petty song,” he explained. "Growing up in the Midwest, it's sort of unavoidable to be influenced or grow up on Tom Petty.”
Pyles said Petty’s lyrics and style would leave a lasting legacy in the hearts of his fans.
"One of the big things is that he's always been sort of an underdog. I think that's one thing that we love in music,” he explained. "He proves that you don't have to have the prettiest voice and you don't have to be the prettiest in order to be successful and to touch people."
Moving forward, Daniel Page hoped to keep Petty’s legacy alive by continuing to play his music.
"Now the song that I'm covering means so much more to me now that he's gone, just to keep that legacy going,” he explained.
