Tom Leadon, co-founder of Tom Petty‘s band Mudcrutch and brother of Eagles guitarist Bernie Leadon, died on March 22 at age 70. The musician’s family confirmed the news, while Petty’s official fan club released a statement regarding Leadon’s passing.
“It is with great sadness, but profound love and gratitude for his life, that the family of Tom Leadon (Thomas Joseph Leadon) of Nashville, Tenn., and Gainesville, Fla., announce his passing on March 22, 2023 peacefully of natural causes. He was 70,” the statement read.
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Mike Campbell, former Mudcrutch and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers member, also shared his thoughts regarding Leadon’s loss. “Tom Leadon was my deepest guitar soul brother, we spent countless hours playing acoustic guitars and teaching each other things,” he wrote. “A kinder soul never walked the earth. I will always miss his spirit and generosity. Sleep peacefully my old friend.”
Leadon’s music career dates back to high school, during which he was a member of the Epics and met Petty (who played bass in the group, while Leadon was on lead guitar). The duo then formed Mudcrutch, which Campbell joined to play guitar, and members Randall Marsh and Jim Lenahan joined for drums and vocals, respectively. Leadon would ultimately leave the band in 1972 following a fight with Petty, but later played in Linda Rondstadt’s band on bass, and joined Silver in 1976. (Silver earned a Billboard top 20 hit with its track “Wham-Bam.”)
Leadon also wrote the Eagles’ “Hollywood Waltz” in 1975; the band released it as part of its One of These Nights. Leadon is credited on the song alongside his brother Bernie, Glenn Lewis Frey and Don Henley.
Mudcrutch would see a reconciliation in 2007, when Petty got the group back together with Leadon, Marsh, Campbell and the Heartbeakers’ Benmont Tench. The reunited group would record two albums — Mudcrutch and Mudcrutch 2, which charted at Nos. 8 and 10 on the Billboard 200, respectively. The group disbanded upon Petty’s death in 2016.
“He was a dear friend of Tom and the fellas in the band and our entire family. He was part of the brotherhood,” Petty’s daughter, Adria, also shared in a statement on the late rocker’s official Instagram account. “He was an excellent and accomplished musician and was the reason Tom reformed Mudcrutch, so that the band could enjoy more time and more music together. Tom loved him deeply.”