About one week ago, rock legend Tom Petty died.  Like a lot of people, I have enjoyed his music for years, and his death really struck me.

And ever since, I’ve been thinking about him and the lessons I can take from his life and career.

Here’s the interesting thing about Petty. To me, his success was due to his creation of an entity that was greater than the sum of its parts.

I tried to break down his music, component by component.

Petty’s band, the Heartbreakers, was extremely solid, but none of the band members are considered virtuosic.  They were complementary members working together to serve the music, not to stand out.

His vocals were distinctive and legendary, but he probably wouldn’t have made it past the first cut on any of the modern singing TV shows.

Petty’s songwriting was outstanding, but his lyrics aren’t generally placed on par with those of, say, his pal Bob Dylan or the iconic Paul McCartney.

So, none of the components were world-beaters on their own. But when they were combined, magic happened.  According to Billboard, Tom Petty had a “record 28 top 10 hits on the Mainstream Rock Songs airplay chart, more than any other act in the chart’s 36-year history”.

Take a moment and let that sink in.  More Top 10 rock hits than any other act in Billboard’s history.  That’s why there’s always a Tom Petty song playing on your favorite rock radio station.

So how did he do it?

The other day I ran across a quote from the great jazz pianist Thelonious Monk.  It comes from a list of advice that he gave saxophonist Steve Lacy.  This hit me hard: “A genius is the one most like himself”.

I think that explains Tom Petty.  Musical influences came and went, but we never had a new wave Tom Petty, a grunge Tom Petty, or a hip-hop Tom Petty.  Tom Petty was just Tom Petty, and that was more than enough.

And now he’s gone, but I’d bet that at this very moment someone is driving down a highway singing one of his songs at the top of their lungs.  And people will be doing that for a long time.  I know I will.