“Down here on E Street, we’re devastated and heartbroken,” the Boss tweeted Tuesday morning, referring to the “Free Fallin’” singer as a “long lost brother.”
“Our hearts go out to his family and bandmates,” said the New Jersey singer-songwriter, who will take the stage for the first “Springsteen on Broadway” preview show Tuesday night in Manhattan.
“I’ve always felt a deep kinship with his music,” he continued. “A great songwriter and performer, whenever we saw each other … it was like running into a long lost brother. Our world will be a sadder place without him.”
Petty, a three-time Grammy Award winner, died Monday at age 66 after suffering cardiac arrest Sunday at his home in Malibu.
Musicians Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Jon Bon Jovi and numerous others have taken to social media and beyond to send tributes to their fellow showman.