In 1985, Springsteen once waited six hours in Petillo's basement for him to finish furnishing his guitar for a concert. A guitar made by Petillo was featured on Springsteen's album "Born to Run". Petillo was also friends with Croce and once repaired his Martin D-35. He also invented and promoted a line of strings for Tommy DeVito and The Four Seasons. He also performed some work for the Smithsonian Institution including a Stradivarius which arrived in an armored truck. In a 2012 book, luthier Bob Benedetto was quoted as saying "I had an advantage in 1968 when I started, because there were only a few achtop makers including Sam Koontz, Jimmy D'Aquisto, Phil Petillo, and Bill Barker". In 2004, he was honored for his inventions by the Research and Development Council of New Jersey. His son, David, who worked with him for several years, continued Petillo's work after his death. One of David's feats to Springsteen's guitar was adding "Asbury Park", "New Jersey" and silhouettes of Springsteen's redhead wife, Patti, and E Street Band saxophonist Clarence Clemons.