"Free Fallin'" | ||||
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Single by Tom Petty | ||||
from the album Full Moon Fever | ||||
B-side |
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Released | October 1989 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 4:14 | |||
Label | MCA | |||
Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) |
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Tom Petty singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"Free Fallin'" on YouTube |
"Free Fallin'" is the opening track from American musician Tom Petty's debut solo album, Full Moon Fever (1989). The song was written by Petty and his writing partner for the album, Jeff Lynne, and features Lynne on backing vocals and bass guitar. The duo wrote and recorded the single in two days, making it the first song completed for Full Moon Fever.
"Free Fallin'" is one of Petty's most famous tracks as well as his highest - and longest - charting song. [4] It peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in January 1990, becoming his third and final top ten hit. Petty and The Heartbreakers performed the song at the MTV Video Music Awards in 1989, with Axl Rose and Izzy Stradlin, and at the February 2008 Super Bowl XLII Halftime Show. [5] The song is ranked No. 219 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. It was featured in the film Jerry Maguire (1996) and The Sopranos episode 2.13, "Funhouse" (2000). Lou Reed selected the song as one of his "picks of 1989". [6] The song reached No. 2 on the Spotify Global Viral 50 following Petty's death in 2017. [7]
Petty explained in an interview with Billboard magazine that he and Jeff Lynne were sitting around trying to come up with a song, and Lynne got him to say "free falling". The next day they recorded the song. Petty did not write the song about a specific person, but instead about what he saw during his frequent drives along Ventura Boulevard. [8] Lynne said "Probably the second song we wrote [for Full Moon Fever] was 'Free Fallin'.' I got the chords to it and we both fleshed out the chorus. It was like 'Evil Woman' in that we got a repetitive chord sequence and then the melody turns into a chorus. Everyone who heard it knew it was a hit, and the next song we did was 'I Won’t Back Down.'" [9]
"Free Fallin'" is widely regarded as one of Petty's best songs. Billboard and Rolling Stone both ranked the song number four on their lists of the greatest Tom Petty songs, [10] [11] while WatchMojo considers it to be Tom Petty's best song. [12]
The music video for the song was directed by Piers Garland and Julien Temple and features a teenage girl seen in various places around Los Angeles, including a 1960s pool party and a 1980s skate park. Petty is also seen performing in these places and others, such as the former Westside Pavilion mall. [13]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Free Fallin'" | 4:14 | |
2. | "Down the Line" |
| 2:54 |
Total length: | 7:08 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Free Fallin'" |
| 4:14 |
2. | "Love Is a Long Road" |
| 4:06 |
Total length: | 8:20 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Free Fallin'" |
| 4:14 |
2. | "Love Is a Long Road" |
| 4:06 |
3. | "Free Fallin'" (live) |
|
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Denmark (IFPI Danmark) [31] | Gold | 45,000‡ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [32] | Platinum | 600,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
United States | October 27, 1989 |
| MCA | [ citation needed ] |
United Kingdom | November 6, 1989 |
| [33] |
Jeffrey Lynne is an English musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. He is the co-founder, and latterly the sole member, of the rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), which was formed in 1970, and has written all of the band's music since 1972. This includes hits such as "Evil Woman", "Livin' Thing", "Telephone Line", "Mr. Blue Sky", "Don't Bring Me Down", and "Hold On Tight". He also has had a solo career, with two albums: Armchair Theatre (1990) and Long Wave (2012).
Traveling Wilburys were a British-American supergroup formed in Los Angeles in 1988, consisting of Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison and Tom Petty. They were a roots rock band and described as "perhaps the biggest supergroup of all time".
Thomas Earl Petty was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He was the leader and frontman of the rock bands Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Mudcrutch and a member of the late 1980s supergroup the Traveling Wilburys. He was also a successful solo artist.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were an American rock band formed in Gainesville, Florida, in 1976. The band originally comprised lead singer and rhythm guitarist Tom Petty, lead guitarist Mike Campbell, keyboardist Benmont Tench, drummer Stan Lynch and bassist Ron Blair. In 1982, Blair, weary of the touring lifestyle, departed the band. His replacement, Howie Epstein, remained with the band for the next two decades. In 1991, Scott Thurston joined the band as a multi-instrumentalist, primarily on rhythm guitar and secondary keyboard. In 1994, Steve Ferrone replaced Lynch on drums. Blair returned to the Heartbreakers in 2002, the year before Epstein's death. The band had a long string of hit singles, including "Breakdown", "American Girl", "Refugee" (1979), "The Waiting" (1981), "Learning to Fly" (1991), and "Mary Jane's Last Dance" (1993), among many others, that stretched over several decades of work.
Full Moon Fever is the debut solo studio album by American musician Tom Petty, released on April 24, 1989, by MCA Records. It features contributions from members of his band the Heartbreakers, notably Mike Campbell, as well as Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison, and George Harrison, Petty's bandmates in the Traveling Wilburys. The record showcases Petty exploring his musical roots with nods to his influences. The songwriting primarily consists of collaborations between Petty and Lynne, who was also a producer on the album. Full Moon Fever became a commercial and critical success, peaking at No. 3 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and being certified 5× platinum in the United States and 6× platinum in Canada.
Mystery Girl is the twenty-second album by American singer Roy Orbison. It was his last album to be recorded during his lifetime, as he completed the album in November 1988, a month before his death at the age of 52, and it was released posthumously by Virgin Records on January 31, 1989. It includes the hit singles "You Got It", which was co-written by Orbison and his Traveling Wilburys bandmates Jeff Lynne and Tom Petty, and "She's a Mystery to Me", written by Bono and The Edge. The album was a critical and commercial success; it peaked at number 5 on the Billboard 200 in the United States, the highest position Orbison had achieved on that chart, and number 2 on the UK Albums Chart.
"Handle with Care" is a song by the British-American supergroup the Traveling Wilburys. It was released in October 1988 as their debut single and as the opening track of their album Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1. The song was the first recording made by the group, although it was originally intended as a bonus track on a European single by George Harrison. When he and Jeff Lynne presented the song to Harrison's record company, the executives insisted it was too good for that purpose, a decision that resulted in the formation of the Wilburys. The song was written primarily by Harrison, although, as with all the tracks on Vol. 1, the writing credit lists all five members of the band: Harrison, Lynne, Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison and Tom Petty.
"The Scientist" is a song by British rock band Coldplay. The song is credited to all the band members on their second album, A Rush of Blood to the Head. It is built around a piano ballad, with lyrics telling the story about a man's desire to love and an apology. The song was released in the United Kingdom on 11 November 2002 as the second single from A Rush of Blood to the Head and reached number 10 in the UK Charts. It was released in the United States on 15 April 2003 as the third single and reached number 18 on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and number 34 on the Adult Top 40 chart.
Into the Great Wide Open is the eighth studio album by American rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Released in July 1991, it was the band's last with MCA Records. The album was the second that Petty produced with Jeff Lynne, following the successful Full Moon Fever (1989).
"You Got It" is a song from American singer Roy Orbison's 22nd studio album, Mystery Girl (1989). The song was released posthumously on January 3, 1989, after Orbison's death from a heart attack on December 6, 1988. The song was issued with "The Only One" as the B-side and was later released with "Crying". The single reached number nine on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Adult Contemporary chart, returning Orbison to the top 10 for the first time in 25 years. "You Got It" also reached number three on the UK Singles Chart and entered the top five in 10 other countries. Although it is an Orbison solo single, Orbison's fellow Traveling Wilburys bandmates Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne co-wrote the song and played instruments on the record.
"Learning to Fly" is a song by American rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. It was written in 1991 by Tom Petty and his writing partner Jeff Lynne for the band's eighth studio album, Into the Great Wide Open (1991). The entire song is based on four simple chords,. Released in June 1991 by MCA, it became a top hit for Petty and the Heartbreakers, topping the US Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart and peaking at number 28 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"American Girl" is a rock song written by Tom Petty and recorded by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers for their self-titled debut album in 1976. It was released as a single and did not chart in the United States, but peaked at No. 40 in the UK for the week ending August 27, 1977. It was re-released in 1994 as the second single from Petty's Greatest Hits album and peaked at No. 68 in the U.S. Cash Box Top 100.
"Evil Woman" is a song recorded by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) and written by lead vocalist Jeff Lynne. It was first released on the band's fifth album, 1975's Face the Music.
"Every Little Thing" is a song by Jeff Lynne release as a lead single from his first solo album Armchair Theatre.
This is the discography of Tom Petty, who was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. Petty released 13 studio albums as the lead singer of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, two with supergroup the Traveling Wilburys and two with his first band Mudcrutch, in addition to three solo albums.
"I Won't Back Down" is a song by American rock musician Tom Petty. It was released in April 1989 as the lead single from his first solo album, Full Moon Fever. The song was co-written by Petty and Jeff Lynne, his writing partner for the album. It reached number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Album Rock Tracks chart for five weeks, starting the album's road to multi-platinum status.
"Viva la Vida" is a song by British rock band Coldplay. It was written by all members of the band for their fourth album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends (2008). The lyrics contain historical and Christian references, and the track is built around a looping string section with a digitally processed piano, while other layers are gradually added.
"Stay with Me" is a song by English singer Sam Smith from their debut studio album In the Lonely Hour (2014). It was released in the United States on 14 April 2014 and in the United Kingdom on 18 May 2014. "Stay with Me" is a gospel-inspired ballad that details the protagonist pleading with their one-night stand not to leave them. The song was written by Smith, James Napier, and William Phillips, with Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne later receiving co-writer credits due to the song's noted melodic similarity to Petty's single "I Won't Back Down".
The Best of Everything is a 2019 greatest hits album with recordings made by Tom Petty, with his backing band The Heartbreakers, as a solo artist, and with Mudcrutch. It was released on March 1.
Phil Jones is an American drummer, percussionist, and record producer. Jones played percussion with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers in the early 80's both live and in the studio, while also playing drums and percussion on Tom Petty's solo album Full Moon Fever, which included the hit songs "Free Fallin'", "I Won't Back Down", and "Runnin' Down a Dream". His work outside the group includes playing on the Del Shannon albums Drop Down and Get Me and Rock On!. He currently runs his own recording studio in Los Angeles called 'Robust Recordings'.