Free Fallin'
| "Free Fallin'" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
Single by Tom Petty | ||||
| from the album Full Moon Fever | ||||
| B-side |
| |||
| Released | October 27, 1989 (1989-10-27) | |||
| Format |
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| Recorded | 1987–1988 | |||
| Genre | Heartland rock | |||
| Length | 4:14 | |||
| Label | MCA | |||
| Songwriter(s) |
| |||
| 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 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 longest-charting.[citation needed] It peaked at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in January 1990. 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.[1] The song is ranked #179 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".[2] The song was #2 on the Spotify Global Viral 50 following the death of Petty.[3]
Contents
1 Los Angeles-area references
2 Development and meaning
3 Personnel
4 Track listings
5 Charts and certifications
5.1 Weekly charts
5.2 Year-end charts
5.3 Certifications
6 Cover versions
7 References
8 External links
Los Angeles-area references
The song's lyrics make references to Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley, including:
- "The Valley" – the name the San Fernando Valley is known as colloquially
Reseda – a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley
101 "Ventura" Freeway – the lyrics mention "a freeway runnin' through the yard" of the subject's Reseda home - putatively the 101 Freeway, which has an exit for Reseda Boulevard, albeit in the higher-income neighborhood of Tarzana
Ventura Boulevard – a primary east-west thoroughfare in the San Fernando Valley- "Mulholland" – a reference to Mulholland Drive, a road that follows the ridgeline of the eastern Santa Monica Mountains and the Hollywood Hills between the San Fernando Valley and Hollywood
Development and meaning
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 went and recorded the song. He didn't write it about any person, but instead what he saw on his frequent drives along Ventura Boulevard.[4]
Personnel
- Tom Petty – lead vocals, 12-string acoustic guitar
- Mike Campbell – electric guitar, 6-string acoustic guitar, 12-string electric guitar
- Jeff Lynne – backing vocals, bass guitar
- Phil Jones – drums
Track listings
| US 7" / Cassette | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
| 1. | "Free Fallin'" |
| 4:14 |
| 2. | "Down the Line" |
| 2:54 |
| Total length: | 7:08 | ||
| UK 7" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
| 1. | "Free Fallin'" |
| 4:14 |
| 2. | "Love Is a Long Road" |
| 4:06 |
| Total length: | 8:20 | ||
| UK 12" / CD | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
| 1. | "Free Fallin'" |
| 4:14 |
| 2. | "Love Is a Long Road" |
| 4:06 |
| 3. | "Free Fallin'" (live) |
| |
Charts and certifications
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chart (1989–2017) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[5] | 59 |
| Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[6] | 5 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)[7] | 61 |
| New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[8] | 4 |
| Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[9] | 86 |
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[10] | 59 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[11] | 7 |
| US Billboard Adult Contemporary[12] | 17 |
| US Alternative Songs (Billboard)[13] | 29 |
Year-end charts
| Chart (1990) | Position |
|---|---|
| Canada Top Singles (RPM)[14] | 39 |
Certifications
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| Region | Certification | Certified units/Sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI)[15] | Silver | 200,000 |
| ||
Cover versions
- In 1993 - De La Soul and Teenage Fanclub sampled the song for "Fallin'", which appeared on the Judgment Night soundtrack
- In 1996 - In the film Jerry Maguire, Tom Cruise sings along in the car.
- In 1996 - Stevie Nicks covered the song for the Party of Five soundtrack, and the song was later included on her album Enchanted.
- In 1996 - The improvisational comedy troupe The Dead Alewives recorded a parody of the song, titled "Total Recallin'".
- In 1999 - Deana Carter sang a version of the song that played in the Season 3 finale's ending credits of Mike Judge's animated comedy King of the Hill (airdate May 18, 1999); this version was later included on the series soundtrack released later that year.
- In 2001 - the Kings of Convenience EP Failure includes a live version.
- In 2002 - YG Family's 97-YG-02 album includes a Korean version.
- In 2003 - Tony Hadley, lead singer of new romantic band Spandau Ballet, released a cover version on his compilation True Ballads.
- Since 2003 - Mýa covered the song which was released from her Moodring album; the song uses different lyrics and arrangements.
- In 2005 - Keith Urban's live cover appears on his DVD Livin' Right Now
- In 2006 - Rapper Pimp C sampled the song for "I'm Free", off his album Pimpalation.
- In 2007 - American recording artist John Mayer included a live cover version on his live album Where the Light Is.
- In 2008 - In episode 119 of Cold Case, titled "Triple Threat", the song was covered with the second verse replaced with "Va Pensiero" from Verdi's Nabucco, sung in Italian by Georgian recording artist Elena Satine.
- In 2009 - Chamillionaire sampled the song for his track "Good Morning".
- In 2009 - Ben Rector covered the song for his album Into the Morning.
- In 2010 - The Almost recorded a cover for the compilation Punk Goes Classic Rock.
- In 2010 - Pink performed the song in the stage of The Funhouse Summer Carnival of the Pinkpop Festival in the Netherlands
- Since 2010 - Three Days Grace has been playing a cover of this song on their tour.
- In 2011 - Umphrey's Mcgee covered this song in Ashbury Park, NJ.
- In 2011 - Alejandro Fuentes covered the song at Allsång På Grensen.
- In 2011 - American Hard Rock band BulletBoys included a version on their Rocked and Ripped cover album.
- In 2012 - Max Milner performed the song on The Voice UK.
- In 2012 - Nick Carter performed the song on his I'm Taking Off tour.
- In 2013 - Katey Sagal covered the song on her album Covered.
- In 2013 - Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs covered the song on their album Under the Covers, Vol. 3.
- In 2014 - Kesha performed the song at Best Fest's Petty Fest April 3, 2014, making it her first performance since her treatment for an eating disorder.
- In 2014 - Twin duo Megan and Liz covered the song in a YouTube video.[16]
- In 2014 - CJ Harris covered John Mayer's version on the thirteenth season of American Idol.
- In 2014 - Matoma used the vocals of John Mayer's version for Free Fallin Tropical Mojito Remix (John Mayer Tribute).
- In 2015 - Kimberly Nichole performed the song on The Voice in honor of Mother's Day.
- In 2017 - Coldplay covered the song with Peter Buck of R.E.M. in Portland, Oregon as a tribute to Petty following his death.[17] Coldplay performed the song again in Pasadena, California with James Corden.[18]
- This song was featured as a playable track in Lego Rock Band.[when?]
- In 2019 - Fleetwood Mac covered the song in Newark, New Jersey, during their World Tour, as a tribute to Petty following his death.
- In 2019 - Busted covered the song during a live Radio 2 Session with Zoe Ball, before adding their version to the setlist of their Half Way There tour.
References
^ "Topic Galleries". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on February 8, 2008..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
^ Rolling Stone, March 8, 1990
^ "Global Viral 50". Spotify Charts. Archived from the original on October 7, 2017. Retrieved October 7, 2017.
^ Cathy Applefeld Olson (June 7, 2017). "Tom Petty Originally Wrote 'Free Fallin'' Just to Make Jeff Lynne Laugh". Billboard. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
^ "ARIA Chart Watch #441". auspOp. October 7, 2017. Retrieved October 7, 2017.
^ "Tom Petty Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard.
^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Tom Petty – Free Fallin'" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
^ "Charts.nz – Tom Petty – Free Fallin'". Top 40 Singles.
^ "Swisscharts.com – Tom Petty – Free Fallin'". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved October 11, 2017.
^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
^ "Tom Petty Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
^ Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993. Record Research. p. 188.
^ "Tom Petty Chart History (Alternative Songs)". Billboard.
^ "Top 100 Hit Tracks of 1990". RPM. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
'^ "British single certifications – Tom Petty – Free Fallin'". British Phonographic Industry.Select singles in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type Free Fallin in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
^ "Tom Petty "Free Fallin" by Megan and Liz". Retrieved May 19, 2014.
^ Needham, Lucy; Newman, Vicki; Shenton, Zoe (October 3, 2017). "Emotional moment Coldplay audience stand in absolute silence to remember victims of Las Vegas shooting - before launching into Tom Petty tribute song". Mirror. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
^ Kreps, Daniel (October 7, 2017). "See Coldplay, James Corden Sing Tom Petty's 'Free Fallin' at Rose Bowl". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 8, 2017.
External links
- SongFacts information page on "Free Fallin'"
Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics
John Mayer - Free Fallin' (Live at the Nokia Theatre) on YouTube
