Free Fallin'

"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.

For other uses, see Free-fall (disambiguation).

"Free Fallin'"
Single by Tom Petty
from the album Full Moon Fever
B-side
  • "Down the Line"
  • "Love Is a Long Road"
  • "Free Fallin'" (live)
ReleasedOctober 27, 1989 (1989-10-27)
Genre
Length4:14
LabelMCA
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Tom Petty singles chronology
"Runnin' Down a Dream"
(1989)		 "Free Fallin'"
(1989)		 "A Face in the Crowd"
(1990)
Music video
"Free Fallin'" on YouTube

"Free Fallin'" is one of Petty's most famous tracks as well as his highest - and longest - charting song.[3] 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.[4] 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".[5] The song reached No. 2 on the Spotify Global Viral 50 following Petty's death in 2017.[6]

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 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.[7]

Reception

"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,[8][9] while WatchMojo considers it to be Tom Petty's best song.[10]

Personnel

Music video

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.[11]

Track listings
US 7-inch and cassette
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Free Fallin'"
4:14
2."Down the Line"
2:54
Total length:7:08
UK 7-inch
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Free Fallin'"
  • Petty
  • Lynne
4:14
2."Love Is a Long Road"
  • Petty
  • Campbell
4:06
Total length:8:20
UK 12-inch and CD
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Free Fallin'"
  • Petty
  • Lynne
4:14
2."Love Is a Long Road"
  • Petty
  • Campbell
4:06
3."Free Fallin'" (live)
  • Petty
  • Lynne
 

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[29] Gold 45,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[30] Platinum 600,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United States October 27, 1989
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • cassette
 MCA
United Kingdom November 6, 1989
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • 12-inch vinyl
  • CD
 [31]

Cover versions

References
  1. Smith, Troy L. (February 27, 2018). "250 greatest Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Songs: Part 2 (#200-151)". cleveland.com. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
  2. Goldsmith, Melissa Ursula Dawn (2019). Listen to Classic Rock! Exploring a Musical Genre. ABC-CLIO. p. 180. ISBN 978-1-4408-6579-4.
  3. Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993. Record Research. p. 188.
  4. "Topic Galleries". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on February 8, 2008.
  5. Rolling Stone, March 8, 1990
  6. "Global Viral 50". Spotify Charts. Archived from the original on October 7, 2017. Retrieved October 7, 2017.
  7. Cathy Applefeld Olson (June 7, 2017). "Tom Petty Originally Wrote 'Free Fallin'' Just to Make Jeff Lynne Laugh". Billboard. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  8. Unterberger, Andrew (October 3, 2017). "The 20 Best Tom Petty Songs". Billboard. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  9. "Tom Petty: 50 Greatest Songs". Rolling Stone. November 28, 2020. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  10. "Top 10 Tom Petty Songs".
  11. Tom Petty: Free Fallin' (Video 1989) - IMDb, retrieved August 28, 2021
  12. "ARIA Chart Watch #441". auspOp. October 7, 2017. Archived from the original on January 7, 2022. Retrieved October 7, 2017.
  13. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 6644." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
  14. "Tipparade-lijst van week 6, 1990" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
  15. "Tom Petty – Free Fallin'" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  16. "Tom Petty – Free Fallin'". Top 40 Singles.
  17. "Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 40, 2017" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
  18. "Tom Petty – Free Fallin'". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved October 11, 2017.
  19. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  20. "Tom Petty Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  21. "Tom Petty Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
  22. "Tom Petty Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard.
  23. "Tom Petty Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
  24. "Tom Petty Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
  25. "U.S. Cash Box Charts" (PDF). popmusichistory. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
  26. "Top 100 Hit Tracks of 1990". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  27. "1990 The Year in Music & Video: Top Pop Singles". Billboard. Vol. 102, no. 51. December 22, 1990. p. YE-14.
  28. "Hot Rock & Alternative Songs – Year-End 2017". Billboard. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
  29. "Danish single certifications – Tom Petty – Free Fallin'". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  30. "British single certifications – Tom Petty – Free Fallin'". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
  31. "New Singles". Music Week. November 4, 1989. p. 45.
  32. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2021 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
  33. "British single certifications – John Mayer – Free Fallin'". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  34. 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". Daily Mirror. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
  35. Kreps, Daniel (October 7, 2017). "See Coldplay, James Corden Sing Tom Petty's 'Free Fallin' at Rose Bowl". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 8, 2017.
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