Free Fallin' Explained

"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 Stones 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]

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.^[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]

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,^{[10] [11]} while WatchMojo considers it to be Tom Petty's best song.^[12]

Personnel

• Tom Petty – lead & backing vocals, 12-string acoustic guitar
• Mike Campbell – 12-string electric guitar
• Jeff Lynne – acoustic guitar, bass, synthesizer, backing vocals
• Phil Jones – drums and tambourine

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.

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1989–2017)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)[13]	59
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40 Tipparade)[14]	11
Sweden Heatseeker (Sverigetopplistan)[15]	3
US Cash Box Top 100[16]	6

Year-end charts

Chart (1990)	Position
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[17]	39
US Billboard Hot 100[18]	64

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)
United States	October 27, 1989		MCA
United Kingdom	November 6, 1989			[20]

Cover versions

• In 1993, De La Soul and Teenage Fanclub sampled the song for "Fallin'", which appeared on the Judgment Night soundtrack.
• In 1996, Stevie Nicks covered the song for the Party of Five soundtrack. This cover was also included on her Enchanted (Stevie Nicks album) box set (Released 1998.) Nicks frequently has included the song in both her shows with Fleetwood Mac, as well as solo, since Petty’s death in 2017. The performances are often accompanied by a video tribute to Petty.
• In 2007, John Mayer played an acoustic cover of the song in a performance at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles, as a part of his 2008 live album Where the Light Is. The single was certified double platinum in Australia in 2021^[21] and Gold in the UK by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in 2022.^[22]
• In 2013, American actress & singer Katey Sagal used the song as the opening track for her studio album of cover songs titled Covered.^{[23] [24]}
• In 2017, Coldplay covered the song with Peter Buck of R.E.M. in Portland, Oregon as a tribute to Petty following his death.^[25] Coldplay performed the song again in Pasadena, California with James Corden.^[26]

External links

• SongFacts information page on "Free Fallin'"

Notes and References

1. Web site: 250 greatest Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Songs: Part 2 (#200-151). Smith. Troy L.. cleveland.com. February 27, 2018 . October 5, 2019.
2. Book: Goldsmith, Melissa Ursula Dawn. Listen to Classic Rock! Exploring a Musical Genre. 2019. ABC-CLIO. 978-1-4408-6579-4. 180.
3. Book: Harrington, Jim. Robert . Dimery . 2015 . 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die. Tom Petty - "Free Fallin'. Universe. New York. 633.
4. Book: Whitburn, Joel . Joel Whitburn . 1993 . Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993 . Record Research . 188.
5. News: Topic Galleries . Chicago Tribune . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080208104000/http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/chi-04-halftimefeb04,1,6574257.story . February 8, 2008 .
6. Rolling Stone, March 8, 1990
7. Web site: Global Viral 50 . Spotify Charts . live . https://archive.today/20171007204804/https://spotifycharts.com/viral . October 7, 2017 . October 7, 2017 .
8. Tom Petty Originally Wrote 'Free Fallin' Just to Make Jeff Lynne Laugh. Cathy Applefeld Olson. June 7, 2017. Billboard. June 7, 2017.
9. Web site: Jeff Lynne on how he helped Tom Petty make 'Free Fallin". Golsen, Tyler. 4 May 2023. 2024-01-25. Far Out.
10. The 20 Best Tom Petty Songs. Andrew. Unterberger. Billboard. October 3, 2017. May 3, 2022.
11. Tom Petty: 50 Greatest Songs. Rolling Stone. November 28, 2020. May 3, 2022.
12. Web site: Top 10 Tom Petty Songs .
13. Web site: ARIA Chart Watch #441. auspOp. October 7, 2017. October 7, 2017. January 7, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220107075835/https://www.auspop.com.au/2017/10/aria-chart-watch-441/. dead.
14. Web site: Tipparade-lijst van week 6, 1990. dutch. Dutch Top 40. March 25, 2023.
15. Web site: Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 40, 2017. sv. Sverigetopplistan. May 8, 2021.
16. Web site: U.S. Cash Box Charts. popmusichistory. March 23, 2023.
17. Top 100 Hit Tracks of 1990. RPM. Library and Archives Canada. November 26, 2017.
18. 1990 The Year in Music & Video: Top Pop Singles. Billboard. 102. 51. YE-14. December 22, 1990.
19. Hot Rock & Alternative Songs – Year-End 2017. Billboard. April 6, 2021.
20. New Singles. Music Week. 45. November 4, 1989.
21. Australia. single. 2021. 7 July 2021.
22. United Kingdom. November 19, 2022. John Mayer. Free Fallin'. 13684-2890-1. single.
23. Web site: Covered - Katey Sagal | Album | AllMusic . .
24. 'Sons of Anarchy' Star Katey Sagal Talks First Album in Nine Years . .
25. Web site: Needham. Lucy. Newman. Vicki. Shenton. Zoe. Emotional moment Coldplay audience stand in absolute silence to remember victims of Las Vegas shooting - before launching into Tom Petty tribute song. Daily Mirror. October 3, 2017. October 3, 2017.
26. Kreps. Daniel. See Coldplay, James Corden Sing Tom Petty's 'Free Fallin' at Rose Bowl. Rolling Stone. October 8, 2017. October 7, 2017. October 7, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171007231230/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/see-coldplay-james-corden-sing-tom-pettys-free-fallin-w507706. dead.