music.wikisort.org - Composition

"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'"
Single by Tom Petty
from the album Full Moon Fever
B-side	"Down the Line" "Love Is a Long Road" "Free Fallin'" (live)
Released	October 27, 1989 (1989-10-27)
Genre	Heartland rock[1][2] folk rock[2]
Length	4:14
Label	MCA
Songwriter(s)	Tom Petty Jeff Lynne
Producer(s)	Jeff Lynne Tom Petty Mike Campbell
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.[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 was #2 on the Spotify Global Viral 50 following the death of Petty.[6]

Los Angeles-area references

The song's lyrics make references to the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, including:

• 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
• "The Valley" – a colloquial name for the San Fernando Valley
• Ventura Boulevard – a primary east-west thoroughfare that runs along the southern border of 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 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]

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 was 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.[10]

Track listings

Charts and certifications

Release history

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

Cover versions

• In 1993, De La Soul and Teenage Fanclub sampled the song for "Fallin'", which appeared on the Judgment Night soundtrack.
• 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.[28]
• In 2017, Coldplay covered the song with Peter Buck of R.E.M. in Portland, Oregon as a tribute to Petty following his death.[29] Coldplay performed the song again in Pasadena, California with James Corden.[30]

References

External links

• SongFacts information page on "Free Fallin'"
• John Mayer - Free Fallin' (Live at the Nokia Theatre) on YouTube

На других языках

---

- [en] Free Fallin'

---

[ru] Free Fallin’

«Free Fallin’» — песня американского певца и музыканта Тома Петти. Была написана им в соавторстве с Джеффом Линном. Это был первый трек дебютного сольного альбома Тома Петти Full Moon Fever, появившегося на свет в 1989 году. Кроме того, в октябре того же года песня вышла отдельным синглом. (Это был третий сингл с вышеназванного альбома, после «I Won’t Back Down» и «Runnin’ Down a Dream».)

---

---