"Free Fallin'" is the opening track from Tom Petty's solo debut 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. 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. The song is ranked #177 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". The song was #2 on the Spotify Global Viral 50 following the death of Petty.
Video Free Fallin'
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
Maps Free Fallin'
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.
Personnel
- Tom Petty - lead vocals, 12-string acoustic guitar
- Mike Campbell - electric guitar, 6-string acoustic guitar
- Jeff Lynne - backing vocals, bass guitar
- Phil Jones - drums
Track listings
Charts and certifications
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 14, 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.
- 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. Coldplay performed the song again in Pasadena, California with James Corden.
This song was featured as a playable track in Lego Rock Band.
References
External links
- SongFacts information page on "Free Fallin'"
- Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics
Source of the article : Wikipedia