Tom Petty Apparently Stopped Liking This Huge 1989 Hit Because Everyone Else Did

Tom Petty spent more than 40 years releasing songs. Although his list of hits is vast, few Petty songs are as well known as “Free Fallin’”. Out in 1989 on his Full Moon Fever record, “Free Fallin’” was written by Petty and Jeff Lynne.

“Free Fallin’” says in part, “And I’m a bad boy, ’cause I don’t even miss her / I’m a bad boy for breakin’ her heart / And I’m free, free fallin’ / Yeah I’m free, free fallin’.“

Petty later admits that “Free Fallin’” is one of his better songs. In fact, it’s because it’s so good that it stopped being one of his favorites.

“’Free Fallin’’ is a very good song,” Petty tells Esquire. “Maybe it would be one of my favorites if it hadn’t become this huge anthem. But I’m grateful that people like it.”

Surprisingly, Petty’s record label initially turned down Full Moon Fever, a devastating blow for him.

“I was hurt so bad. I was pretty far along in my career at that point. I’d never had anything rejected,” Petty recalls. But in true Petty fashion, he held onto the record. When the top people at his record company changed, he took Full Moon Fever back to them again.

“I came back, and I played them the same record, and they were overjoyed,” Petty says. “It turned out to be a huge hit.”

Full Moon Fever is Petty’s first solo album after previously releasing music as Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers.

The Story Behind “Free Fallin’” by Tom Petty

Petty knew even before “Free Fallin’” was finished that it was going to be a special song.

“I was playing the keyboard, and I just happened to hit on that main riff, the intro of the song,” Petty recalls to Billboard. “And I think Jeff said something like, ‘That’s a really good riff, but there’s one chord too many,’ so I think I cut it back a chord. And then, really just to amuse Jeff, honestly, I just sang that first verse. Then he starts laughing. Honestly, I thought I was just amusing Jeff. But then I got to the chorus of the song, and he leaned over to me and said the word, ‘freefalling.’”

The two worked out how to sing the phrase, with Petty raising his voice “an octave or two”. Still, they were unable to get the desired sound until Petty added the word “free” first, ahead of “free fallin’.”

“We both knew at that moment that I’d hit on something pretty good,” Petty says. “It was that fast. He had to go somewhere, and I wrote the last verse and kind of just polished the rest of the song. And when I saw him the next day, I played him the song, and he was like, ‘Wow, you did that last night?’”

Photo by Vinnie Zuffante/Getty Images

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