Free Fallin'

"Free Fallin'"
Single by Tom Petty
from the album Full Moon Fever
Released	October 27, 1989 (1989-10-27)
Format	7" (U.S./UK), cassette (U.S.-only), 12" and CD (UK-only)
Recorded	1988
Genre	Heartland rock
Length	4:14
Label	MCA Records
Writer(s)	Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne
Producer	Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty, Mike Campbell
Tom Petty singles chronology
"Runnin' Down a Dream" (1989) "Free Fallin" (1989) "A Face in the Crowd" (1990)

"Free Fallin'" is the opening track from Tom Petty's 1989 solo album, Full Moon Fever. The song was written by Petty and his writing partner for the album, Jeff Lynne (and also features Lynne on backing vocals). 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. Petty and The Heartbreakers performed the song at the MTV Video Music Awards in 1989 with Axl Rose and at the February 2008 Super Bowl XLII Halftime Show. The song is ranked #177 on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. It was featured in the 1996 film Jerry Maguire.

Los Angeles-area references

References to the Los Angeles area appear in the lyrics of the song, including:

• "Mulholland" – a reference to Mulholland Drive, an arterial road which traverses the San Fernando Valley, in the vicinity of Bel Air and the Hollywood Hills
• Reseda – the song mentions a freeway in the backyard of the subject's house, referring to the 101 "Hollywood" freeway, which has an exit for Reseda Boulevard, in the Tarzana neighborhood of Los Angeles
• "The Valley" – the San Fernando Valley, in which Reseda is located
• Ventura Boulevard – a primary east-west thoroughfare in the San Fernando Valley

Track listings

U.S. 7" / Cassette
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Free Fallin'"	Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne	4:14
2.	"Down the Line"	Buddy Holly, Bob Montgomery, Norman Petty	2:54
Total length:			7:08

UK 7"
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Free Fallin'"	Petty, Lynne	4:14
2.	"Love Is A Long Road"	Petty, Mike Campbell	4:06
Total length:			8:20

UK 12" / CD
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Free Fallin'"	Petty, Lynne	4:14
2.	"Love Is A Long Road"	Petty, Mike Campbell	4:06
3.	"Free Fallin'" (live)	Petty, Lynne

Cover versions

• In 1991 David Tyler CKBE-FM
• In 1993 De La Soul and Teenage Fanclub sampled the song for "Fallin'" which appeared on the Judgement Night soundtrack.
• In 1996 In the film Jerry Maguire, Tom Cruise sings along in the car.
• In 1998 Stevie Nicks did a studio cover on her album Enchanted.
• 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 that aired on May 14, 1999. This version was later included on the series soundtrack which was 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.
• 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 2008 American singer-songwriter John Mayer included a live cover version on his live album/DVD Where the Light Is.
• In 2008 in Episode 119 – "Triple Threat" of Cold Case, the song was covered with the second verse replaced with "Va Pensiero" from Verdi's Nabucco, sung in Italian by Russian singer-songwriter Elena Satine.
• In 2008 the song was covered by German singer/songwriter Willer on his album The Only Way.
• 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 2009 Jonas Brothers did a cover of it at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville.
• In 2010 the alternative rock band The Almost recorded a cover for the compilation Punk Goes Classic Rock.
• 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 2012, Nick Carter performed the song on his Im Taking Off tour.

External links

• SongFacts information page on "Free Fallin'"