Runnin' Down a Dream
| "Runnin' Down a Dream" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by Tom Petty | ||||
| from the album Full Moon Fever | ||||
| A-side | Runnin' Down a Dream | |||
| B-side | Alright For Now Down the Line (12" & CD only) |
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| Released | July 29, 1989 | |||
| Format | 7", cassette, 12" & CD (UK only) |
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| Recorded | 1988 | |||
| Genre | Heartland rock | |||
| Length | 4:25 | |||
| Label | MCA | |||
| Writer(s) | Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne, Mike Campbell | |||
| Producer | Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty, Mike Campbell | |||
| Tom Petty singles chronology | ||||
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"Runnin' Down a Dream" is the title of a song co-written and recorded by Tom Petty. It was released in July 1989 as the second single from his first solo album Full Moon Fever. "Runnin' Down a Dream" achieved reasonable chart success, reaching number 23 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and the top of the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart.[1] It has since garnered significant airplay on classic rock stations, and lent its name to the 2007 documentary on Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.
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[edit] History
The song was full of various influences, including those of the Heartbreakers, as it was co-written by Mike Campbell, along with Petty and Jeff Lynne. It was also a nod to Petty's musical roots, with the lyric me and Del were singin' "Little Runaway" making reference to Del Shannon and "Runaway". "Runnin'" was the thematic and musical inverse to the same album's "Free Fallin'", motion in kind but direction in difference. The main riff was propulsive, overdubbing itself in a battle of acoustic guitar against snare drum with fuzz guitar laced underneath and with vocal "ooh-oooh"s interspersed.
[edit] Music video
The music video for "Runnin'", directed by Jim Lenahan, featured animation, based on several episodes of the classic comic strip Little Nemo in Slumberland by Winsor McCay, featuring a drawing style reminiscent of McCay's and showing Petty and a character who resembles Flip travelling through Slumberland.
[edit] In popular culture
It was used on the soundtrack for the videogame Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and was the official theme song of the 2006 NBA Finals as well as the 2008 NBA Finals. The song was also used by ABC in the 2010 NBA Finals when the presentation of the game reached the end of the third quarter and was phased out into a commercial break. The song is playable in Guitar Hero 5 and was released as downloadable content for Rock Band 2.[2] It closed Petty and the Heartbreakers' performance at the February 2008 Super Bowl XLII Halftime Show,[3] encoda'ed with a long Mike Campbell guitar solo.[3] It was also used in promotional segments of the 2008 MLB World Series. In 2011, the song was included in Tom Hanks's film Larry Crowne and on its soundtrack.[4]
[edit] Cover versions
Horror punk/metal artist Wednesday 13 covered the song on his Bloodwork EP.
[edit] Charts
| Chart (1989) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Album Rock Tracks | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 23 |
| Canadian RPM Top Singles | 23 |
| UK Singles Chart | 55 |
[edit] References
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits. 8th Edition (Billboard Publications), page 490.
- ^ Vince Darcangelo (2006-06-22). "B-ball blues". Boulder Weekly. http://archive.boulderweekly.com/062206/highdecibel.html. Retrieved 2008-03-02.
- ^ a b Ann Donahue (2008-02-03). "Super Bowl XLII Halftime Recap". Adweek. http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/news/media/e3i282efa25a99dbc22e2d2652610aaecdc?imw=Y. Retrieved 2008-03-02.
- ^ "iTunes Store". http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/larry-crowne-music-from-motion/id444765719. Retrieved July 5, 2011.
