Jeff Lynne on how he helped Tom Petty make ‘Free Fallin”
It didn’t seem like Tom Petty could lose in 1989. For more than a decade, Petty had brought his unique brand of southern rock to the masses with his group, The Heartbreakers. In the process, he was able to make friends with George Harrison and Bob Dylan, paving the way for his inclusion in The Traveling Wilburys in 1988.
When Petty decided that he wanted to record his solo debut at the end of the decade, he kept things mostly in-house. Although they weren’t credited, most of The Heartbreakers contributed to the recording of Full Moon Fever. The real ringer was behind the mixing board: Jeff Lynne, Petty’s Wilburys bandmate and former leader of Electric Light Orchestra.
When Lynne recalled the experience to Rolling Stone, he made it seem as though it was completely natural. “I met Tom in England, and then I saw him again at some streetlight in Los Angeles. He said, ‘Jeff, pull over.’ I did, and he said, ‘I just listened to George’s album. What about coming over and writing some tunes together?’ I said, ‘I’d love to.'”
“Probably the second song we wrote was ‘Free Fallin”. I got the chords to it, and we both fleshed out the chorus,” Lynne claimed. “It was like ‘Evil Woman’ in that we got a repetitive chord sequence, and then the melody turns into a chorus. Everyone who heard it knew it was a hit, and the next song we did was ‘I Won’t Back Down’.”
Lynne co-produced the album with Petty and Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell. Petty and Campbell were traditionally writing and recording partners, but the pair only wrote ‘Love is a Long Road’ and ‘Runnin’ Down a Dream’ for Full Moon Fever. As Lynne found out, The Heartbreakers weren’t too pleased with Petty wanting to go solo.
“It was Tom’s first solo album, and I didn’t realise it would be such a big thing for the band, Tom going off on his own,” Lynne admitted. “I ended up doing most of the stuff, playing the keyboard and the bass and telling the drummer what to play. Mike [Campbell] was there, but I found out afterwards it was a problem for the other guys. The thing is, he got a great record out of it. It’s still my favourite record that I ever made with anybody. I love it. It’s so simple and fresh, and it’s got no bullshit.”
