Why did Tom Petty’s record label reject one of his best albums?: “I’d never had anything rejected”
Tom Petty has never had the best relationship with his record company. From the minute that he got into the industry, his signing of a bad deal led to a lawsuit with MCA Records, which included him going to court in between sessions for Damn the Torpedoes. While Petty would eventually get on better terms with some of his higher-ups, they were not that impressed with one of his biggest projects.
As the 1980s drew to a close, Petty needed a break from his time in The Heartbreakers. As The Heartbreakers approached another decade, with their esteem only gaining more and more driving force, Tom Petty cut them from his upcoming project. Instead, he unleashed his first solo project to prove that he alone was worth his weight in gold. Full Moon Fever is arguably one of the defining rock albums of the decade. The album made Petty a pop star.
Having gone through a worldwide tour and an arson attempt that almost cost him his life, Petty wanted mellow music and decided to hook up with ELO producer Jeff Lynne. While Lynne and Petty had worked together in the supergroup The Traveling Wilburys, they were having so much fun working on songs together that they decided to make an entire album.
This would be the first project that Petty made outside of The Heartbreakers, featuring mainly himself, Lynne, and guitarist Mike Campbell to get most of the songs done. The musician-turned-producer had an affinity with Petty’s sound that always managed to add gloss without cheapening it. Lyrically, it is one of Petty’s finest works and was another note of commendation for Petty’s growing iconography. As the trio helmed songs like ‘Runnin’ Down a Dream’ and ‘Free Fallin’ in the studio, Petty went to his label bosses and was greeted with silence.
On first listen, the label wanted nothing to do with a solo Tom Petty album, thinking that it was far too mellow to appeal to the general public. Petty mentioned feeling shaken by his first rejection, telling Esquire, “I was pretty far along in my career at that point. I’d never had anything rejected; I’d never really even had a comment. So when that happened, it was really just a board to the forehead”.
The label wasn’t the only one confused about the new direction. Many of the Heartbreakers had the opportunity to work on the new album but chose not to because they couldn’t click with the vibe of the entire record. Bassist Howie Epstein turned down the chance to play on ‘Free Fallin’, and drummer Stan Lynch was more than happy not to get a call, saying in Runnin Down a Dream, “there was acually more than a few songs on that album that I just didn’t like”.
Petty held firm to his guns, though, going on to say, “I said, ‘I’m not buying this, there’s nothing wrong, I really like this record.’ And then I waited awhile until the top regime at the record company changed. And I came back, and I played them the same record, and they were overjoyed. It turned out to be a huge hit.”
It didn’t take long for the public to warm up to the record, though, with tunes like ‘I Won’t Back Down’ and ‘Free Fallin” becoming massive radio hits and giving Petty’s career a second wind. While Petty’s confidence may have been shaken, it didn’t take long for him to start moving along to other record companies. Despite making one more album with Lynne on Into the Great Wide Open, Petty quickly shifted over to Warner Bros for the album Wildflowers, which became one of the highlights of his career as a solo star.
The record may have divided some of the band, but it made Petty a bona fide star. With this new record, he was able to deliver a new vision of himself and become an icon.
