The ‘Free Fallin’ performance that saved Tom Petty from career failure
Throughout the 1980s, Tom Petty successfully introduced his unique brand of southern rock to the public, collaborating with his band, The Heartbreakers. This musical journey also cultivated connections with iconic figures like George Harrison and Bob Dylan, ultimately contributing to his participation in The Traveling Wilburys in 1988.
As he encroached on the 1990s, Petty’s desire to craft his first solo album prompted him to adopt a tightly-knit approach. Despite lacking official recognition, most members of The Heartbreakers actively contributed to the production of Full Moon Fever. While the opening track of the album eventually became one of the defining moments in Petty’s career, there was a period when its future legacy seemed uncertain.
In fact, Petty once recounted a pivotal moment with this song – and his career – in 1988, when his label MCA rejected the Full Moon Fever album, expressing scepticism about its hit potential. Disheartened, Petty attended a dinner party at the home of Mo Ostin, the head of Warner Bros Records, with George Harrison and Jeff Lynne.
At the gathering, the group played ‘Free Fallin”, which achieved such a positive response that Ostin offered to release the album for Petty if MCA continued to refuse it. In 1989, however, a change in management at MCA led to a favourable reception of the album, and it was finally released. “Everyone who heard it knew it was a hit,” Lynne once explained, emitting a level of confidence in the song that’s easy to understand in hindsight.
Petty’s recollection of the song’s creation shows just how much the two enjoyed crafting it, with this sense of playfulness playing a significant role in the development of something truly exceptional. “Lynne and I were sitting around with the idea of writing a song, and I was playing the keyboard, and I just happened to hit on that main riff, the intro of the song,” Petty explained, “and I think Jeff said something like, ‘That’s a really good riff but there’s one chord too many’.”
He continued: “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’.”
This dynamic was the very foundation for their magic collaboration, despite the initial displeasure of the other Heartbreakers with Petty pursuing a solo venture. From Lynne’s perspective, the entire album exuded a “fresh” quality, significantly contributing to its success. “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 explained.
