Artist:Tom Petty
Song:Free Fallin'
Album:Anthology: Through the Years
Of course Tom Petty is best known as lead singer of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. They were very successful in the 80s. But his biggest hit was the 1989 single Free Fallin' from Petty's debut solo album Full Moon Fever. What's the difference between a Heartbreakers and a Tom Petty solo album? Not much but I will attempt to explain it. In the 70s, Petty was lead singer of the unsuccessful band Mudcrutch. When they split up, Petty started a new band with Mudcrutch guitarist Mike Campbell. Meanwhile, Mudcrutch pianist Benmont Tench started his own band. The two bands merged and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers was born. They had success in the 80s on MCA Records mostly as an album and touring band. Some of their singles charted but they only had one top ten hit in this period. Then Petty was a member of the supergroup Traveling Wilburys with George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison and Jeff Lynne of ELO. While working with the Wilburys, Petty and Lynne started writing songs together and recorded the album Full Moon Fever. Lynne also played keyboards. Heartbreakers Mike Campbell played guitar and Phil Jones played drums. Lynne, Petty and Campbell produced. Free Fallin' reached #7 on the Billboard Hot 100. It is Petty's biggest hit. The album was certified 5X Platinum. It was Petty's biggest selling album in his career. Lynne came up with the title and Petty wrote the lyrics about his frequent drives on Ventura Blvd. in Los Angeles. The only difference in this solo album is Jeff Lynne. Up until this, Heartbreakers albums were produced by Petty and Campbell. And the two continued to work with Lynne on Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers albums. Some in the band were upset that Petty recorded solo and MCA Records president Irving Azoff hated the album so much that he wasn't going to release. Once he quit, everything was OK. But the music was the same and Petty never planned to end the band. You can get all of Petty's hits on this 2CD comp. Petty moved to Warner Bros. in 1994 and worked with producer Rick Rubin. Petty didn't have the same success at Warners. He continued to tour. and after his 40th anniversary tour ended at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, Tom Petty died of a heart attack on Oct. 1, 2017 at age 66. Here's the video for Free Fallin' by Tom Petty.
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