Tom Petty was a rock legend. Throughout his musical career, he made an astonishing 13 albums. Here’s my personal selection of the best Tom Petty songs.
Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around
Stevie Nicks: Bella Donna, 1981
Let’s start with probably the most popular Petty song. After Stevie Nicks finished recording her first solo album without Fleetwood Mac, she realized that she had a problem: The album didn’t have a hit single. Without a hit, her new solo career would be doomed. But luckily for her, Tom Petty and Nicks were on the same record label. Petty and Mike Campbell wrote Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around as a last-minute addition to Bella Donna. The song was a huge hit for both Nicks and Petty peaked and at #3 on the American Billboard Hot 100 chart for six consecutive weeks.
American Girl
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, 1976
American Girl was Petty’s first rock anthem. It has a brilliant chorus that you can’t help but singalong to “Oh yeah, all right, take it, easy baby, make it last all night. She was an American Girl!”
Free Fallin’
Full Moon Fever, 1989
The Waiting
Hard Promises, 1981
I Won’t Back Down
Full Moon Fever, 1989
A year after the Traveling Wilburys released their first album, Petty enlisted the help of fellow band members George Harrison and Jeff Lynne for his 1989 album, Full Moon Fever. Lynee co-produced and co-wrote several of the album’s tracks and Harrison joined for guitar and vocals on “I Won’t Back Down”. Harrison also contributed to the lyrics. The song originally contained the line, “standing on the edge of the world”. When asked to sing it, Harrison didn’t think it made sense, so he replaced it with “there ain’t no easy way out.”
“I Won’t Back Down” wasn’t originally planned to be a part of Full Moon Fever. Petty started writing it for fun while “Free Fallin'” was being mixed in the studio. At first Petty didn’t like the song, but everyone else did and eventually convinced him to record it and add it to the album. “I Won’t Back Down” ended up being the lead single from Full Moon Fever.
Don’t Come Around Here No More
Southern Accents, 1985
Breakdown
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, 1976
Breakdown was Tom Petty’s debut single with The Heartbreakers in 1976. With a smooth and soulful groove, it was very radio-friendly. As a result, the song has been in permanent rotation on rock stations around the world like Utah’s 103.5 The Arrow or Chicago’s 97.1 The Drive.
Into The Great Wide Open
Into the Great Wide Open, 1991
The music video for Into the Great Wide Open features a collection of 1990s celebrities including Johnny Depp, Gabrielle Anwar, Faye Dunaway, Matt LeBlanc, Terence Trent D’Arby, and Chynna Phillips.
Refugee
Damn The Torpedoes, 1979
Just 3 years later after Tom Petty’s debut album, he had perfected his staple rock anthem style with Refugee. From verse to verse, the song builds to a powerful climax.
I Need To Know
You’re Gonna Get It, 1978
This punchy rock song almost has a watered-down punk twist. Listen for influences from The Clash especially in the guitar parts. The tortured lyrics for I Need To Know tell the story about someone needing to know if a girl is single. “Well, the talk on the streets says you might go solo…”. And the chorus “I need to know (I need to know) / If you think you’re gonna leave then you better say so.”
Mary Jane’s Last Dance
Greatest Hits, 1993
A Woman In Love (It’s Not Me)
Hard Promises, 1981
A Woman In Love (It’s Not Me) bounces between an intense rock song and a tender ballad. It might remind you of a campfire story with its slow and quiet and bigger parts.
You Got Lucky
Long After Dark, 1982
Learning To Fly
Into The Great Wide Open, 1991
Southern Accents
Southern Accents, 1985
You Don’t Know How It Feels
Wildflowers, 1994
You Wreck Me
Wildflowers, 1994
Yer So Bad
Full Moon Fever, 1990
After decades of writing hits, you would assume that song writing came easy to Petty. But that wasn’t the case with every song, especially “Yer So Bad”. Petty struggled with the track and just couldn’t get it to work.
Then on Thanksgiving Day in 1987, Petty just happened to pull up to a red light next to Jeff Lynne (ELO) and talked until the light changed. Soon after that chance encounter, Petty and Lynne got together for their first of many collaborations and finished “Yer So Bad”. They would continue working together through the years. In 1988, they both joined the Traveling Wilburys and in 1989, Lynne co-produced Petty’s hit album, Full Moon Fever which included the hit singles “Free Fallin'”, “I Won’t Back Down”, “Runnin’ Down a Dream”, and “Yer So Bad”, all co-written by Lynne.
Listen To Her Heart
You’re Gonna Get It!, 1978
Soon after moving from Gainesville, Florida to Los Angeles, Tom Petty’s wife Jane, was invited to a party at R&B legend Ike Turner‘s house. Turner made several advances on Petty’s wife and even locked the doors to his house from the inside so no one could get out. Petty wrote the song about the experience singling out Turner as someone who has no regard for a woman’s feelings.
Cool Dry Place
Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3, 1990
“Cool Dry Place” is one of the few songs by the Traveling Wilburys that featured Tom Petty on lead vocals. The track is from their second album, Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3. The album was intentionally tiled Vol 3, even though it was their second album, on purpose. According to Jeff Lynne, it was George Harrison’s idea. He said, ‘Let’s confuse the buggers.’
Honorable Mention: Handle With Care
Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1, 1988
In 1988, Petty joined George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, and Jeff Lynne to record a song for the Jeff Daniels film Checking Out. They named the song, “Handle With Care“, after a label on a box in Bob Dylan‘s garage.
After record producers heard the song, they said it was too good to be a throw away b-side track, or even a single release, and insisted that it go on a full album. So Tom Petty, George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, and Jeff Lynne formed The Traveling Wilburys and recorded their debut album a month later.
Technically, “Handle With Care” isn’t a “Tom Petty song”. It’s more of a supergroup singalong and Petty shares lead vocals with the rest of his band mates. But the song was such a major success and part of Petty’s career that it deserves a spot of this list.
The Best Tom Petty Songs: What Are Some Of Your Favorites?
Tom Petty was a rock legend. Throughout his musical career, he made an astonishing 20 albums. 13 with The Heartbreakers, 2 with The Traveling Wilburys, 2 with Mudcrutch (his old high-school band) and 3 solo albums. That’s a lot of music. Even if you’re not a huge fan, there are at least a few Tom Petty songs on this list worth adding to your music collection.
Did I miss anything? I’m sure I did. What are some of your favorite Tom Petty songs? What do you think are his best songs? Please post a note in the comments. #RIPTomPetty
Army of Ants Take Down A Snake
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