PLAY: Free Fallin', for Tom's Birthday
Article ft music videos and a little poem
#FlashbackFriday
In honor of Tom Petty’s birthday, October 20, we’re traveling back to late 1989…
Tom Petty- Free Fallin’
It’s in the Hall of Fame of Traveling Songs ( an HOF of my creation)
Lyrics: Tom Petty/Jeff Lynne
Back then I was in the baby stages of music appreciation. Devouring music mainly from radio and MTV as most did back then, Tom and his band, The Heartbreakers, provided delectable nuggets and candy to the ears.
I believe I saw the world premiere of the music video for “Free Fallin” — or at least one of the first few airings. In those days, catching the world premiere of videos was a big hype. I was enamored by music vid debuts just as much as the cinematic movies. Eventually, FF went high on the MTV and VH1 video countdowns and went to the very top of Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart—not surprisingly. It’s a super catchy folk-pop song and the video was just… L.A. cool.
Quintessentially a breezy southern California song, the video captures the landscape of Los Angeles—lots of palm trees, sunshine and cars on freeway. Moreover, the video is a mini film study on ‘80’s Americana fashion, mall and skateboard culture. Maybe I will wax poetic about the song one day soon. It references many allusions and cultural aspects to L.A which could be further explored… Reseda, Ventura Boulevard, Mulholland Drive... There is plenty of imagery in the lyrics to delve into further- “vampires walkin' through the Valley” and all!
However, I wrote a haiku after reflecting on the fallout from Tom’s sudden death, that occurred in 2017—
The Heartbreakers
ironically left
heartbroken, indeed bereft:
Tom’s gig-less band mates
More to Watch and Hear:
Tom singing mostly lead here
Powerful soulful funk cover of FF
Cover with intriguing female intepretation, with low and high register
Rest in Peace/Power, Tom
I had been a casual fan of Tom during the latter years of last century. However, in this millennium, I came to truly appreciate several songs of his catalog, along with his unassuming nature and principled character. His (and the Heartbreakers) music remains.
Tom has a beautiful website. Check it out.
Also check out :
Tom Petty is the definition of cool!
Free Falling is very much a SoCal song. :)