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Song · Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

“The Waiting” by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

“The Waiting” by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers appears on 82 radio countdowns from 29 stations between 1981 and 2026. Its best result is #14 on the KISW 25 Biggest Rock Songs from 1981. In the combined RockLists rankings it is #2,112 indie & aaa song of all time and #181 of the '80s.

82countdowns
29stations
#14best position
0#1 finishes
0top 10 finishes
1981–2026years charted

Watch

Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers - The Waiting (Official Music Video)

Video from YouTube (TomPettyVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"The Waiting" was the first single from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' 1981 album Hard Promises, produced by Jimmy Iovine for Backstreet Records, and its title came from a line Petty only half remembered. He credited Janis Joplin, who once said that apart from being onstage, life on tour was all waiting; Roger McGuinn swore Petty got it from him, and Petty wasn't so sure.

It's a chiming, bittersweet rush, and Record World singled out Petty's vocal and guitars that ring and jangle and soar. The song sat on top of Billboard's brand-new Rock Tracks chart for six straight weeks that summer and reached 19 on the Hot 100, and in 1993 it came back around as the B-side of "Mary Jane's Last Dance".

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Indie & Adult Alternative

Classic Rock

Hard Rock & Metal

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1981 14 KISW Seattle-Tacoma, WA KISW 25 Biggest Rock Songs from 1981 25

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1982 312 95.5 KLOS KLOS Memorial Day 500 (1982) 499
1997 450 100.7 WZLX WZLX Memorial 500 (1997) 499
1997 760 102.3 WBAB WBAB Top 1,023 Rock and Roll Songs of All Time (1997) 1023
1999 990 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1999) 998
2001 1239 WFPK WFPK 2001 Greatest Songs of All Time 2000
2002 431 100.7 WZLX WZLX Memorial 500 (2002) 500
2002 209 92.3 KGON KGON Top 923 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2002) 923
2004 208 92.3 KGON KGON Top 923 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2004) 923
2011 331 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1100 Countdown (2011) 1100
2011 257 97.9 The Loop The Loop Rock N Roll 500 (2011) 500
2012 148 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2012) 500
2012 333 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1200 Countdown (2012) 1200
2013 204 Big 100 BIG 500 Labor Day Countdown (2013) 500
2013 251 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 500 (2013) 500
2013 79 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2013) 500
2013 64 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Grand Jam 1000 (2013) 1000
2014 364 Big 100 BIG 1000 New Year's Countdown (2014) 1000
2014 234 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 400 (2014) 400
2014 278 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX 1K Countdown (2014) 1000
2015 64 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Classic Rock Countdown (2015) 1007
2015 306 I-95 I-95 Memorial Day Weekend Top 500 (2015) 500
2015 210 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 500 (2015) 499
2016 347 102.9 The Whale 102.9 The Whale Hartford 500 (2016) 500
2016 286 Qfm96 Qfm96 Memorial Day 500 (2016) 500
2016 283 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Countdown for 2016 1007
2016 84 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2016) 500
2017 502 97.9 The Loop 97.9 The Loop Top 540 Countdown (2017) 540
2017 426 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2017) 500
2017 90 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2017) 500
2018 284 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2018) 500
2018 113 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2018) 500
2019 415 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2019) 500
2019 390 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2019) 499
2019 31 102.5 KZOK KZOK Top 1025 of 2019 1025
2019 352 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ 500 (2019) 500
2019 269 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2019) 500
2019 220 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2019) 500
2020 466 WXPN WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time 2020
2020 413 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2020) 500
2020 344 102.5 KZOK KZOK Classic Rock Top 1025 (2020) 1025
2020 241 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2020) 500
2020 282 Q105.7 Q105.7 Memorial Day 500 (2020) 499
2021 137 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '80s 909
2021 411 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2021) 1043
2021 358 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2021) 500
2021 278 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2021) 500
2021 489 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ 500 (2021) 500
2021 437 100.7 KSLX KSLX Arizona 500 (2021) 499
2021 485 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2021) 500
2022 335 100.7 KSLX KSLX Arizona 500 (2022) 500
2022 177 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2022) 500
2022 220 WMGK WMGK Philly 500 (2022) 500
2022 323 94.1 KRNA KRNA Memorial Day 500 (2022) 500
2022 168 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2022) 500
2022 251 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2022) 1043
2022 118 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2022) 500
2022 272 102.5 KZOK KZOK Classic Rock Top 1025 (2022) 1025
2022 278 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2022) 500
2022 472 97.1 The River River 500 (2022) 500
2023 234 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 850 Songs of the 1980s 850
2023 204 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2023) 500
2023 337 WMGK WMGK Philly 500 (2023) 500
2023 754 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of All Time 909
2023 167 97.1 The Drive 97.1 The Drive Memorial Day Weekend Rock N Roll 500 (2023) 500
2023 323 101.5 WPDH WPDH Top 1015 (2023) 1015
2023 252 KSHE 95 KSHE 95 Rock N' Roll 500 (2023) 500
2023 183 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2023) 500
2023 812 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2023) 1043
2024 181 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2024) 499
2024 256 KQRS KQRS KQ 500 (2024) 499
2024 366 KSHE 95 KSHE 95 Rock N' Roll 500 (2024) 500
2024 421 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2024) 500
2024 537 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2024) 1043
2025 330 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2025) 1043
2025 280 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2025) 500
2025 221 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2025) 500
2025 729 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 800 Mood Booster Songs 800
2026 438 WFPK WFPK Top 500 Songs of the '80s 498
2026 196 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2026) 500
2026 329 100.7 KSLX KSLX Arizona 500 (2026) 500
2026 431 WMGK WMGK Philly 500 (2026) 500

Charting alongside it in 1981

Best songs of 1981 →
  1. 1Start Me UpThe Rolling Stones
  2. 2Tom SawyerRush
  3. 3I Love Rock-N-RollJoan Jett
  4. 4Every Little Thing She Does Is MagicThe Police
  5. 5Jukebox HeroForeigner
  6. 6For Those About to RockAC/DC

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