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Song · Tom Petty

“Free Fallin'” by Tom Petty

“Free Fallin'” by Tom Petty appears on 116 radio countdowns from 39 stations between 1989 and 2026. Its best result is #10 on the 99.1 PLR Top 400 of the Last 40 Years (2024). In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #104 alternative song of 1989 and #3,459 alternative song of all time.

116countdowns
39stations
#10best position
0#1 finishes
1top 10 finishes
1989–2026years charted

Watch

Tom Petty - Free Fallin'

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

"Free Fallin'" opens Full Moon Fever, Tom Petty's 1989 debut solo album, and it was the first song finished for it: Petty and his writing partner on the record, Jeff Lynne, wrote it and cut it in two days flat. Petty wrote the words, the two of them built the music, and Lynne sings backing vocals and plays the bass.

It became the highest-charting and longest-charting song of Petty's career, reaching No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1990, his third and last top-10 hit, with No. 5 in Canada and No. 4 in New Zealand besides. Lou Reed named it one of his picks of 1989, and Petty and the Heartbreakers played it at that year's MTV Video Music Awards with Axl Rose and Izzy Stradlin alongside.

It never went away. Rolling Stone ranked it No. 219 among the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, the band played it at the Super Bowl XLII halftime show in February 2008, and after Petty's death in 2017 it climbed to No. 2 on Spotify's Global Viral 50.

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

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

Classic Rock

Hard Rock & Metal

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1989 33 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 1989 90

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1991 885 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (1991 Edition) 1002
1991 95 WNEW-FM WNEW Firecracker 500 (1991) 500
1996 411 WNEW-FM WNEW Firecracker 500 (1996) 500
1997 145 100.7 WZLX WZLX Memorial 500 (1997) 499
1997 381 102.3 WBAB WBAB Top 1,023 Rock and Roll Songs of All Time (1997) 1023
1998 756 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1998) 1000
1999 779 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1999) 998
2001 1121 WFPK WFPK 2001 Greatest Songs of All Time 2000
2001 56 KISW KISW Top 99 Rock Songs (2001) 99
2002 281 100.7 WZLX WZLX Memorial 500 (2002) 500
2002 119 92.3 KGON KGON Top 923 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2002) 923
2004 475 WXPN WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2004) 885
2004 118 92.3 KGON KGON Top 923 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2004) 923
2005 113 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 500
2006 150 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2006) 500
2007 334 WTMD WTMD Top 897 Songs of All Time 897
2009 722 WYEP WYEP 913 Essential Songs 913
2010 80 WXPN WXPN 885 Ultimate Road Trip Songs (2010) 885
2011 398 97.9 The Loop The Loop Rock N Roll 500 (2011) 500
2011 124 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1100 Countdown (2011) 1100
2012 248 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2012) 500
2012 150 WYEP WYEP Top 500 Songs Countdown 500
2012 125 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1200 Countdown (2012) 1200
2012 222 WXPN WXPN 885 Greatest Rock Songs (2012) 885
2013 333 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR CT 500 (2013) 500
2013 70 Big 100 BIG 500 Labor Day Countdown (2013) 500
2013 98 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2013) 500
2013 104 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 500 (2013) 500
2013 524 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Grand Jam 1000 (2013) 1000
2014 338 WXPN WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2014) 885
2014 105 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX 1K Countdown (2014) 1000
2014 557 Big 100 BIG 1000 New Year's Countdown (2014) 1000
2015 389 102.9 The Whale 102.9 The Whale Hartford 500 (2015) 500
2015 525 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Classic Rock Countdown (2015) 1007
2015 436 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 500 (2015) 499
2015 69 I-95 I-95 Memorial Day Weekend Top 500 (2015) 500
2016 45 102.9 The Whale 102.9 The Whale Hartford 500 (2016) 500
2016 241 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Countdown for 2016 1007
2016 58 103.5 The Fox The Fox Memorial Day 500 (2016) 299
2016 104 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2016) 500
2016 54 Qfm96 Qfm96 Memorial Day 500 (2016) 500
2017 24 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2017) 500
2017 25 97.9 The Loop 97.9 The Loop Top 540 Countdown (2017) 540
2017 113 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2017) 500
2018 97 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2018) 500
2018 435 The Current The Current's 893 Essential Songs 892
2018 15 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2018) 500
2019 12 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2019) 500
2019 80 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2019) 500
2019 74 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ 500 (2019) 500
2019 40 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2019) 499
2019 135 102.5 KZOK KZOK Top 1025 of 2019 1025
2019 22 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2019) 500
2020 74 102.5 KZOK KZOK Classic Rock Top 1025 (2020) 1025
2020 17 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2020) 500
2020 111 Q105.7 Q105.7 Memorial Day 500 (2020) 499
2020 456 WXPN WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time 2020
2020 23 97.1 The River River 500 (2020) 47
2020 77 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2020) 500
2020 31 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ 500 (2020) 500
2021 27 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '80s 909
2021 131 WCSX WCSX Rock & Roll 500 (2021) 499
2021 125 100.7 KSLX KSLX Arizona 500 (2021) 499
2021 206 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2021) 1043
2021 194 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2021) 500
2021 29 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2021) 500
2021 46 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ 500 (2021) 500
2022 15 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2022) 500
2022 13 102.5 KZOK KZOK Classic Rock Top 1025 (2022) 1025
2022 60 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2022) 500
2022 404 WMGK WMGK Philly 500 (2022) 500
2022 47 100.7 KSLX KSLX Arizona 500 (2022) 500
2022 50 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2022) 1043
2022 19 97.1 The River River 500 (2022) 500
2022 35 94.1 KRNA KRNA Memorial Day 500 (2022) 500
2022 142 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2022) 500
2022 14 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2022) 500
2023 127 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 850 Songs of the 1980s 850
2023 191 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2023) 500
2023 92 Qfm96 Qfm96 Memorial Day 500 (2023) 500
2023 79 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2023) 500
2023 28 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2023) 500
2023 736 WYEP WYEP Countdown to Fall 2023 1229
2023 171 WMGK WMGK Philly 500 (2023) 500
2023 36 101.5 WPDH WPDH Top 1015 (2023) 1015
2023 245 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of All Time 909
2023 71 97.1 The Drive 97.1 The Drive Memorial Day Weekend Rock N Roll 500 (2023) 500
2023 140 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2023) 1043
2023 129 KSHE 95 KSHE 95 Rock N' Roll 500 (2023) 500
2023 654 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 800 Songs About Places 800
2024 68 KSHE 95 KSHE 95 Rock N' Roll 500 (2024) 500
2024 50 WYEP WYEP Best Songs of the Past 50 Years 1049
2024 50 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2024) 500
2024 10 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Top 400 of the Last 40 Years (2024) 400
2024 64 KQRS KQRS KQ 500 (2024) 499
2024 96 Qfm96 Qfm96 Memorial Day 500 (2024) 498
2024 12 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2024) 500
2024 42 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2024) 499
2024 99 WMGK WMGK Philly 500 (2024) 500
2024 152 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2024) 1043
2024 147 KEXP The Best Opening Tracks of All Time 738
2025 202 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2025) 1043
2025 161 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2025) 500
2025 24 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Top 400 of the Last 40 Years (2025) 400
2025 95 Qfm96 Qfm96 Memorial Day 500 (2025) 498
2025 30 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2025) 500
2025 59 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2025) 500
2025 162 WMGK WMGK Philly 500 (2025) 500
2026 24 WFPK WFPK Top 500 Songs of the '80s 498
2026 117 KSHE 95 KSHE 95 U-Man 500 (2026) 499
2026 364 KXT KXT 917 Song Countdown 917
2026 104 WYEP WYEP Greatest Songs of All Time 1180
2026 24 100.7 KSLX KSLX Arizona 500 (2026) 500
2026 12 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2026) 500
2026 251 WMGK WMGK Philly 500 (2026) 500

Also listed as: Free Falling; Free Fallin.

Charting alongside it in 1989

Best songs of 1989 →
  1. 1Love SongThe Cure
  2. 2StandR.E.M.
  3. 3Here Comes Your ManThe Pixies
  4. 4She Drives Me CrazyFine Young Cannibals
  5. 5Love ShackThe B-52's
  6. 6Personal JesusDepeche Mode

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