Remembering When a Record Label Rejected a Soon-To-Be Classic Tom Petty Album in 1988

Tom Petty made the momentous decision to go solo on his 1989 album Full Moon Fever. The album was rapturously received. It earned a ton of critical love while also putting Petty in the upper echelon of the pop charts with several hit singles.

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But not everyone loved this classic record when they heard it. Petty had to put it on the shelf for a while because his own record company felt it was lacking.

Tom and Jeffrey

Tom Petty didn’t begin the process of making Full Moon Fever with the intent of making a solo album. After The Heartbreakers finished a tour with Bob Dylan in 1987, Petty returned to Los Angeles for a bit of a break from the grind. Instead, he jumped back into recording thanks to a new collaborative partner.

Back in LA, Tom Petty just happened to run into Jeff Lynne, the ELO mastermind he’d recently met for the first time in England. The two started hanging out over the holidays, joined intermittently by George Harrison and Roy Orbison. Petty gushed to Lynne about Cloud Nine, the album Jeff had recently produced for Harrison.

Soon, Lynne was helping Petty out with a song he’d started writing called “Yer So Bad”. Once they unlocked that song, Petty and Lynne collaborated on “Free Fallin’”. Working out of Heartbreaker Mike Campbell’s garage, Lynne and Petty, with Campbell on guitar and Phil Jones on percussion, started knocking out a song per day because Lynne needed to go back to England. They ended up with a batch of songs that all agreed were something special.

‘Fever’ Pitch

Tom Petty initially thought of involving the rest of the Heartbreakers. But when bassist Howie Epstein showed up and told Petty he wasn’t crazy about the new material, Tom decided he’d proceed without them. After all, the guys in the sessions were doing just fine. Even George Harrison pitched in on “I Won’t Back Down”.

With Lynne back in England, Petty and Mike Campbell finished the song “Alright For Now” without him to complete the album, or so they thought. But when they handed it in to execs at MCA, they were shocked at the response.

The label told Petty that they didn’t hear any hits on the record. This despite the fact that future smashes “I Won’t Back Down”, “Free Fallin’”, and “Runnin’ Down A Dream” were all present in finished form. A stunned Petty simply took the tape back and sat on it a while.

Second Chance

In the meantime, an impromptu session for a George Harrison B-side led to the creation of The Traveling Wilburys. Petty was joined by Harrison, Lynne, Orbison, and Bob Dylan in the group. Their debut album came out in 1988 to massive acclaim, all while Full Moon Fever waited on the shelf.

Petty beefed Full Moon Fever up to an even dozen songs by recording a cover of The Byrds’ “Feel A Whole Lot Better”. He turned it in again to the label, which, by this time, had undergone some changes at the top.

This time around, the new execs realized what they had. Better late than never, right? And, while we’re indulging in clichés, let’s add all’s well that ends well. Full Moon Fever ruled the rock music roost in 1989. One can only wonder what those who turned it down the first time thought about its success.

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