Full Moon Fever

This article is about the album. For other uses, see Full Moon Fever (disambiguation).
Full Moon Fever
Studio album by
Tom Petty
ReleasedApril 24, 1989
Recorded1987–88
Studio
GenreRock
Length39:58
LabelMCA
Producer
Tom Petty chronology
Let Me Up (I've Had Enough)
(1987) 		Full Moon Fever
(1989) 		Into the Great Wide Open
(1991)
Singles from Full Moon Fever
  1. "I Won't Back Down"
    Released: April 1989
  2. "Runnin' Down a Dream"
    Released: July 29, 1989
  3. "Free Fallin'"
    Released: October 27, 1989
  4. "A Face in the Crowd"
    Released: March 3, 1990
  5. "Yer So Bad"
    Released: 1990

Full Moon Fever is the debut solo studio album by American musician Tom Petty, released on April 24, 1989, by MCA Records. It features contributions from members of his band the Heartbreakers, notably Mike Campbell, as well as Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison (who died prior to its release), and George Harrison, Petty's bandmates in the Traveling Wilburys.[1][2] The record showcases Petty exploring his musical roots with nods to his influences.[3] The songwriting primarily consists of collaborations between Petty and Lynne, who was also a producer on the album. Full Moon Fever became a commercial and critical success, peaking at No. 3 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and being certified 5× platinum in the United States and 6× platinum in Canada.[4][5][6]

MCA Records under Irving Azoff originally refused to issue the album, believing it did not contain any hits. Azoff resigned within a few months and with new label management reviewing the album positively, they decided to release it.[7] In 2019, the album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.[8] Rolling Stone magazine ranked the album number 298 on its 2020 list of the "500 Greatest Albums of all Time".[9]

  1. ^ Guterman, Jimmy (May 4, 1989). "Full Moon Fever". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 26, 2009.
  2. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Full Moon Fever – Tom Petty". AllMusic. Retrieved April 26, 2009.
  3. ^ Jones, Chris (2009-01-09). "Review of Tom Petty – Full Moon Fever". BBC. Retrieved 2009-04-26.
  4. ^ "Allmusic: Full Moon Fever : Charts & Awards : Billboard Albums". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2014-03-01.
  5. ^ "RIAA Searchable Database". RIAA. Retrieved 2009-04-26.
  6. ^ "CRIA Searchable Database". CRIA. Archived from the original on 2009-04-12. Retrieved 2009-04-26.
  7. ^ "Initially Rejected By MCA, Tom Petty Issues Full Moon Fever - April 24, 1989".
  8. ^ "Grammy Hall of Fame Letter F". Grammy. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  9. ^ "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. 31 December 2023.