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"Love Is a Long Road"
Song by Tom Petty
from the album Full Moon Fever
A-side" Free Fallin'" (UK)
Released1989 (1989)
Recorded1987–1988
Genre
Length4:07
Label MCA
Songwriter(s)
  • Tom Petty
  • Mike Campbell
Producer(s)

"Love Is a Long Road" is a song by Tom Petty from his 1989 first solo album Full Moon Fever. Although only released as the B-side to " Free Fallin'" in the UK, and not released as a stand-alone single, it received a fair amount of radio airplay. In the U.S., it peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart. [4] [5]

Background

The rock song was co-written by guitarist Mike Campbell, who was inspired by a motorcycle he owned. The musician told "I was really into that frame of mind. This feels like a motorcycle shifting gears." [2] "Love Is a Long Road" appears on the 2000 double-disc compilation album Anthology: Through the Years, as well as on the 1995 box set Playback. [1]

Critical reception

Another one of Petty's late-1980s songs which looks back at a fractured romance, AllMusic describes the song as sounding like a stripped-down version of the Who's classics " Baba O'Riley" and " Won't Get Fooled Again", and one of the most powerful rockers on the album. [1] Rolling Stone ranked the song at No. 38 in a list of Petty's 50 greatest songs. [2]

Media usage

In 2023, the song was used in the first trailer for the video game Grand Theft Auto VI. [6] It led to a 36,979% increase in streams on Spotify, skyrocketing from less than 5 million to nearly 40 million streams within a span of a few months. [7] [8]

Charts

1989 chart performance for "Love Is a Long Road"
Chart (1989) Peak
position
US Album Rock Tracks ( Billboard) [9] 7
2023 chart performance for "Love Is a Long Road"
Chart (2023) Peak
position
US Rock Digital Song Sales ( Billboard) [10] 7

References

  1. ^ a b c "Love Is a Long Road by Tom Petty - Track Info". AllMusic.
  2. ^ a b c Weingarten, Christopher R.; Dolan, Jon; Cummings, Corinne; Murray, Nick; Grow, Kory; Greene, Andy; Hermes, Will; Sheffield, Rob (November 28, 2020). "Tom Petty's 50 Greatest Songs". Rolling Stone.
  3. ^ "Full Moon Fever by Tom Petty". Classic Rock Review. April 29, 2014.
  4. ^ "Tom Petty Songs ••• Top Songs / Chart Singles Discography". musicvf.com. Archived from the original on February 6, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  5. ^ Rutherford, Kevin (October 3, 2017). "All of Tom Petty's Record 28 Mainstream Rock Songs Top 10s". Billboard. Archived from the original on February 6, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  6. ^ Myers, Maddy (December 4, 2023). "Grand Theft Auto 6 trailer brings back a 1989 Tom Petty song". Polygon. Archived from the original on December 5, 2023. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  7. ^ Dinsdale, Ryan (December 6, 2023). "GTA 6 Trailer Has Already Surpassed Grand Theft Auto 5's Reveal With More Than 100 Million Views". IGN. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
  8. ^ Wolen, Joshua (December 6, 2023). "Spotify registers ridiculous increase in Tom Petty streams as GTA 6 trailer drives everyone dad rock mad". PC Gamer. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
  9. ^ "Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Chart History: Mainstream Rock Airplay". Billboard. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  10. ^ "Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Chart History: Rock Digital Song Sales". Billboard. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
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