Love Is a Long Road (song) explained
"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 , 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.[6] [7] 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.[8] 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.[9] [10]
Charts
Notes and References
- Web site: Love Is a Long Road by Tom Petty - Track Info . AllMusic.
- Web site: Tom Petty's 50 Greatest Songs . Christopher R. . Weingarten . Jon . Dolan . Corinne . Cummings . Nick . Murray . Kory . Grow . Andy . Greene . Will . Hermes . Rob . Sheffield . November 28, 2020 . Rolling Stone.
- Book: Vladimir. Bogdanov. Chris. Woodstra. Stephen Thomas. Erlewine. All Music Guide: The Definitive Guide to Popular Music. 2001. Backbeat Books/All Media Guide. 978-0-87930-627-4. 304.
- Web site: Tom Petty Songs ••• Top Songs / Chart Singles Discography . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230206114617/https://www.musicvf.com/Tom+Petty.art . February 6, 2023 . December 6, 2023 . musicvf.com.
- Web site: Rutherford . Kevin . October 3, 2017 . All of Tom Petty’s Record 28 Mainstream Rock Songs Top 10s . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230206121810/https://www.billboard.com/pro/tom-petty-mainstream-rock-songs-top-10s-list-hits/ . February 6, 2023 . December 6, 2023 . Billboard.
- Web site: Love Is a Long Road by Tom Petty - Track Info . AllMusic.
- Web site: Tom Petty's 50 Greatest Songs . Christopher R. . Weingarten . Jon . Dolan . Corinne . Cummings . Nick . Murray . Kory . Grow . Andy . Greene . Will . Hermes . Rob . Sheffield . November 28, 2020 . Rolling Stone.
- Web site: Myers . Maddy . December 4, 2023 . Grand Theft Auto 6 trailer brings back a 1989 Tom Petty song . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20231205060521/https://www.polygon.com/23988499/gta-grand-theft-auto-6-trailer-song-tom-petty-love-is-a-long-road . December 5, 2023 . December 5, 2023 . Polygon . en-US.
- Web site: GTA 6 Trailer Has Already Surpassed Grand Theft Auto 5’s Reveal With More Than 100 Million Views. Dinsdale. Ryan. December 6, 2023. December 9, 2023. IGN.
- Web site: Spotify registers ridiculous increase in Tom Petty streams as GTA 6 trailer drives everyone dad rock mad. Wolen. Joshua. December 6, 2023. December 9, 2023. PC Gamer.
- Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Chart History: Mainstream Rock Airplay. Billboard. December 5, 2023.
- Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Chart History: Rock Digital Song Sales. Billboard. December 13, 2023.
