DISCovery with Eric Senich

Episode 75 | Tom Petty 'Full Moon Fever'


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Before the April 24th, 1989 release of ‘Full Moon Fever’, Tom Petty was coming off of a pretty rough period in his life both professionally and personally. His last album with the Heartbreakers ‘Let Me Up (I’ve Had Enough)’ didn’t live up to its expectations and his record label wasn’t happy.

But that paled in comparison to what Tom had to deal with in the spring of 1987. On May 17th of that year Tom and his family were sitting down to breakfast that morning when they began to smell smoke. Within moments, Petty's Encino, Calif., home was engulfed in flames. He got his wife and 5-year-old daughter out safely, but the fire burned through the house quickly. The only room that survived was his basement studio.

The Pettys had lost nearly everything. He lost an estimated $1 million dollars damages. It was devastating but not the last of the bad news. This was no accident. According to a report, an arsonist had drenched the house's back staircase in lighter fluid.
But Tom wasn’t ready to give up yet and he had some very loyal and talented friends who would be right by his side, in the studio the whole way.

By July of 1989, Tom Petty was not only back on top, he was bigger than he’d ever been and it all came thanks to the album we’re about to discover – ‘Full Moon Fever’.

SIDE ONE:
1. "Free Fallin'"
2. "I Won't Back Down"
3. "Love Is a Long Road"
4. "A Face in the Crowd"
5. "Runnin' Down a Dream"

SIDE TWO:
1. "Feel a Whole Lot Better"
2. "Yer So Bad"
3. "Depending on You"
4. "The Apartment Song"
5. "Alright for Now"
6. "A Mind with a Heart of Its Own"
7. "Zombie Zoo"

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The DISCovery theme song "Woo Hoo" by Reebosound (https://reebosound.bandcamp.com)

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DISCovery with Eric SenichBy Eric Senich