Black Francis wrote this song pre-Pixies -- when his was 15 years old; it was on the 1987 demo tape but never made it on either of their first two albums, 'Come On Pilgrim' or 'Surfer Rosa' as their producers thought the song didn't fit the Pixies' musical style. On an interview in 1989 with with UK's 'New Musical Express,' Francis explains that the song is "about winos and hobos traveling on the trains who die in the California Earthquake. Before earthquakes everything gets very calm, animals stop talking and birds stop chirping and there's no wind. It's very ominous."
The first single on Tom Petty's debut solo album, the song spent 33 weeks on the top of the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart and hit No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100. Petty and The Heartbreakers performed the song twice with Axl Rose: the 1989 MTV VMAs and the Super Bowl XLII Halftime Show. The hit has been covered by several artists, including John Mayer, whose acoustic cover was featured on his 2008 live album/DVD 'Where the Light Is.'
The idea of the song began while working on the 'Master of Puppets' album, but was not conceptualized until later, when their manager Cliff Bernstein told them about the 1938 anti-war book 'Johnny's Got His Gun' -- a similar concept about a WWI soldier struggling to communicate after a severe bombing accident. They featured the song on on their '...And Justice for All' album and (after receiving rights) included clips from the 1971 film (also based on the book) in their debut music video. In 1990 the song won Metallica their first Grammy for Best Metal Performance.
This was their fourth single from their album 'Rattle and Hum.' It later appeared on the 'Reality Bites' soundtrack which led to a re-release in 1994 where it reached No. 38 in the US Top 40 Mainstream charts. Check out this awesome live version from their Vertigo Tour.
What Songs from 1989 Made You Feel Fine?
Tell us what your favorite songs from 1989 are in the comments. Also be sure to check out our lists of the Top 1980 Songs and Top 1988 Songs.
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