Into the Great Wide Open (song)
"Into the Great Wide Open" | ||||
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Single by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers | ||||
from the album Into the Great Wide Open | ||||
B-side | "Makin' Some Noise" | |||
Released | September 9, 1991[1] | |||
Genre | Rock | |||
Length |
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Label | MCA | |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) |
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Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"Into the Great Wide Open" on YouTube |
"Into the Great Wide Open" is a song by American rock band
Music video
This section needs additional citations for verification. (September 2017) |
The music video for the single, directed by Julien Temple,[2] stars Johnny Depp as the protagonist, Eddie Rebel, as well as Gabrielle Anwar as Eddie's girlfriend and Faye Dunaway as his manager, and features cameos by Terence Trent D'Arby, Chynna Phillips, and Matt LeBlanc. The video was shot during the filming of Arizona Dream, in which both Depp and Dunaway starred, which was on hiatus as its director Emir Kusturica had suffered a nervous breakdown. The song was extended in order to include more of the 18 minutes of footage Temple had created.
Fresh out of high school, Eddie catches a bus to Hollywood and meets a girl (Anwar) who has a tattoo to match his: a heart impaled with a stiletto knife. They move into a motel-style apartment building. Eddie works as a doorman while his girlfriend teaches him to play guitar. Their landlady (Dunaway) turns out to be a cross between a fairy godmother and a svengali, managing his increasing success as a rock star.
Success quickly goes to Eddie's head. Things come to a peak when he excludes his manager from a red carpet event. Infuriated, she waves her
Petty took the line "a rebel without a clue" from the 1989 single "I'll Be You" by Minneapolis rock band the Replacements, with whom he toured. The term was coined by Jim Steinman, who wrote "Rebel Without a Clue" for Bonnie Tyler on her 1986 release Secret Dreams and Forbidden Fire.
Petty himself appears in the video playing multiple roles, including the narrator, the tattoo artist, Eddie's
Petty later commented that it was "one of the only times I've ever felt fulfilled by a video. I even had people coming to me wanting to make it into a movie."[3]
Track listings
7-inch and cassette single[4][5]
UK CD single[6]
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European 7-inch single[7]
European 12-inch and CD single[8][9]
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Charts
Chart (1991) | Peak position |
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Australia (ARIA)[10] | 112 |
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[11] | 48 |
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[12] | 23 |
Germany (Official German Charts)[13] | 54 |
US Billboard Hot 100[14] | 92 |
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[15] | 4 |
References
- ^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. September 7, 1991. p. 21.
- ^ "Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers: Into the Great Wide Open". mvdbase.com. Archived from the original on September 26, 2017. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
- ^ "Tom Petty's 50 Greatest Songs". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
- ^ Into the Great Wide Open (US 7-inch single vinyl disc). Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. MCA Records. 1991. MCAS7-54131.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ Into the Great Wide Open (US cassette single sleeve). Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. MCA Records. 1991. MCASC 54131.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ Into the Great Wide Open (UK CD single disc notes). Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. MCA Records. 1991. MCSTD 1570.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ Into the Great Wide Open (European 7-inch single vinyl disc). Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. MCA Records. 1991. MCS 17830.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ Into the Great Wide Open (European 12-inch single sleeve). Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. MCA Records. 1991. MCT 17831.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ Into the Great Wide Open (European CD single disc notes). Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. MCA Records. 1991. MCD 17831.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ "Bubbling Down Under Week Commencing September 30, 1991". Retrieved September 30, 2022.
- ^ "Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – Into The Great Wide Open" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
- ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 1660." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved September 26, 2019.
- ^ "Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – Into The Great Wide Open" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved September 26, 2019.
- ^ "Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
- ^ "Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved September 26, 2019.