View source for Learning to Fly (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers song)

{{Short description|1991 single by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers}}
{{Other uses|Learning to fly (disambiguation){{!}}Learning to fly}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2022}}
{{Infobox song
| name       = Learning to Fly
| cover      = Tom petty the heartbreakers-learning to fly s.jpg
| alt        =
| type       = single
| artist     = [[Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers]]
| album      = [[Into the Great Wide Open]]
| B-side     = Too Good to Be True
| released   = {{start date|1991|6|17}}
| recorded   =
| studio     =
| venue      =
| genre      =
* [[Heartland rock]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.soundonsound.com/people/classic-tracks-tom-petty-learning-fly|title=Classic Tracks: Tom Petty 'Learning To Fly'|last=Buskin|first=Richard|date=February 2014|website=[[Sound on Sound]]|access-date=February 21, 2020}}</ref>
* {{nowrap|[[country rock]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.spin.com/2018/10/watch-kurt-vile-cover-tom-pettys-learning-to-fly/|title=Watch Kurt Vile Cover Tom Petty's 'Learning to Fly'|last=Burks|first=Tosten|date=October 10, 2018|website=[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]|access-date=December 24, 2019}}</ref>}}
* [[jangle pop]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.avclub.com/9-of-our-favorite-tom-petty-songs-1819105637|title=9 of our favorite Tom Petty songs|last1=Chavez|first1=Danette|last2=Adams|first2=Erik|date=October 3, 2017|website=[[The A.V. Club]]|access-date=December 21, 2019|last3=Ihnat|first3=Gwen|last4=Pang|first4=Kevin|last5=Modell|first5=Josh|last6=Ryan|first6=Kyle|last7=Garcia|first7=Leonardo Adrian|last8=Zaleski|first8=Annie|last9=Murray|first9=Noel}}</ref>
| length     = 4:05
| label      = [[MCA Records|MCA]]
| writer     =
* [[Tom Petty]]
* [[Jeff Lynne]]
| producer   =
* Tom Petty
* Jeff Lynne
| prev_title = [[Yer So Bad]]
| prev_year  = 1990
| next_title = [[Into the Great Wide Open (song)|Into the Great Wide Open]]
| next_year  = 1991
| misc       = {{External music video|{{YouTube|s5BJXwNeKsQ|"Learning to Fly"|link=no}}}}
}}
"'''Learning to Fly'''" is a song by American rock band [[Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers]]. It was written in 1991 by [[Tom Petty]] and his writing partner [[Jeff Lynne]] for the band's eighth studio album, ''[[Into the Great Wide Open]]'' (1991). The entire song is based on four simple [[Chord (music)|chords]], [[I–V–vi–IV progression|(F, C, A minor, and G)]]. Released in June 1991 by [[MCA Records]], it became a hit for Petty and the Heartbreakers, topping the US ''Billboard'' [[Mainstream Rock (chart)|Album Rock Tracks]] chart and peaking at number 28 on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]].

==Release==
"Learning to Fly" was released as the first single from ''[[Into the Great Wide Open]]'' and reached number 28 on the US [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] chart. It also became his most successful single on the ''Billboard'' [[Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks|Album Rock Tracks]] chart, reaching number one and remaining there for six weeks.<ref name="usmr"/> The song was released in the United Kingdom on June 17, 1991,<ref name="ukrel">{{cite magazine|title=New Releases: Singles|magazine=[[Music Week]]|page=21|date=June 15, 1991}}</ref> debuting at number 65 on the [[UK Singles Chart]] six days later. It rose to its peak of number 46 the following week and stayed on the UK chart for two more weeks before leaving the top 75.

==Track listing==
* '''7-inch vinyl'''
:A. "Learning to Fly"
:B. "Too Good to Be True"

==Personnel==
Personnel are sourced from ''Sound on Sound''.<ref name="Buskin">{{cite magazine |last=Buskin |first=Richard |title=Classic Tracks: Tom Petty 'Learning To Fly' |magazine=Sound on Sound |date=February 2014 |url=https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/classic-tracks-tom-petty-learning-fly}}</ref>

'''Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers'''
* [[Tom Petty]] – lead and backing vocals, acoustic guitar
* [[Mike Campbell (musician)|Mike Campbell]] – 12-string electric guitar, electric and acoustic guitars, backing vocals
* [[Howie Epstein]] – backing vocals
* [[Stan Lynch]] – drums (w/o kick drum)

'''Others'''
* [[Jeff Lynne]] – [[Oberheim OB-Xa]] synthesizer, acoustic guitar, bass guitar, [[Oberheim DMX]] drum machine, sampler, backing vocals

==Charts==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}

===Weekly charts===
{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
!Chart (1991)
!Peak<br />position
|-
{{single chart|Australia|44|artist=Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers|song=Learning to Fly|rowheader=true|access-date=August 8, 2022}}
|-
{{single chart|Canadatopsingles|5|chartid=1618|rowheader=true|access-date=August 8, 2022}}
|-
{{single chart|Germany|31|artist=Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers|song=Learning to Fly|songid=14357|rowheader=true|access-date=August 8, 2022}}
|-
{{single chart|New Zealand|28|artist=Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers|song=Learning to Fly|rowheader=true|access-date=August 8, 2022}}
|-
{{single chart|Sweden|35|artist=Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers|song=Learning to Fly|rowheader=true|access-date=August 8, 2022}}
|-
{{single chart|Switzerland|75|artist=Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers|song=Learning to Fly|rowheader=true|access-date=August 8, 2022}}
|-
{{single chart|UK|46|date=19910706|rowheader=true|access-date=August 8, 2022}}
|-
{{single chart|Billboardhot100|28|artist=Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers|rowheader=true|access-date=August 8, 2022}}
|-
{{single chart|Billboardadultcontemporary|36|artist=Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers|rowheader=true|access-date=August 8, 2022}}
|-
{{single chart|Billboardmainstreamrock|1|artist=Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers|rowheader=true|access-date=August 8, 2022|refname="usmr"}}
|}
{{col-2}}

===Year-end charts===
{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
!Chart (1991)
!Position
|-
!scope="row"|Canada Top Singles (''RPM'')<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.2024&URLjpg=http%3a%2f%2fwww.collectionscanada.gc.ca%2fobj%2f028020%2ff4%2fnlc008388.2024.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.2024|title=RPM 100 Hit Tracks of 1991|magazine=[[RPM (magazine)|RPM]]|via=[[Library and Archives Canada]]|access-date=November 23, 2017}}</ref>
|46
|-
!scope="row"|Europe (European Hit Radio)<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/90s/1991/MM-1991-12-21.pdf|title=EHR Year-End Top 100|magazine=[[Music & Media]]|volume=8|issue=51–52|page=20|date=December 21, 1991|access-date=February 24, 2024}}</ref>
|100
|-
!scope="row"|US Album Rock Tracks (''Billboard'')<ref>{{cite magazine|title=The Year in Music: Top Album Rock Tracks|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|volume=103|issue=51|page=YE-41|date=December 21, 1991}}</ref>
|10
|}
{{col-end}}

==Certifications==
{{Certification Table Top}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=single|artist=Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers|title=Learning to Fly|award=Silver|relyear=2004|certyear=2022|id=18428-98-1|access-date=October 7, 2022}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true|noshipments=true|streaming=true}}

==Release history==
{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
!scope="col"|Region
!scope="col"|Date
!scope="col"|Format(s)
!scope="col"|Label(s)
!scope="col"|{{abbr|Ref.|Reference}}
|-
!scope="row"|Europe
|June 11, 1991
|Radio
|rowspan="3"|[[MCA Records|MCA]]
|<ref>{{cite magazine|title=MCA Rolls Out Red Carpet for Tom Petty's 10th Album|last=Bakker|first=Machgiel|magazine=[[Music & Media]]|volume=8|issue=26|page=3|date=June 29, 1991|quote=The first single, Learning To Fly, was serviced to European radio on June 11.}}</ref>
|-
!scope="row" rowspan="2"|United Kingdom
|June 17, 1991
|{{hlist|7-inch vinyl|CD1|cassette}}
|<ref name="ukrel"/>
|-
|June 24, 1991
|CD2
|<ref>{{cite magazine|title=New Releases: Singles|magazine=Music Week|page=19|date=June 22, 1991}}</ref>
|}

==Cover version==
Petty's [[Traveling Wilburys]] bandmate [[Bob Dylan]] covered the song live in concert in [[Broomfield, Colorado]], on October 21, 2017, one day after what would have been Petty's 67th birthday.<ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Kreps|first=Daniel|date=October 22, 2017|title=Watch Bob Dylan Cover Tom Petty's 'Learning to Fly' at Colorado Concert|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/watch-bob-dylan-cover-tom-pettys-learning-to-fly-at-colorado-concert-120791/|access-date=September 21, 2021|magazine=Rolling Stone}}</ref> Critic Jack Whatley later cited the performance as one of the seven best covers of a Petty song.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Whatley|first=Jack|date=September 18, 2021|title=The 7 best Tom Petty covers of all time|url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/best-tom-petty-covers/|work=[[Far Out Magazine]]|access-date=September 21, 2021}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{TPHeartbreakers}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Tom Petty songs]]
[[Category:1991 singles]]
[[Category:1991 songs]]
[[Category:Black-and-white music videos]]
[[Category:Jangle pop songs]]
[[Category:MCA Records singles]]
[[Category:Music videos directed by Julien Temple]]
[[Category:Song recordings produced by Jeff Lynne]]
[[Category:Songs written by Jeff Lynne]]
[[Category:Songs written by Tom Petty]]