"Runnin' Down a Dream" is a song by Tom Petty, released in 1989 on his solo album Full Moon Fever. For other uses, see Song (disambiguation). ... Thomas Earl Tom Petty (born October 20, 1950) is a singer and guitarist. ... Year 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar). ... It has been suggested that Free Fallin be merged into this article or section. ...

The song was full of various influences, including some Heartbreakersisms, being as it was co-written by HB Mike Campbell, along with Petty and Jeff Lynne. It was also a nod to Petty's musical roots, with the lyric me and Del were singin' "Little Runaway" making reference to Del Shannon and "Runaway". "Runnin'" was the thematic and musical inverse to the same album's "Free Fallin'", motion in kind but direction in difference. The main riff was propulsive, instantiating itself in a battle of acoustic guitar against snare drum with fuzz guitar laced underneath and with vocal "ooh-oooh"s keeping that sense in full mind throughout. Michael (Mike) Campbell (born February 1, 1950 in Panama City, Florida in the U.S.) is a guitarist and record producer, best known for his work with Tom Petty. ... Jeff Lynne (born December 30, 1947 in Shard End, Birmingham) is a Grammy Award-winning English rock songwriter, singer, guitarist and record producer. ... For Dell Shannon, the pen name of a police procedural novelist, see Elizabeth Linington. ... Runaway (Shannon-Crook) was a number-one Billboard Hot 100 song in 1961 by Del Shannon. ... Free Fallin is the opening track from Tom Pettys 1989 solo album, Full Moon Fever. ... Acoustic guitar can refer to the following musical instruments: Nylon and gut stringed guitars: Renaissance guitar Baroque guitar Romantic guitar Classical guitar, the modern version of the original guitar, with nylon strings Flamenco guitar Steel stringed guitars: Steel-string acoustic guitar, also known as western, folk or country guitar Twelve... The snare drum or side drum is a tubular drum made of wood or metal with skins, or heads, stretched over the top and bottom openings, and with a set of snares (cords) stretched across the bottom head. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

The music video for "Runnin'" featured animation, based on several episodes of the classic comic strip Little Nemo in Slumberland by Winsor McCay, featuring a drawing style reminiscent of McCay's and showing Petty and a character who resembles Flip travelling through Slumberland. A music video is a short film or video that accompanies a complete piece of music, most commonly a song. ... The bouncing ball animation (below) consists of these 6 frames. ... Little Nemo is the main fictional character in a series of weekly comic strips by Winsor McCay (1887-1934) that appeared in the New York Herald and William Randolph Hearsts New York American newspapers from October 15, 1905- April 23, 1911 and April 30, 1911-1913 respectively. ... Winsor McCay Winsor McCay (September 26, 1867(?) – July 26, 1934) was a prolific artist and pioneer in the art of comic strips and animation. ...

"Runnin'" achieved reasonable chart success, reaching number 23 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart and the top of the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, which meant in practice considerable airplay then on album-oriented rock stations. It has since garnered significant airplay on classic rock stations “Hot 100” redirects here. ... The Mainstream Rock Tracks chart is a ranking in Billboard magazine of the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations, a category that includes stations that play primarily rock music but are not modern rock (that is, alternative) stations, which are counted in the Modern Rock Tracks chart. ... Album-oriented rock (sometimes referred to as Adult-oriented rock or as West Coast Rock), abbreviated AOR and originally called album-oriented radio, was originally an American FM radio format focusing on album tracks by rock artists. ... For the magazine, see Classic Rock (magazine). ...

The song is part of the soundtrack for the game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is the fifth video game in the Grand Theft Auto series. ...

"Runnin' Down a Dream" was the official theme song of the 2006 NBA Finals and as such gained further exposure to a new generation. The 2006 NBA Finals was the championship series of the 2005-06 National Basketball Association season. ...

The Priaire du Chien conference winning basketball team used this song as thier theme song in the 2006-07 season.