(Credits: Far Out / YouTube Still)
Sat 22 November 2025 12:45, UK
Tom Petty lived out his life and career as a small-circle affair, but the essential difference was that that small circle contained some of the most seismic names in rock music history.
While there’s no point in claiming that he couldn’t stand on his own two feet – because he very much could – there was also something hugely special in the fact that many of his biggest hits were buoyed by the help of his friends and bandmates along the way, some of whom were there from the very beginning, and others who joined the gang a little later on.
This set-up was true on everything from deep cut album tracks to the leading lights of Petty’s biggest hits – and there were none bigger than ‘I Won’t Back Down’ from his first solo album, Full Moon Fever, released in 1989. You would think, as tradition would have it when musicians break from the mold of bands into individual careers, that Petty would be desperate for some breathing space.
But this was certainly not the case on the album’s lead track, as he enlisted the assistance of some of his newer friends to inject a new energy into this new chapter of his life. You have to remember that at this point, The Traveling Wilburys had only formed a year prior – so the fact that George Harrison, Roy Orbison, and Jeff Lynne turned up to sing backing vocals was no real surprise.
On top of this, Petty’s resident bassist from the Heartbreakers, Howie Epstein, also lent a hand in laying down the vocal track, making it a crack team of musical maestros who were certain to make the song a hit all along. After all, it is essentially a Traveling Wilburys track only missing Bob Dylan – they could have quite easily added it to a setlist.
Did anyone else sing backing vocals for Tom Petty on the song?
While it was great to have the supergroup more or less in action on ‘I Won’t Back Down’, there is a little feminine lilt heard in the background that has always raised suspicion. Particularly on phrases like “baby” in the song, it seems there’s a bit of a soprano in the mix. So who exactly could it be?
The short and disappointing answer is that no one truly knows, but it’s part of the fun to let the rumours swirl. Although it’s quite possible that this could have been any old session vocalist who rocked up to the studio on the day, fans have always loved to speculate that this uncredited female singer is someone far more famous than it was ever allowed to let on.
Basically, they think it could be Stevie Nicks. It wouldn’t be without precedent, of course, given that she previously sang backing vocals on Petty’s ‘Insider’ in 1981 and subsequently collaborated with him on ‘Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around’. But these reports have never been either confirmed nor denied.
So, even though no one really can be sure on the full line-up, it’s certain that Petty collected the Avengers of backing vocalists to do him proud on ‘I Won’t Back Down’. It was testament to the nature of the song to make a statement, but only he could do it in such a star-studded way.
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