"Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" is a song recorded by

Stevie Nicks Stephanie Lynn Nicks (born May 26, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter, known for her work with the band Fleetwood Mac and as a solo artist. After starting her career as a duo with her then-boyfriend Lindsey Buckingham, releasing the album ...

and

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were an American rock band formed in Gainesville, Florida, in 1976. The band originally comprised lead singer and rhythm guitarist Tom Petty, lead guitarist Mike Campbell, keyboardist Benmont Tench, drummer ...

and released as the first single from Nicks' debut solo album '' Bella Donna'' (1981). The track is the album's only song that was neither written nor co-written by Nicks. Written by

Tom Petty Thomas Earl Petty (October 20, 1950October 2, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He was the leader and frontman of the Rock music, rock bands Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Mudcrutch and a member of the late 1980s sup ...

and Mike Campbell as a

song,

Jimmy Iovine James Iovine ( ; born March 11, 1953) is an American entrepreneur, former Music executive, record executive, and media proprietor. He is the co-founder of Interscope Records and became chairman and CEO of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Interscop ...

, who was also working for Stevie Nicks at the time, arranged for her to sing on it. Petty sings with Nicks in the chorus and bridge, while his entire band provides instrumentation with the exception of Ron Blair, who was replaced by bassist

Donald "Duck" Dunn Donald "Duck" Dunn (November 24, 1941 – May 13, 2012) was an American bass guitarist, session musician, record producer, and songwriter. Dunn was notable for his 1960s recordings with Booker T. & the M.G.'s and as a session bassist for Stax R ...

for the recording. A performance of the song in the studio was used as the promotional video. The video was the 25th video to be played on MTV's launch date on August 1, 1981. Petty and Nicks also sang together on the songs "Insider" (from Petty's album '' Hard Promises'' (1981)) and " I Will Run to You" (from Nicks's album '' The Wild Heart'' (1983)), and frequently performed impromptu live versions of these and 1960s classic " Needles and Pins" in many shows through the 1980s. As of 2017, "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" remains a mainstay of Stevie Nicks's solo performances, and on July 9, 2017, Nicks performed the song together with Petty and the Heartbreakers at the

British Summer Time During British Summer Time (BST), civil time in the United Kingdom is advanced one hour forward of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), in effect changing the time zone from UTC+00:00 to UTC+01:00, so that mornings have one hour less daylight, and eve ...

festival at Hyde Park in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, in what turned out to be their final performance of the song together before Petty's death in October 2017. The song peaked at No. 3 on the American ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for six consecutive weeks, (Nicks's biggest solo hit and the Heartbreakers' biggest hit as well). However, in the United Kingdom, the song only managed to peak at No. 50 on the UK Singles Chart.

Content

In a November 2003 interview with ''Songfacts'',

guitarist and primary songwriter Mike Campbell explained the song's origins: The lyrics are about a woman who feels weighed down by relationships and wants to part despite a strong sentimental attachment to her lover. The melody is described by AllMusic as "dark and sinister". Apart from the intro before the first verse and a solo following the second verse (where there is some fairly heavy riffing), however, the guitar sound is laid-back in typical Heartbreakers style. The song was originally recorded for Petty's album '' Hard Promises'', but the producers felt the song came from a female point of view and it was left unreleased until it was agreed to be put on the ''Bella Donna'' album instead. A demo version of the song, recorded without Nicks, was eventually released on Petty's boxed set '' Playback'' (1995). ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' called it a "punchy uptempo piece of rock." ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...

'' said that "Nicks' uncompromising vocal pairs perfectly with Petty."

Personnel

Band *

– lead vocals * Lori Perry – backing vocals * Sharon Celani – backing vocals *

– co-lead vocals, guitar *

Michael Campbell Michael Shane Campbell (born 23 February 1969) is a New Zealand professional golfer who is best known for having won the 2005 U.S. Open and, at the time, the richest prize in golf, the £1,000,000 HSBC World Match Play Championship, in the ...

– lead guitar *

Benmont Tench Benjamin Montmorency "Benmont" Tench III (born September 7, 1953) is an American musician and singer, and a founding member of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Early years Tench was born in Gainesville, Florida, the second child of Benjamin M ...

– organ *

Stan Lynch Stanley Joseph Lynch (born May 21, 1955) is an American musician, songwriter and record producer. He was the original drummer for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers for 18 years until his departure in 1994. Early years Lynch was born in Cincinn ...

– drums Additional musicians *

– bass guitar * Phil Jones – percussion

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Cover versions

The song was parodied by

"Weird Al" Yankovic Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American comedy musician, writer, and actor. He is best known for writing and performing Comedy music, comedy songs that often Parody music, parody specific songs by contempo ...

as "Stop Draggin' My Car Around" on his debut album ''

'' (1983).

Jimmy Fallon James Thomas Fallon (born September 19, 1974) is an Americans, American comedian, television host, actor, singer, writer, and producer. Best known for his work in television, Fallon's breakthrough came during his tenure as a cast member on the ...

and Stevie Nicks performed the song in a humorous recreation of the 1981 music video on ''

The Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has been broadcast on NBC since 1954. The program has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2 ...

'' on April 9, 2014.

References

{{Authority control 1981 songs 1981 debut singles Stevie Nicks songs Tom Petty songs Song recordings produced by Jimmy Iovine Songs written by Mike Campbell (musician) Songs written by Tom Petty Male–female vocal duets Modern Records (1980) singles