About The Song
“I Need to Know” is a rock song written by Tom Petty and recorded by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers for their second album, You’re Gonna Get It!, released on May 2, 1978, by Shelter Records. Released as the album’s first single in June 1978, with “No Second Thoughts” as the B-side, it peaked at No. 41 on the Billboard Hot 100 on August 19, 1978, spending nine weeks on the chart, and reached No. 46 on the Canadian RPM Top Singles chart. The album hit No. 23 on the Billboard 200 and was certified gold by the RIAA for 500,000 US sales.
Recorded in late 1977 at Shelter Studio in Los Angeles, the track was produced by Denny Cordell, Tom Petty, and Noah Shark. It features Tom Petty on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Mike Campbell on lead guitar, Benmont Tench on organ, Ron Blair on bass, and Stan Lynch on drums. The song’s urgent, power-pop sound, with Campbell’s slashing guitar riffs and Lynch’s driving beat, reflects influences from The Rolling Stones and The Kinks, as Petty noted in a 1991 Rolling Stone interview. The lyrics, about demanding clarity in a faltering relationship, were written by Petty in 1977, likely inspired by tensions with his then-girlfriend Jane Benyo, per Petty: The Biography. The track was recorded in a single session, with Cordell pushing for a raw, fast-paced feel, per Rhino’s session logs.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, formed in Gainesville, Florida, in 1976, were building on their debut album’s modest success with “Breakdown” (No. 40, 1977). “I Need to Know” was written during a hectic touring schedule, including a 1978 UK tour with Nils Lofgren, which boosted their profile, per Stereogum. The band performed it live extensively, including at their 1978 Santa Monica Civic Auditorium show and a 1978 BBC Old Grey Whistle Test appearance, highlighting its high-energy delivery. It remained a setlist staple, played at their 2017 Hollywood Bowl concert, Petty’s final show before his death on October 2, 2017, per Rolling Stone.
Covers include The Replacements’ 1987 live version and a 2018 take by The Dirty Knobs, led by Mike Campbell. The song appeared in TV shows like The Sopranos (2001) and films like She’s the One (1996), a Petty-scored soundtrack. Its straightforward E-A-B chord progression, analyzed on Medium, and insistent “I need to know” refrain drove its radio play, per Genius. No music video was made, as MTV launched later. Petty described it as a “gut reaction” to uncertainty in a 2002 Mojo interview, denying specific personal drama. The track’s recording, per American Songwriter, captured the band’s early grit, with Tench’s organ adding a sharp edge.
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Lyric
Well, the talk on the street says you might go solo
A good friend of mine saw you leavin’ by your back doorI need to know, I need to know
If you think you’re gonna leave, then you better say so
I need to know, I need to know
‘Cause I don’t know how long I can hold on
If you’re makin’ me wait, if you’re leadin’ me on
I need to know, I need to knowWho would’ve thought that you’d fall for his line?
All of a sudden, it’s me on the outsideI need to know, I need to know
If you think you’re gonna leave, then you better say so
I need to know, I need to know
‘Cause I don’t know how long I can hold on
If you’re makin’ me wait, if you’re leadin’ me on
I need to know, I need to knowBaby, I need to know, I need to know
If you think you’re gonna leave, then you better say so
I need to know, I need to know
‘Cause I don’t know how long I can hold on
If you’re makin’ me wait, if you’re leadin’ me on
I need to know, I need to know