It's Good to Be King (song)

"It's Good to Be King" is a song by American rock singer-songwriter Tom Petty, released as the third single from his 1994 album Wildflowers. It peaked at No. 68 on the Billboard Hot 100,^[2] and No. 6 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart.^[3]

"It's Good to Be King"
Single by Tom Petty
from the album Wildflowers
Released	1995
Genre	Blues rock folk rock[1]
Length	5:10
Label	Warner Bros.
Songwriter(s)	Tom Petty
Producer(s)	Rick Rubin
Tom Petty singles chronology
"You Wreck Me" (1995) "It's Good to Be King" (1995) "Walls (Circus)" (1996)

Review

On AllMusic, reviewer Matthew Greenwald wrote about the song, "One if [sic] the most self-effacing and personal songs to reach the Top Ten charts in the 1990s, "It's Good to Be King" deals with the phenomenon of rock & roll stardom." He described the song's melody as "elegant and folk-rock-ish", and "buttressed" by a Michael Kamen string arrangement that he described as "absolutely stunning".^[1]

Personnel

• Tom Petty – lead & harmony vocals, electric guitar
• Mike Campbell – electric & bass guitar
• Benmont Tench – piano
• Howie Epstein – harmony vocals
• Steve Ferrone – drums

Additional musicians

• Lenny Castro – percussion
• Michael Kamen – orchestration, conductor