“I think [Petty] was trying to say that I see you and I understand what you’re going through right now, and I’m just sorry that this is all happening…” Smith said
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NEED TO KNOW
- Sam Smith reflected on their 2014 copyright dispute with Tom Petty over similarities between their songs on the Alchemy with Anthony Mason podcast
- Smith regretted not responding to a letter Petty, who died at the age of 66 in 2017, sent before the Grammys and apologized during a recent performance
- Petty previously called the situation a “musical accident” and said “these things happen”
Sam Smith has some regrets — one of which includes Tom Petty.
The 34-year-old singer, who is non-binary and goes by they/them, opened up about their copyright dispute with the “Free Fallin” singer on the Aug. 26 episode of the Alchemy with Anthony Mason podcast.
“He wrote me a letter the night before the Grammys and it arrived to my room. I was so pissed off when I read it. That’s the truth,” Smith recalled. “You’ve got to understand, ‘Stay with Me’ was written in a basement in London, and I’d never ever heard ‘I Won’t Back Down.’ ”
“… And we’re talking about da, da, da,” they said, singing the three notes that garnered similarities between the songs. “That’s what it is, three notes… [Petty] said it himself in the letter to me that there are only so many notes on the piano and that’s why I was annoyed because when he said that I was like, ‘You get it. So why is this happening?’ ”
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The “Unholy” musician eventually agreed to give Petty a songwriting credit and a portion of the royalties for the hit song “Stay with Me” in October 2014. However, Smith now sees the situation from a different perspective.
“Now as I’m older I understand why. I understand that it wasn’t just him,” the singer shared. “I think [Petty] was trying to say that I see you and I understand what you’re going through right now, and I’m just sorry that this is all happening, which was actually very, very sweet and kind of him.”
“And I’m so deeply regretful that I never responded to him,” they continued of Petty, who died at the age of 66 in October 2017. “I never wrote back to him. I was just a little sassy 22-year-old queer kid. But I definitely should’ve written back to him.”
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There were no hard feelings on the rocker’s part either. He released a statement on his website in 2015 saying that it was “a musical accident” and said that “these things happen.”
“Sam’s people were very understanding of our predicament and we easily came to an agreement,” Petty said in the statement at the time, per Today. “The word ‘lawsuit’ was never even said and was never my intention. And no more was to be said about it.”
As for Smith, who grew up listening to Stevie Wonder, George Michael and “girl pop” songs, they told host Anthony Mason that they began listening to Petty’s songs and even performed “It’ll All Work Out” at a recent performance.
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“It has actually become a song that I turn to in some of my darkest, saddest moments… and that song has become a go-to breakup song for me and a go-to song in really intense moments. I loved it so much that I wanted to perform it at the Warsaw,” Smith said.
“I performed it and I said sorry on stage to him, wherever he is right now for not replying to that letter,” they continued. “And yeah, I feel like I’ve let go of something by doing that which was nice.”
Smith’s new album, Hazel Eyes, is available now.
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