Tom Petty Has No 'Hard Feelings' Toward Sam Smith
Petty was recently given a songwriting credit for "Stay With Me."
— -- Tom Petty was recently given a songwriting credit on Sam Smith's hit "Stay With Me," as some people say that it sounds remarkably similar to his 1989 hit, "I Won't Back Down."
However, Petty isn't angry about what Smith called "a complete coincidence."
"Let me say I have never had any hard feelings toward Sam," Petty wrote on his website. "All my years of songwriting have shown me these things can happen. Most times you catch it before it gets out the studio door but in this case it got by."
Petty, 64, added that from the very beginning of the copyright dispute, Smith's camp was "very understanding" of the predicament and "the word lawsuit was never even said." The singer added that he never intended to file a suit either, and he didn't want the story leaked to the press.
"Sam did the right thing and I have thought no more about this. A musical accident no more no less," he concluded. "In these times we live in this is hardly news. I wish Sam all the best for his ongoing career. Peace and love to all."
"Stay With Me," a hit song for Smith, has been nominated for three Grammys. In total, Smith garnered five nominations.