Sam Smith Regrets Not Replying to Tom

Sam Smith has expressed regret for not replying to a letter sent by Tom Petty in 2015. The letter arrived the night before the Grammys, where Smith won four awards for their debut album In The Lonely Hour.

In a recent interview for Alchemy With Anthony Mason, Smith elaborated on the copyright dispute from over a decade ago. Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne were awarded a 12.5% writing credit for Smith's breakthrough hit "Stay With Me." At the time, Petty publicly stated he "never had any hard feelings toward Sam."

The Unanswered Letter

Smith described receiving the letter in their hotel room. "I was so pissed off when I read it," they said. The singer now interprets the gesture differently. "I think he was trying to say that I see you and I understand what you're going through right now and I'm sorry that this is all happening," Smith reflected. "Which was actually very, very sweet and kind of him."

Smith admits to deep regret over their silence. "I'm so deeply regretful that I never responded to him. I never wrote back to him," they said. "I was just a little sassy 22-year-old queer kid. But I definitely should've written back to him."

Maintaining Innocent Inspiration

Despite the regret, Smith maintains the musical similarity was coincidental. They insist they had never heard Petty's 1989 song "I Won't Back Down" before writing "Stay With Me." "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,'" Smith explained. "Regretfully, actually."

The singer attributed this to their youthful musical tastes. "I, as a young kid, just didn't listen to men, if I'm honest."

Smith finds the broader concept of such disputes troubling. "It's heartbreaking when it happens actually," they continued. The frustration stemmed from Petty's own acknowledgment in the letter. "He said it himself in the letter to me that there's only so many notes on the piano."

Smith worries about the precedent. "Not because I think the idea is so originally mine, because music is this big thing of inspiration and you can hear something anywhere and be inspired. But if we start playing this game, we're gonna have to analyze everything."

The singer recently discussed the episode during a 24-show residency at Brooklyn's Warsaw venue, where they covered Petty's "It Will All Work Out." Smith also mentioned ongoing legal battles, including one concerning their 2019 duet with Normani, "Dancing With A Stranger."