Sam Smith has been lauded for his emotive voice and songwriting skills the world over ever since he unleashed his tearjerking hit Stay With Me.
But did he rip off Tom Petty??
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Apparently some people thought the chorus was a bit too close to the classic rock star’s I Won’t Back Down — and those some people included Tom himself!
Well it looks like Sam has quietly agreed to share songwriting credit, though according to him, the whole thing was a coincidence!
Sam’s rep confirmed in an official statement:
“Recently the publishers for the song ‘I Won’t Back Down,’ written by Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne, contacted the publishers for ‘Stay With Me,’ written by Sam Smith, James Napier and William Phillips, about similarities heard in the melodies of the choruses of the two compositions. Not previously familiar with the 1989 Petty/Lynne song, the writers of ‘Stay With Me’ listened to ‘I Won’t Back Down’ and acknowledged the similarity.
Although the likeness was a complete coincidence, all involved came to an immediate and amicable agreement in which Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne are now credited as co-writers of ├óΓé¼╦£Stay With Me’ along with Sam Smith, James Napier and William Phillips.”
Wow! How very gracious of Sam!
Maybe our ear isn’t as fine-tuned as the virtuoso falsetto’s, but we’re not hearing THAT much similarity. Listen to both (below) and tell us what U think!
[Image via Bauer Griffin Online.]