Sam Smith Regrets Not Responding To Tom Petty’s Letter Over “Stay With Me” Credit, But Maintains They’d Never Heard “I Won’t Back Down”

Last year, Sam Smith did a 24-show residency at Brooklyn's small Warsaw. The singer used the opportunity to cover Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers' 1987 song "It Will All Work Out" and discuss their legal battle with the classic rock icon, revealing that Petty had written them a letter during the dispute. Smith elaborated on the story in a recent episode of Alchemy With Anthony Mason.It was over a decade ago that Petty and singer/composer Jeff Lynne were awarded a 12.5% writing credit for Sam Smith's breakthrough hit "Stay With Me." At the time, Petty said he "never had any hard feelings toward Sam." In the new interview, Smith says, "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.' Regretfully, actually. I, as a young kid, just didn't listen to men, if I'm honest. The only male singers I ever listened to were Stevie Wonder and George Michael. I was a kid that just loved the divas. And girl pop. So I'd never heard it."They said Petty "wrote me a letter just before the Grammys that I won. I won four Grammys for In The Lonely Hour. He wrote me a letter the night before the Grammys and it arrived to my room. I wa...