Tom Petty Officially Gets A Songwriting Credit On Sam Smith’s “Stay With Me”

As soon as Tom Petty heard Sam Smith sing “Stay With Me”, Petty thought, “Well, that sounds too damn familiar.” He was right. The chorus and melody of “Stay With Me” sound almost identical to Petty’s 1989 hit “I Won’t Back Down” so Petty’s publishers went after Smith’s publishers to get to the bottom of the issue.

Luckily, Smith’s people aren’t into drama. According to FADER, they immediately admitted to the obvious similarities and agreed to give Petty and Jeff Lynne a co-songwriting credit. Now that the problem has been solved, both parties are happy and making a lot of money from the massive hit.

Listen to “I Won’t Back Down” below and tell us what you think. Should Petty be getting paid? Should Smith not give up so easily on protecting a song that most likely only got Petty’s attention because of its popularity? Should Petty and Smith get together and create an awesome “Stay With Me”/”I Won’t Back Down” mashup and put it online for free?! We can only hope.

Head below to check out 10 songs that are dangerously similar to different songs. Get ready for some serious musical deja vu.

10. “Locked Out Of Heaven” by Bruno Mars (2012)