Tom Petty (and co-writer Jeff Lynne!!) just won a lawsuit Monday against pop singer Sam Smith, as Smith's song "Stay With Me" allegedly plagiarizes Petty's 1989 jam, "Won't Back Down." Okay. Um, after a few track back-to-back listens, I didn't really hear it (and y'all, I know how to hear "similarities"). Thankfully, there is a telling internet video which blends the two songs!
HOLD UP!! So the Petty track needs to be pitched down while Smith's track needs to be pitched up for the riff/beat to match. Sure, NOW I HEAR IT, after a bunch'a knob twiddles and pitch changin'. Really? That's the process to make the connection?! And it held up in court!! With all this work to get the tracks to match I'm reminded of the obsession some folks had playing records backwards to hear Satan's secret messages. Oh, this isn't the first time Petty went creeping; he considered suing the Red Hot Chili Peppers for "Dani California," as it was a rewrite of âMary Janeâs Last Danceâ (hear the two tracks overlaid) and suggested the riff used in the Strokes one chord droner, "Last Nite," was a lift of his "American Girl."
