Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers ‘I Won’t Back Down’ From A Tribute To Heroes 2001

Have you heard Sam Smith's hit 'Stay With Me' and thought it sounded a lot like Tom Petty's 'I Won't Back Down'?

The company that secures the royalties for Petty's song library thought they sounded alike so they filed a lawsuit last year and it was settled out of court last October. The songwriters of 'I Won't Back Down,' Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne (of ELO), have now been added to the list of credits on Smith's song 'Stay With Me' along with the original writers Sam Smith, Jimmy Napes and William Phillips.

Take a listen to Smith's song in the video from YouTube and then compare it to Tom Petty's tune below. I don't think they sound all that similar, what do you think?

I'll be playing Petty's performance of the song from the 'A Tribute To Heroes' telethon from 2001, as tonight's KING Concert Cut about 7:50. Here's the YouTube video of that to compare.

Smith's representatives claim they had never heard Petty's song before the settlement. It reminds me of George Harrison being sued over 'My Sweet Lord' for sounding too much like 'He's So Fine' by the Chiffons. Or there's the other case of John Fogerty's 'Old Man Down The Road' sounding just like his other song 'Run Through The Jungle.' (Luckily, Fogerty won that case)