Chris Stapleton Finally Gets His Tom Petty Moment

The Americana Music Awards were held at the Ryman Auditorium on Wednesday, September 16. For the first time in a long time, Saving Country Music was not there in-person, but did follow along online.

Molly Tuttle won Artist of the Year over a field that included Brandi Carlile, Charley Crockett, Margo Price, and Jesse Welles. Sure, Molly’s foray into more pop territory with her last album So Long Little Miss Sunshine wasn’t as bad as some had predicted. But it doesn’t feel like she achieved the same heights as she did with her previous two bluegrass albums. Then again, the whole field feels a bit weak for performers that really made an impact over the last year. Nobody in the Americana realm really separated themselves from the herd.

Tyler Childers won Album of the Year for Snipe Hunter, with irony thick in the air since in 2018, Childers proclaimed “Americana ain’t no part of nothin'” from that very Ryman stage, and called Americana a distraction from the real problems facing country music. Of course Childers wasn’t there to accept the award, and is unlikely to acknowledge it, similar to Sturgill Simpson’s behavior when he’s been recognized by Americana recently.

But despite the polarization around the “Americana” term, the Americana Music Association does what it can to shine a spotlight on roots artists that mainstream country usually ignores. Chris Stapleton is not really one of those artists. He’s one of the most awarded country performers in the last decade by the CMAs, ACMs, and Grammys. Nonetheless, he opened the Americana Music Awards show, and with a reunified version of Tom Petty’s Heartbreakers behind him—the first time the full band has played together since Petty’s passing in 2017.

Guitarist Mike Campbell, keys player Benmont Tench, drummer Stan Lynch, and bass player Ron Blair were all there to open the show. Lynch being there was especially significant since he was officially replaced by Steve Ferrone in 1994. But both Ferrone and multi-instrumentalist Scott Thurston who also officially joined the Heartbreakers in 1991 were also there for the finale.

For Chris Stapleton, it was a full-circle moment, and had to be a significant career landmark for him, perhaps even bigger than winning many of his CMA or ACM Awards. The otherwise quiet, reserved, and private performer has been outright outspoken about his admiration for Petty and his Heartbreakers over the years, and specifically on the topic of how Petty felt about the state of country music later in his life.

In 2013, Tom Petty had some unsavory words for what was happening in modern country. “Well, yeah I mean, I hate to generalize on a whole genre of music, but it does seem to be missing that magic element that it used to have,” Petty said. “I’m sure there are people playing country that are doing it well, but they’re just not getting the attention that the shittier stuff gets. But that’s the way it always is, isn’t it?”

In 2013 Chris Stapleton was not the Chris Stapleton we know today. Though a lot of folks love to profess they were Stapleton fans from back when he was a member of The Jompson Brothers and The Steeldrivers (and granted, some were), the truth is Stepleton wasn’t known by many at that time, and those who did know of him saw him primarily as a songwriter. Stapleton had written some quality songs for folks like George Strait, Alan Jackson, and Lee Ann Womack, but he’d also written Luke Bryan’s big hit “Drink A Beer,” and Thomas Rhett’s “Crash and Burn.”

Before Chris Stapleton rocketed to superstardom at the end of 2015 thanks to his virtual sweep of the CMA Awards and his “Tennessee Whiskey” performance with Justin Timberlake, he was very much a creature of the mainstream songwriting community. Feeling slightly offended, Stapleton chose to challenge Tom Petty’s comments at the time with an open letter.

Dear Tom Petty,

I think it’s safe to say most modern country artists, including me, would list you as an influence. Your recent comments lead me to believe you see room for improvement in modern country music. I, for one, would like to see you put you money where your mouth is in a tangible way. So, in the interest of making Country music less “shitty” (your words), I suggest a collaboration. I’m extending an open invitation to you to write songs with me, produce recordings on or with me, or otherwise participate in whatever way you see fit in my little corner of music. In the event that you actually read this and are interested, look me up.

Sincerely,
Chris Stapleton

Just reading back through the letter, it seems like it comes from an entirely different universe than the one Stapleton inhabits now. These days, Stapleton doesn’t say much of anything, especially so boldly.

Tom Petty never took Chris Stapleton up on his offer for a collaboration, though Petty eventually did pick him up as an opener on his final tour. Petty died in October of 2017, so there wasn’t a lot of time between when Stapleton hit it big, and when Petty passed on.

But when it came to someone who could step into the shoes of Tom Petty at the Mother Church of Country Music, and not just play the role, but put the spirit of Petty back into the room, Stapleton was really the only real pick.

Stapleton and the reunified Heartbreakers performed “American Girl,” “Breakdown,” and “You Wreck Me” for the Americana Music Awards audience. Some fan video exists out there. The full, produced versions of the performances will be available later this year when the awards are broadcast on PBS.

The moment might have not pierced the zeitgeist like it did when Stapleton and Justin Timberlake sang “Tennessee Whiskey” back in 2015, launching Stapleton into the stratosphere. But make no mistake about it, to Stapleton, it’s seen as one of the most proud moments of his career.

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