Lucinda Williams told Billboard that she had the chance to open Tom Petty’s last shows. She added that even though Tom was in the best shape, he passed soon after. The singer explained:
“His death really affected me. He had invited me to open his last shows at the Hollywood Bowl in L.A., which was a huge honor. He was in great shape. We did those shows with him, and then he was gone. It was just bizarre and a Twilight Zone sort of thing. I felt connected to him on a lot of levels.”
Williams and Petty were friends; he supported her career and even took Lucinda on tour during the 90s. So Lucinda wanted to pay tribute to Petty by releasing a song that she wrote called ‘Stolen Moments’ from her forthcoming album ‘Stories From A Rock n Roll Heart.’
Williams also mentioned in her interview with Billboard their similar upbringings as Southerners and even shared a few lines of Tom’s song ‘Southern Accents.’ She added:
“We’re both Southerners, and I loved the way he approached the subject of being a Southerner. I thought he handled that really well, probably better than anybody. [Lucinda quoting the opening lines of Petty’s ‘Southern Accents’]Â There’s a Southern accent where I come from/ The young’uns call it country/the Yankees call it dumb.’ It’s just so on point. That song says everything you need to know about being a Southerner.”
You can read Lucinda Williams’ interview with Billboard here and listen to ‘Southern Accents’ below.