ABC/Image Group LA Chris Stapleton teamed up with Emmylou Harris for a moving rendition of Tom Petty’s “Wildflowers” at the 60th Grammys Sunday night in New York City. But Chris’ connection to the rocker who died unexpectedly last fall goes even deeper than you might have realized.
“Wildflowers is my favorite album of all time, sonically and songwise,” said the man who’s won multiple awards for his own records. “I kind of judge all other things by that. I got to be on tour with him this past year, on what turned out to be their last tour as Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers.”
The “Broken Halos” hitmaker even got to spend some time with his musical hero.
“[I] only got to have a brief conversation with Tom,” Chris explained to reporters backstage. “We spent about maybe 15 minutes together. He was very kind, and the last thing he said to me was ‘I hope we get to do this again, and do more of this.’ And, boy, that was such a thrill to me, because I’m such a huge fan of all of his work.”
“I was tearing up a little bit before I had to walk up there and do that,” he said of his performance Sunday night.
This week, Chris’s Grammy-winning song, “Broken Halos,” is one spot away from entering country’s top ten, making it one of his most successful radio singles so far.
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