Tom Petty angered some country music fans in a recent interview, when he called the genre "incredibly generic" and lacking the "magic element" it once had. Now, singer-songwriter Chris Stapleton is standing up to the rock music icon in an open letter, inviting him to do something about it.

"I’m sure there are people playing country that are doing it well, but they’re just not getting the attention that the s—tier stuff gets," Petty lamented to Rolling Stone. "But that’s the way it always is, isn’t it?”

He added, “But I don’t really see a George Jones or a Buck Owens or any anything that fresh coming up. I’m sure there must be somebody doing it, but most of that music reminds me of rock in the middle 80s where it became incredibly generic and relied on videos."

Stapleton posted the following note to Facebook on Friday (Aug. 9):

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 “s–tty” (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

Stapleton certainly knows a thing or two about music. As a songwriter, his songs have appeared on albums by Adele, George Strait, Darius Rucker, Tim McGraw, Kenny Chesney and Dierks Bentley. He just released his debut solo single, 'What Are You Listening To,' on Mercury Nashville.

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