# Remember When Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers Covered Lucinda Williams’ Biggest Hit in 1996?

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/remember-when-tom-petty-and-the-heartbreakers-covered-lucinda-williams-biggest-hit-in-1996/
- Published: 2026-11-04T22:00:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-04T22:36:55+00:00
- Original publisher: American Songwriter
- Original article: https://americansongwriter.com/remember-when-tom-petty-and-the-heartbreakers-covered-lucinda-williams-biggest-hit-in-1996/
- Topics: Americas, World

## Key points

- Williams’ “Changed The Locks” was covered by Tom Petty in 1996.
- The cover featured on the *She’s the One* soundtrack.
- Williams said the song set a standard for her later writing.

## Summary

Lucinda Williams’ 1989 song “Changed The Locks”, about decisively leaving someone behind, became her first and only major rock radio hit. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers recorded a cover seven years later for the 1996 film *She’s the One*, bringing renewed attention to the song and a Top 20 hit for the band.

The cover appeared on the film’s 15-track soundtrack, which Petty wrote almost entirely himself: he penned all but three songs. Williams later said the song had become a standard she measured her other writing against, describing it as a strong rock song “like something Tom Petty would write”. She and Petty also shared the stage at the Hollywood Bowl in 2017, when Williams opened for one of the band’s final shows.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.