Country star Chris Stapleton had been planning to stage a few more performances with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers just weeks before the rock icon's passing.
Stapleton had the honour of joining the group onstage for a trio of shows over the summer (17) for the band's 40th anniversary tour, and the singer admits it was a dream come true.
"To get to play three shows with them, that was something that was talked about for a year and a half, or two years, before that ever actually happened," he tells Taste of Country. "I thought it was just some kind of running booking-agent joke... And it actually happened."
The Tennessee Whiskey hitmaker got to spend a little time with Petty after the gigs, and reveals the late legend had expressed a desire to team up with the 39-year-old again in the near future.
"I got to spend a few minutes with Tom, talking, and the last thing he said to me was, 'I hope we get to do more of this,'" Chris recalls. "I left there thinking that we would get to do more of it, and I'm so heartbroken and sad that he's no longer with us. He's given us so much music - and brought so much joy to so many people who have listened to his songs and his songwriting, and his singing and his guitar playing."
"I would not trade anything for those shows, and that brief moment I got to speak with Tom," Chris adds. "It was a highlight of the year for me."
Tom passed away in early October (17), just a week after wrapping up his tour.
Petty wasn't the only musician who had a big influence on Stapleton as he pursued his career - the singer is also a huge fan of the Heartbreakers' guitarist Mike Campbell.
"I play a (Fender) Princeton (guitar) because Mike Campbell plays a Princeton," he says. "I've done a lot of things because I think Mike Campbell would do it."
