“That should have happened”: Stevie Nicks on why she wishes she had collaborated with Prince
Throughout her glittering career, which began more than half a century ago, Stevie Nicks has rubbed shoulders with a series of the most prestigious figures in the music industry. Her list of collaborations, whether in the studio or on stage, includes star-studded names such as Tom Petty, Harry Styles, Don Henley, Lana Del Rey and Dave Grohl.
Nicks has truly seen it all, whether with Fleetwood Mac or during her acclaimed solo career. As a result of her achievements, such as becoming the first woman in history to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on two occasions, she doesn’t have many regrets. Rather than losing sleep over the mistakes she made many decades ago, Nicks typically spends her time celebrating her past victories.
Because of Nicks’s vast impact on the musical landscape, she can proudly reflect on her triumphs. Although Nicks wouldn’t change much about her career decisions, she accidentally let one glaring collaboration pass her by. While Nicks and Prince shared a strong mutual artistic respect, they never performed together, which the Fleetwood Mac singer labelled a mistake upon his passing in 2016.
When ‘The Purple One’ sadly died, nobody saw it coming, shocking the musical world to their core. He had still been performing on a regular basis and prolifically released four studio albums in the two years before his passing. It seemed to most that Prince would be eternal, including Nicks, who shared after his death, “Had I ever in a million years thought that we would lose him, I would have made sure that that would have happened. And it didn’t. So that’s just one of those things in your life where you so say, ‘I really missed out.’ Because he should have. That should have happened.”
They didn’t collaborate, but their careers did intertwine. Nicks’ song, ‘Stand Back,’ wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for Prince’s ‘Little Red Corvette’. The Fleetwood Mac vocalist was listening to the song in the car and immediately started singing the lyrics to what would become ‘Stand Back’. After being hit with a shot of inspiration, Nicks pulled off the freeway to find a shop that sells a tape recorder and immediately recorded the melody to prevent her from forgetting it.
Now, ‘Stand Back’ acts as a poignant reminder of her late friend. “So whenever I play ‘Stand Back’ from this day forward, Prince will be standing next to me. That is always going to be a joy,” she said.
In 2019, Nicks returned to the subject of Prince during an interview and explained how she occasionally still feels his presence during testing moments. “I feel like Prince is with me…When I’m nervous, I’ll talk to Prince,” Nicks disclosed. “In my solo act, when I do ‘Moonlight’, I wear this white wolfy coat — I put this coat on and I try to transform into a Dire Wolf from Game of Thrones. And before I go on, I always say, ‘Walk with me, Prince.'”
“Then he was gone — he was like a spirit then,” she added. “We always had that crazy respect for each other. I feel that connection is still there, maybe more now than before he died — with Tom [Petty] and with Prince.”
While collaborations often fail to meet expectations when two huge names are involved, it’s difficult to imagine Nicks or Prince failing to create magic together in the studio or on stage. It would have been a meeting of musical giants of the highest calibre, who likely would have had chemistry in abundance. Unfortunately, it’s left to our collective imaginations rather than recorded proof of the duo performing together.
In truth, their friendship means more than any duet could, and Nicks still holds her precious memories of Prince in her heart. Whenever she needs a confidence boost before stepping on stage, his spirit can still be relied upon to offer her vital words of advice, and he’s imprinted on her mind whenever she sings ‘Stand Back’.
