From "Read Stevie Nicks’ Riotous Rock Hall Induction Speech" by BRITTANY SPANOS & AMY X. WANG & SUZY EXPOSITO for Rolling Stone on 30 March 2019:
Sometimes I just couldn’t tell great stories. Because it’s like easy — if I’m telling a story about Prince, I can say, ‘He picked me up in his purple Camaro. And we went out to his purple house in a suburb outside Minneapolis, nobody knew where I was. And we wrote a song called, “It’ll Take You Days to Find Her”? And I can actually tell you a great story about that because it is what it is.
From "Stevie Nicks on Tom Petty, Drag Queens, ‘Game of Thrones’ and Missing Prince: Wisdom from the first woman to make it into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice" by Rob Sheffield for Rolling Stone on February 28, 2019:
Stevie Nicks has the only kind of BDE that matters: Bella Donna Energy. The Fleetwood Mac gold dust woman is adding yet another sequin to her top hat by going into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist, years after she got enshrined with the Mac. She’s the first woman inducted twice — as she puts it, “at the ripe and totally young age of 70.” She’s also hitting the road with Fleetwood Mac for the 2019 leg of their world tour, in their surprising new incarnation after a sudden split with Lindsey Buckingham.
As eloquent and witty as ever, Stevie went deep with Rolling Stone for an epic late-night chat about her 50 years as a rock goddess, discussing love, loss, female music heroes, her poetry about Game of Thrones, how “Stand Back” makes her miss Prince, drag queens, sexist hecklers, loving Tom Petty, why she wears platform boots and the joys of having two female rock stars in the same band. And also why the story of her life would be titled, There’s Enough Shawls to Go Around. Rock on, queen.
[...]
Then you have “Stand Back,” which is such a soul song.
The saddest thing of all is Prince and I never played that song onstage together. And that just breaks my heart. I guess we all think we’re immortal — I always thought we had plenty of time. I should have told Prince 10 years ago or 15 years ago, “Hey, Prince, we should do this song onstage together — some night, some city, call me.”
But you know, I feel like Prince is with me. When I’m nervous, I’ll talk to Prince. 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.”
You always seemed to have this affinity with him.
We were strange friends. “Stand Back” was inspired by “Little Red Corvette.” I called him and said, “Can you come to the studio and listen to this song? I’ve sung over your song and written another song and you may hate it and if you do, I won’t do it.” He came over to to Sunset Sound and he loved it — he played piano and guitar on it. Then he was gone — he was like a spirit then. 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 and with Prince.
You and Prince both had your own unique style. You never look or sound like anyone else.
I wear this serious French corset onstage. If you want yourself to drop dead a couple of hours sooner than you would normally, just squeeze into that corset. I could never go onstage in street clothes because it’s not who I am. I could never go out there in a pair of jeans and a denim jacket. I mean, I don’t do casual very well. Even my normal life, I’m in cashmere pants and a cashmere sweater and cashmere thoughts.
I don’t put the boots on until right before I walk up to the stage. But when my little foot goes into that boot, it is like Cinderella. All of a sudden I become me. I become six inches taller. I walk like an African queen. Halloween is my favorite day, but I never have to wonder: What am I gonna be for Halloween this year? A witch, of course. Wearing my Stevie Nicks clothes.
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From "Stevie Nicks Recalls Prince’s Surprise Appearance on ‘Stand Back’" by Martin Kielty for Ultimate Classic Rock on 18 November 2018
Stevie Nicks recalled her surprise at Prince’s appearance in the studio after she’d told him about how he’d inspired her song “Stand Back.”
The track, which was released in 1983, was a direct result of Nicks listening to Prince’s “Little Red Corvette” while she was on the freeway just after her marriage to Kim Anderson, as she told Uncle Joe Benson on the Ultimate Classic Rock Nights radio show.
“All of a sudden, out of nowhere, I’m singing along, going, ‘Stand back!’” she said. “I’m like, ’Kim, pull over! We need to buy a tape recorder because I need to record this.’ And so we do – we careen off the freeway to find a radio, record shop or something, and we go in and we buy a little tape recorder.”
Instead of celebrating their nuptials, the couple stayed up “all night long” working on what would become “Stand Back.” Nicks said, “We get the song, and I’m basically using Prince’s instrumental melody. What I’m singing along is very, very different from what he’s singing. I’m singing in and out of all of the holes.”
When she returned to work, she laid down a proper studio recording, then called Prince and told him, “I know that 50 percent of it is yours – and, what are you doing later? Because we’re here at Sunset Sound. ... Do you have any interest in coming down and hearing it?” She admitted she was “never in a million years thinking that he would say ‘Yes.’ And he said, ‘Yeah, I’ll be right down,’ and he came down.”
On hearing the track, Prince went over to a keyboard and began playing new parts, to Nicks’ astonishment. “That was the coolest thing we’ve ever heard,” she remembered thinking. She added, “Takes him an hour; he gives me a little ‘I don’t really know you’ hug, and, uh, he’s gone. Like a little spirit.” The results appeared on her second solo album, The Wild Heart.
"Stevie Nicks Reveals How Prince Inspired 'Stand Back'" on May 25, 2018
In honor of Stevie Nicks birthday (5/26), we present you with Stevie explaining how Prince inspired her to write the song 'Stand Back'.
A Chance Meeting
In the late 70's Stevie Nicks attended a Warner Brothers Records event where she was introduced to Prince. Prince wasn't a big star yet and he was very shy. Stevie recalled telling him that he needed to be more outgoing if he wanted to make it in the music business.
A Car Stopping Performance
Years later, while cruising down a Calfornia highway with her husband (at the time), 'Little Red Corvette' came on the radio. Stevie asked her husband 'who is that?' and asked him to stop the car and get her paper and a pen. Her husband informed her that it was Prince and they pulled to the side of the road as Stevie let the song in her head come to life. She then instructed her husband to drive to Sunset Recording Studios.
Playing It For Prince
She recorded a demo version of the song that day. Before trying to finish the song, she told her 'people' that she needed to play it for Prince and get his approval. She instructed her people to find Prince's phone number, which wasn't as easy as it is now (this was the early 1980's). Within 15 minutes she had Prince's phone number and she nervously dialed him up. She explained that 'Little Red Corvette' inspired her to write a song and she wanted him to hear it before she proceeded doing anything more with it. To her surprise he wasn't in his home state of Minnesota but was in Los Angeles when she called him. Within 20 minutes of their conversation, he was at the studio. She put on the track, turned her back and crossed her fingers, hoping that he would like it.
Prince told her he enjoyed the song. She asked him to play synthesizer and provide some guitar for the song and he did. As soon as he was done playing he informed her he had to leave and he sped off in his purple Camaro.
A Guiding Presence
Ever since their time in the recording studio, they kept in touch. Prince encouraged her to quit doing drugs and she eventually did. Since his passing, whenever Stevie gets nervous before going on stage, she summons Prince and asks him to walk with her onto the stage. She feels his presence and it gives her the confidence she needs to perform.
"Stevie Nicks Recalls 'Amazing Relationship' With Prince After 'I Kind of Ripped off His Song'" by Associated Press on 27 April 2016
Stevie Nicks surprised the audience at Broadway's School of Rock with a riveting performance of "Rhiannon" after the cast took its curtain call.
[...]
Nicks also shared her memories of Prince while recording her 1980s hit, "Stand Back." She said the idea came to her while listening to "Little Red Corvette" while driving, and she was compelled to call him about it.
"I asked him if he would come over to Sunset Sound in Los Angeles. Never in a million years expecting that he would say yes or that he was even in Los Angeles, and he was there in like 20 minutes," Nicks said. "I didn't have to call and tell him that I kind of ripped off his song, but I did because I'm honest. So it turned into a really amazing relationship. Is my heart broken? Absolutely."
Watch "Stand Back" on YouTube:
