The famed Fleetwood Mac singer and legendary rock icon revealed her interesting connection to the late star and his hit song “Purple Rain” during a 2017 show – and it has a very unique twist.
Prince, who passed away in April 2016, was known worldwide for his own brand of pop, soul, rock, and R&B music – of which one song has become his signature hit, “Purple Rain.”
First released in 1984, the song came about right when Stevie Nicks was breaking out on her solo career with her first solo album, Bella Donna, debuting just three years beforehand.
Nicks first met Prince at Warner Records and struck up a conversation with him, but never saw him again up until the early 1980s. After speaking with him on the phone during a recording session, the two then had an instant connection.
He later asked Stevie Nicks to help him write “Purple Rain” but she rejected the offer for a very specific reason. According to Nicks, he sent her a 10-minute instrumental demo of the song for her to listen to and help craft lyrics for.
The published version of “Purple Rain” is actually 8:40 in length, so he had a lot of extra music that was condensed down.
After listening to the song, Stevie decided that she was going to send it back without working on it and explained to Prince that she wasn’t able to contribute. Why? Because, she says, the song “was too big” for her – calling it “epic.”
She apologized to him for not being able to add lyrics and vocals to the track.
While history has proven that the song became a near-instantaneous hit, a Stevie Nicks / Prince collaboration on “Purple Rain” would have likely been just as big of one!
Check out the official 1980s music video for “Purple Rain” below along with the video of her talking about her history with Prince.