The 'Prince' and 'Stevie Nicks' Story You Probably Didn't Know

How the Purple One inspired Stevie Nicks' biggest solo hit from 1983

It was 1983, and Stevie Nicks was newly married, riding shotgun in a red Toyota Supra along the Pacific Coast Highway. The radio was playing, as it always did in those days before playlists and streaming, when Prince’s “Little Red Corvette” came through the speakers. For Nicks, it was more than just another song on the radio – it was an unexpected spark of inspiration that would lead to an extraordinary collaboration between two of music’s most enigmatic figures.

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The Fleetwood Mac singer, known for her mystical persona and distinctive voice, found herself immediately captivated by the melody. As the California coastline rushed past her window, she began humming a complementary tune, weaving her own musical spell around Prince’s creation. The song that would eventually emerge from this moment was “Stand Back,” though at the time, it was just a melody taking shape in her head.

“I started singing along with his melody, adding words and fitting a whole new story over his song,” Nicks would later recall. The marriage that had brought her to that moment in the car wouldn't last – she and Kim Anderson would divorce just months later – but the song that was born that day would become one of her most enduring solo hits.

What happened next has become the stuff of rock and roll legend. Nicks, never one to ignore the call of creative inspiration, went straight to the studio. But she knew something important: her new song was intimately connected to Prince’s work, and she felt compelled to seek his blessing. It was both a matter of professional courtesy and artistic integrity.

Nicks picked up the phone and called Prince’s management. “I told them, ‘I’m recording a song that I wrote to Prince’s “Little Red Corvette,” and I'm going to need to know if he minds me doing that... and I'm going to send him the song.’” The audacity of the request wasn't lost on anyone – this was Prince, after all, an artist known for zealously guarding his creative work.

What happened next surprised everyone. Within the hour, Prince himself called back. Instead of sending lawyers or making demands, he simply asked, “When do you want me to come to the studio?”