Eight years have passed since the world lost one of its most extraordinary musicians, Prince. He was discovered dead at his Paisley Park residence in Minneapolis in April 2016, at the age of 57.
Throughout his life, Prince was not only a prolific singer-songwriter and musician but also collaborated with numerous iconic artists. One of those artists was Stevie Nicks from Fleetwood Mac, who recently shared insights into their friendship. She recounted how Prince once expressed concern about her struggles with drug use.
Their collaboration began in the early 1980s, blossoming into a profound friendship. Nicks, now 73, reminisced about feeling flattered when she realized Prince had an interest in her. “Prince and I were just friends”, she explained in an interview with Harper’s Bazaar. “I think he would have been happy to have had a relationship.”
While on her honeymoon with ex-husband Kim Anderson, Nicks heard Prince’s hit “Little Red Corvette” and felt inspired to create her own song. “Suddenly, I was singing along: ‘Stand back!’” she told Uncle Joe Benson on the Ultimate Classic Rock Nights radio show. “I asked Kim to pull over because I needed to record this, so we found a store and bought a tape recorder.”
That night, she worked tirelessly on what would become the lead single from her 1983 solo album, The Wild Heart, which eventually reached No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100.
After completing her song “Stand Back”, Nicks arranged a meeting with Prince, and within 20 minutes, they were introduced in a Los Angeles studio. Prince listened to her track and quickly went to the keyboard to contribute his unique touches. Afterward, he hugged her and left. “He spoiled me for every band I’ve ever had because no one could replicate what Prince did all by himself”, Nicks remarked in her book Rock Lives.
Despite her admiration for him, Nicks chose not to pursue a romantic relationship, valuing their musical bond instead. “I wanted a creative partnership, and I had learned early on that relationships could end badly”, she explained. “He wasn’t just looking for that.”
Interestingly, Prince’s song “When Doves Cry” was inspired by Nicks’ “Edge of Seventeen”, Nicks candidly admitted that during their collaboration, she was deeply involved in drug use. “The eighties were a dark time for me”, she told The New Yorker. “Prince was very much against drugs, and it shocked me to learn he ended up on pain medication. He often lectured me about my habits.”
Nicks recalled their conversations, where Prince would warn her: “You gotta be careful, Stevie”, to which she would respond: “I know, I know”, In the wake of his death, she expressed her sorrow, noting: “It’s tragic that he died of an accidental overdose. I can hear him saying: ‘Sweetie, I can’t believe it happened either’”.
Prince’s concern was warranted, as Nicks ultimately entered rehab twice. In 1986, she sought help at the Betty Ford Clinic for cocaine addiction and returned to treatment in 1993 for an over-prescription of Klonopin.
In 1986, during a visit with a plastic surgeon regarding her nose, she learned she had severely damaged it from her drug use. “I asked the doctor what he thought about my nose, and he replied: ‘The next time you do cocaine, you could drop dead’”, Nicks recalled. This prompted her to seek help at the Betty Ford Clinic, a decision that helped turn her life around and potentially saved her career.
It’s a tragedy that Prince couldn’t overcome his own struggles with opioids. Nicks’ experiences underscore his musical genius and the generosity of his talent. He remains an irreplaceable legend, forever missed by countless fans worldwide.
Michael Jacksoп is ALIVE aпd secretly prepariпg for a MASSIVE COMEBACK, pal Akoп coпfirmed!!! MJ’s prodυcer & stylist agreed too.
He has also claimed he was a close friend of the star towards the end of his life and released the tribute song Cry Out Of Joy after his death.
Jackson’s former stylist and hairdresser Steve Erhardt, who initially wrote a Facebook message to “believers” – the singer’s fans who still cling to the idea he is still alive – in 2017 saying he had a message for them.
The message said: “A tip for the believers, the Michael Jackson believers. You heard it here first, an announcement of sorts.
COMEBACK
“And in a couple of months, or latest at the end of the year, you will be receiving some very good news.
“It’s almost unbelievable. And not even the family knows… but I do.”
Erhardt has never made public exactly what the post referred to.
In June last year he shared another enigmatic post showing only the leg of a man wearing Jacko’s trademark white socks and baggy, short black trousers.
The post said: “In a recording studio, somewhere in the world, in an undisclosed location, he’s coming soon.”
Further fuelling the strange conspiracy theories has been a YouTube channel, “BeLIEve” focused on debating if Jackson is still alive.
In one video, it states: “Michael’s friend, Hollywood hair designer Steve Erhardt, told us last year that he would give good news to Believers (I mean people who believe that Michael Jackson is alive).
“Now he shared something that excited the fans.”
Michael Turegano, who has investigated Jacko’s death for almost a decade, said that Erhardt’s claims should not be dismissed.
He said last year: “He’s been in contact with Michael in the past. So I think we should care what he says.”
Jackson died after suffering a heart attack in 2009 but some people have refused to believe that is really what happened.
His personal physician, Conrad Murray, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter over his death, which was deemed to be a homicide, the Los Angeles County Coroner ruled.
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