Stevie Nicks Wrote This Big Hit on Her Wedding Day, Inspired by a Prince Song From 1983

Most brides on their wedding day are just thinking about their significant other, but not Stevie Nicks. On January 29, 1983, Nicks wed Kim Anderson. After the wedding, while driving to Santa Barbara, Prince’s “Little Red Corvette” came on the radio. Nicks immediately became inspired to write “Stand Back”, a song that remains one of her biggest hits.

“I got married the day I wrote this song,” Nicks reveals in the liner notes for her 1991 Timespace: The Best of Stevie Nicks record. “We were driving to Santa Barbara, and a new song by Prince came on, so we pulled over somewhere and got the tape. It just gave me an incredible idea, so I spent many hours that night writing a song about some kind of a crazy argument, and it was to become one of the most important of my songs.”

“Stand Back” says in part, “Stand back, stand back / In the middle of my room / I did not hear from you / It’s alright, it’s alright.” The song is the debut single from The Wild Heart, her sophomore solo album. Unfortunately for Nicks, “Stand Back” was more successful than her short-lived marriage. She and Anderson divorced only three months after saying, “I do.”

How Prince Inspired Stevie Nicks to Write “Stand Back”

According to Nicks, Prince’s influence on “Stand Back” cannot be overstated. He also plays on “Stand Back”, a full-circle moment for Nicks.

“Prince did come into the studio the night I called him and told him about the song, and he played incredible synthesizer on it,” Nicks reveals. “And then he just walked out of my life, and I didn’t see him for a long time. It was extraordinary.”

Sadly, Nicks never got to see one of her biggest dreams come true: performing the song live with Prince. Prince passed away in 2016.

“Had I ever in a million years thought that we would lose him, I would have made sure that that would have happened,” Nicks tells Billboard. “And it didn’t. So that’s just one of those things in your life where you say, ‘I really missed out.’ Because he should have. That should have happened. 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.”

Nicks had other hit singles, including “Edge Of Seventeen”, “Talk To Me”, and more. Still, nothing will ever top “Stand Back” for Nicks, especially live.

“‘Stand Back’ has always been my favorite song onstage because when it starts, it has an energy that comes from somewhere unknown. … I’ve never quite understood this sound, but I have NEVER questioned it.”

Photo by Paul Natkin/Getty Images

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