{"id":607040,"date":"2026-05-27T18:06:12","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T18:06:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/607040\/"},"modified":"2026-05-27T18:06:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T18:06:12","slug":"i-could-make-it-into-something-really-good-paul-mccartney-wants-to-get-his-hands-on-princes-unearthed-cover-of-a-classic-beatles-song-but-there-could-be-a-problem-with-tha","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/607040\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cI could make it into something really good\u201d: Paul McCartney wants to get his hands on Prince\u2019s unearthed cover of a classic Beatles song, but there could be a problem with that"},"content":{"rendered":"

Prince\u2019s guitar solo during a 2004 live performance of While My Guitar Gently Weeps at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame<\/a> is now considered by some to be one of the greatest in rock history, but this wasn\u2019t the only Beatles<\/a> song he put his stamp on.<\/p>\n

While some of his former collaborators have said that it took a while for Prince to \u2018get\u2019 The Fab Four, he covered several of their songs during his lifetime, including Come Together and With a Little Help From My Friends.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

And then there\u2019s the case of The Long And Winding Road, which was raised by Paul McCartney<\/a> earlier this week during an interview with BBC Radio 2\u2019s Vernon Kay.<\/p>\n

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Paul McCartney – the Tracks of My Years, with Vernon Kay – YouTube
\n\"Paul<\/p>\n

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\u201cActually, crazy scoop here,\u201d he began. \u201cI was with some guy a couple of years ago, so it was after Prince had died. And this guy said, \u2018Have you heard Prince do Long and Winding Road?\u2019 I said, \u2018Well, no. That’s one of my songs. I don’t think he ever did it.\u2019 He said, \u2018Well, he did. He did it in rehearsal. He was rehearsing it for something.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, he said, \u2018I’ll send it to you if you want.\u2019 This guy, I think he was the photographer for Prince, his personal guy. So, he sent it to me and it’s really great. And so I’m going to sort of ask them [about it]… because I could make it into something really good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked what kind of version the cover is, McCartney replied: \u201cIt’s kind of rocky. He plays some really good guitar on it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, there are a couple of things worth saying about this. Firstly, it\u2019s not the case that no one previously knew that Prince covered The Long and Winding Road, because he performed it multiple times in public during 2007. In fact, he even invited Elton John on stage to sing it during his famous residency at London\u2019s O2 Arena.<\/p>\n

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So, if Prince was playing the song in rehearsal, it could well have been because he was preparing for one of these shows.<\/p>\n

Even if a studio recording does exist, though, we have to consider Prince\u2019s thoughts on the idea of living artists \u2018collaborating\u2019 with those that have died, which he put on record during an interview with Guitar World in 1998.<\/p>\n

Asked if he would ever consider using technology so that he could \u201cjam with any artist from the past,\u201d he replied: \u201cCertainly not. That\u2019s the most demonic thing imaginable. Everything is as it is, and it should be. If I was meant to jam with Duke Ellington, we would have lived in the same age. That whole virtual reality thing… it really is demonic. And I am not a demon.\u201d<\/p>\n

What to read next<\/p>\n

So you\u2019re on the fence, then? Oh, you’re not.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately for McCartney, Prince also went on to make specific reference to a project that he was heavily involved in \u2013 the use of John Lennon<\/a>\u2019s vocals in Free as a Bird, the \u2018new\u2019 Beatles song from 1995.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat they did with that Beatles song, manipulating John Lennon\u2019s voice to have him singing from across the grave… that\u2019ll never happen to me,\u201d he said. \u201cTo prevent that kind of thing from happening is another reason why I want artistic control.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, if Prince\u2019s estate plans to respect his wishes, we\u2019d say that the chances of a \u2018duet\u2019 with Paul McCartney are pretty slim. But, hey \u2013 who knows?<\/p>\n

As a side note, Prince did release a studio version of one other song with \u2018winding road\u2019 in its title \u2013 Sheryl Crow\u2019s Everyday Is a Winding Road, which featured on his 1999 album, Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic. We can\u2019t honestly say that it\u2019s an improvement on Crow\u2019s 1996 original, but take a listen and decide for yourself\u2026<\/p>\n

Everyday Is a Winding Road – YouTube
\n\"Everyday<\/p>\n

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