Sheryl Crow talks Prince, Fleetwood Mac with Howard Stern

Sheryl Crow
Sheryl Crow

Almost a year after Prince’s death, Sheryl Crow reflected on their friendship and the honour of having him cover one of her biggest hits.

The singer-songwriter stopped by The Howard Stern Show on Tuesday to perform and chat about her decades-long career in the business, from her early beginnings as an L.A. waitress to her brushes with musical icons and storied solo career.

“You knew Prince because when you did Every Day Is a Winding Road, it was a huge hit and Prince called you and said, ‘I really appreciate this song,’ right?” Stern said. “He covered this song.”

Crow remembered the “Purple Rain” crooner stopping by her Vancouver show to jam.

“He came up and sat in with us on the Lilith tour, and I never play that song where I don’t get to the end of it and hear him in my ear go, ‘Sheryl Crow, y’all!’” she said.

Sheryl Crow also opened up about nearly joining Fleetwood Mac after Christine McVie’s departure in the early 2000s. (She’s close friends with member Stevie Nicks.)

“We all talked about it. I think I had a new record coming out. There were just some things that didn’t line up,” she explained. “And I wish I would’ve. I wish I could’ve.”

“Lindsey Buckingham was not enthusiastic, and you said right away, ‘Okay, then forget it,’” Stern said of the group’s guitarist and lead male vocalist.

“Well, I felt like if there was gonna be bad blood when I joined, that perhaps maybe I shouldn’t,” Crow said. “I didn’t want to upset something that was already beautiful.”

Crow added that Fleetwood Mac is a “sacred unit,” prompting Robin Quivers to quip, “Dissension works in that group! You might have made some beautiful music.”

That doesn’t mean she’ll never be a Black Magic Woman: “Oh man, I would still love to do it. I’m putting that out there,” she said with a laugh.

Listen to the clip below to hear Sheryl Crow recreate her backup vocals on Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean and reminisce about touring with the King of Pop.

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