Paul McCartney has revealed that he hopes to release a new version of The Beatles’ classic “The Long and Winding Road” featuring Prince.
Speaking on BBC Radio 2’s “Tracks of My Years,” McCartney said the idea came after he was sent a recording of Prince covering the 1970 track.
“I was with some guy a couple of years ago, so it was after Prince had died,” McCartney recalled. “And this guy said, ‘Have you heard Prince do ‘Long and Winding Road?’ I said, ‘Well, no. That’s one of my songs.’ I said, ‘I don’t think he ever did it.’ He said, ‘Well, he did. He did it in rehearsal. He was rehearsing it for something.’”
“He said, ‘I’ll send it to you if you want.’ This guy, I think he was Prince’s photographer, his personal guy. So, he sent it to me and it’s really great. And so I’m going to sort of ask [the estate] … because I could make it into something really good… It’s kind of rocky. He plays some really good guitar on it. He was a special guy,” he added.
Prince performed “The Long and Winding Road” on several occasions during his 2007 Las Vegas residency, though no official studio version has ever been released.
Elsewhere in the interview, McCartney selected Prince’s 1986 hit “Kiss” as one of his favorite songs, and praised the late musician’s extraordinary talent.
“He took a lot from [Jimi] Hendrix,” he said of Prince’s guitar playing. “But he was a great player. And if you watch him play, he’s got that sort of style. It’s just, there’s something about it. You know, he knows that instrument. I like his playing. […] He’s a wizard.”
