Who wrote Stand Back?

[reebokandlace]

In a recent interview regarding SNL Stevie says:


“You know, we practiced and practiced, and everything went well. At the time, I had my friend who wrote ‘Stand Back,’ and she was gonna do the second song, which was called ‘Nightbird’ — and she freaked out and had terrible stage fright, so she couldn’t do it,” Nicks says.


I looked at the liner notes for the Wild Heart album and it says (S. Nicks) wrote the song…… so who is this uncredited friend? I thought she wrote Stand Back in the car when Kim was driving and they were listening to “Little Red Corvette” and she “desperately needed a pen and paper so she could jot down the lyrics”


So who is this friend who wrote Stand Back???

I am so confused.

[HomerMcvie]

Prince was supposedly in the studio with her for a few hours, and he came up with the synth part for it.

[WatchChain]

Stevie is getting older, and she often does, she misspoke in the interview.

My theory is that she meant to say her "friend" wrote the second song that was to be performed that night on SNL, which was "Nightbird". Her friend Sandy Stewart co-wrote "Nightbird". I can only assume that's what Stevie meant.

I did not know that Sandy was slated to perform with Stevie that night - but backed out at the last minute. To me, that is interesting considering that this was January 1984 and Sandy was soon to release her solo album "Cat Dancer" on Modern Records. Stage fright?

[David]

I think Stevie wrote the words and her musicians worked out the music to follow the “Little Red Corvette” chord modulation. I think one of her keyboardists created the main synth hook that you hear in concert with the drums, but I think Prince added the sixteenth-note synth bass and the octave tremolo on the chorus, which turn the song into a little bit of a funk-dance track (right up Prince’s alley).

Here’s what I heard about Stevie and Sandy. When that falling out happened, the story goes that Sandy had finished recording her first album (Modern Records) and Stevie had added a lot of backup vocals and duet vocals. But for some (stupid) reason, Sandy took off a lot of her vocals and just kept “I Pretend,” “Saddest Victory,” and “Cat Dancer” backup vocals. So Stevie got very annoyed and basically said, “Fine. You want to do your solo album by yourself, go ahead.” Stevie then started planning another tour leg for 1984. She had originally planned to have Sandy open the shows, but when they had this fight, Stevie reached out to Julian Lennon to open the show at Dodger Stadium and the shows after that.

But that was the story going around in 1984 — Sandy wanted her album to stand on its own two feet and just use Stevie a little bit, whereas Stevie wanted to basically make a Sandy Stewart + Stevie Nicks album. Sounds like a young artist wanted her efforts to be prominent and the mentor superstar wanted to push a team effort to draw enormous attention to it.

[Macfan4life]

Originally Posted by David

I think Stevie wrote the words and her musicians worked out the music to follow the “Little Red Corvette” chord modulation. I think one of her keyboardists created the main synth hook that you hear in concert with the drums, but I think Prince added the sixteenth-note synth bass and the octave tremolo on the chorus, which turn the song into a little bit of a funk-dance track (right up Prince’s alley).

Here’s what I heard about Stevie and Sandy. When that falling out happened, the story goes that Sandy had finished recording her first album (Modern Records) and Stevie had added a lot of backup vocals and duet vocals. But for some (stupid) reason, Sandy took off a lot of her vocals and just kept “I Pretend,” “Saddest Victory,” and “Cat Dancer” backup vocals. So Stevie got very annoyed and basically said, “Fine. You want to do your solo album by yourself, go ahead.” Stevie then started planning another tour leg for 1984. She had originally planned to have Sandy open the shows, but when they had this fight, Stevie reached out to Julian Lennon to open the show at Dodger Stadium and the shows after that.

But that was the story going around in 1984 — Sandy wanted her album to stand on its own two feet and just use Stevie a little bit, whereas Stevie wanted to basically make a Sandy Stewart + Stevie Nicks album. Sounds like a young artist wanted her efforts to be prominent and the mentor superstar wanted to push a team effort to draw enormous attention to it.

I've heard you mention that possible second Wild Heart tour leg in 1984 before. Besides the Sandy falling out, maybe she and her record company thought Nightbird was going to be another hit and keep the momentum going. Did you not say before Stevie also wanted to release All The Beautiful Worlds on the B side of Nightbird?
The Against All Odds soundtrack was also released in early 1984. Violet and Blue was big in rock station rotation. After Nightbird and Violet and Blue faded from the charts, it was quiet in Stevie world for a long time.
I think if she had done a video for I Will Run To You, Nothing Ever Changes or Enchanted as a possible third single would have extended the Wild Heart's run on the charts and bled into 1984.

[vermicious knid]

Originally Posted by Macfan4life

I think if she had done a video for I Will Run To You, Nothing Ever Changes or Enchanted as a possible third single would have extended the Wild Heart's run on the charts and bled into 1984.

My internet search is showing that Tom Petty didn't tour at all in 1984 which would have made that a good time for him to film a nice-quality video for "I Will Run to You". But my vote would be for fourth single rather than third. And despite how synth-heavy the album was, that is one song that ought to have had NO synthesizer. It needed to be pure country. Stevie really needed to take the reigns on that one and say that it was going to be done her way since the song was being given to her. Should have been the fourth-single country song just like "After the Glitter Fades".

To take things back to Sandy Stewart, I only just learned that she co-wrote a song called "In My Blood" for a singer named Fiona that was on a 1986 album. Maybe in an alternate universe it would have been on Rock a Little or a soundtrack thing. You can decide for yourself whether you wish it had been a Stevie song.

[bwboy]

Originally Posted by David

She had originally planned to have Sandy open the shows, but when they had this fight, Stevie reached out to Julian Lennon to open the show at Dodger Stadium and the shows after that.

But that was the story going around in 1984 — Sandy wanted her album to stand on its own two feet and just use Stevie a little bit, whereas Stevie wanted to basically make a Sandy Stewart + Stevie Nicks album. Sounds like a young artist wanted her efforts to be prominent and the mentor superstar wanted to push a team effort to draw enormous attention to it.

Wow, I had no idea Julian Lennon ever opened for Stevie. I presume this was before he released the album that had a couple of big hits?

That’s understandable that Sandy would want her album to stand on its own, but I’m not sure Stevie expected or wanted the album to be considered a Sandy Stewart+Stevie Nicks album. Maybe Stevie was more irritated that she wasted her time providing vocals only to have them removed from the songs?

[HomerMcvie]

Originally Posted by bwboy

Wow, I had no idea Julian Lennon ever opened for Stevie. I presume this was before he released the album that had a couple of big hits?

That’s understandable that Sandy would want her album to stand on its own, but I’m not sure Stevie expected or wanted the album to be considered a Sandy Stewart+Stevie Nicks album. Maybe Stevie was more irritated that she wasted her time providing vocals only to have them removed from the songs?

Maybe she felt that her addition to the record would have made a difference, in whether or not it was a hit?

[aleuzzi]

Originally Posted by bwboy

Wow, I had no idea Julian Lennon ever opened for Stevie. I presume this was before he released the album that had a couple of big hits?

That’s understandable that Sandy would want her album to stand on its own, but I’m not sure Stevie expected or wanted the album to be considered a Sandy Stewart+Stevie Nicks album. Maybe Stevie was more irritated that she wasted her time providing vocals only to have them removed from the songs?

Julian Lennon’s first solo album was recorded in early 1984, then released in October of the same year. So depending when Stevie went on tour, Julian could have either: a) toured the recorded album before it was released; or b) started touring with Stevie once the album was released.

[BrownEyedGirl26]

Originally Posted by David

I think Stevie wrote the words and her musicians worked out the music to follow the “Little Red Corvette” chord modulation. I think one of her keyboardists created the main synth hook that you hear in concert with the drums, but I think Prince added the sixteenth-note synth bass and the octave tremolo on the chorus, which turn the song into a little bit of a funk-dance track (right up Prince’s alley).

Here’s what I heard about Stevie and Sandy. When that falling out happened, the story goes that Sandy had finished recording her first album (Modern Records) and Stevie had added a lot of backup vocals and duet vocals. But for some (stupid) reason, Sandy took off a lot of her vocals and just kept “I Pretend,” “Saddest Victory,” and “Cat Dancer” backup vocals. So Stevie got very annoyed and basically said, “Fine. You want to do your solo album by yourself, go ahead.” Stevie then started planning another tour leg for 1984. She had originally planned to have Sandy open the shows, but when they had this fight, Stevie reached out to Julian Lennon to open the show at Dodger Stadium and the shows after that.

But that was the story going around in 1984 — Sandy wanted her album to stand on its own two feet and just use Stevie a little bit, whereas Stevie wanted to basically make a Sandy Stewart + Stevie Nicks album. Sounds like a young artist wanted her efforts to be prominent and the mentor superstar wanted to push a team effort to draw enormous attention to it.

It was unfortunate for us that we never got to hear both of them harmonizing together! Keep in mind that Stevie started singing with her grandfather, AJ Nicks when she was very young and loved to sing two part harmonies with him.

I hope Stevie has at least one copy of both of their vocals, from their recording sessions together!

[bombaysaffires]

someone posted the link to this interview of Stevie talking about Prince and how Stand Back happened and then the fact that he was now mad at her and not talking to her because she wouldn't go out with him....She also recounts the infamous falling asleep on his kitchen floor story.... Personally I've always believed Thousand Days was about her relationship with Prince, and the part "you've been asleep/well I've been asleep for how long she says" was her on the kitchen floor

the interview was from the Mark and Brian show in LA and I am reminded by this clip how stupid and obnoxious they were... I'm really shocked she spent and hour with them but..

Prince/Stand Back story from her starts at 1:09 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ntul_GT28TU&t=902s


The story about Prince using his engineer to avoid Stevie.... starts at 4:15 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KG3e7GuC80

[BrownEyedGirl26]

Originally Posted by reebokandlace

In a recent interview regarding SNL Stevie says:


“You know, we practiced and practiced, and everything went well. At the time, I had my friend who wrote ‘Stand Back,’ and she was gonna do the second song, which was called ‘Nightbird’ — and she freaked out and had terrible stage fright, so she couldn’t do it,” Nicks says.


I looked at the liner notes for the Wild Heart album and it says (S. Nicks) wrote the song…… so who is this uncredited friend? I thought she wrote Stand Back in the car when Kim was driving and they were listening to “Little Red Corvette” and she “desperately needed a pen and paper so she could jot down the lyrics”


So who is this friend who wrote Stand Back???

I am so confused.

Just add this question to the long list of questions, us long suffering true fans would like her to answer.