• Paul McCartney, 83, revealed on BBC Radio 2’s Tracks of My Years that Prince recorded a cover of the Beatles’ “The Long and Winding Road” — the 1970 Let It Be ballad — which McCartney didn’t learn about until after Prince’s 2016 death
• “I’m going to ask them [Prince’s estate]. I could make it into something really good,” McCartney said
• He praised Prince’s playing on the recording: “He plays some really good guitar on it” — and described Prince generally as “a wizard”
• The appearance was tied to McCartney’s new solo album, The Boys of Dungeon Lane, during which he also discussed the artists who shaped him growing up in Liverpool

Paul McCartney found out Prince covered one of his songs — and he found out the way most people find things out: someone just told him.

The 83-year-old Beatle appeared on BBC Radio 2’s Tracks of My Years with host Vernon Kay this week, and in the course of the conversation he let slip an anecdote that raises a real question for Prince’s estate. McCartney said that after Prince’s death in 2016, someone mentioned to him that Prince had recorded a cover of “The Long and Winding Road” — the sweeping ballad McCartney wrote that closed out the Beatles’ 1970 Let It Be album.

“I was with some guy a couple of years ago, so it was after Prince had died, and this guy said, ‘Have you heard Prince do "Long and Winding Road"?'” McCartney recalled. “I said, ‘Well no, that’s one of my songs!'”

He’s heard it since. His verdict: “He plays some really good guitar on it.”

As for what happens next, McCartney was direct about his intentions: “I’m going to ask them,” he said of Prince’s estate. “I could make it into something really good.”

Prince’s vault at Paisley Park is famously enormous — thousands of recordings that may never see a commercial release. His estate has shared material selectively since his death, and any decision to put out the “Long and Winding Road” cover would be theirs to make. But McCartney’s public interest in the recording puts a new kind of pressure on the conversation.

During the same interview, McCartney was unambiguous about how he rates Prince as a musician. He called out Prince’s 1986 single “Kiss” as a personal favorite, praising the minimalism of the arrangement: “He took a lot from Hendrix, but he was a great player. It’s just so simple — again to pull that kind of thing off, you can do a kind of simple thing, and it can just sound simple but not great, but his sounds simply great. He’s a wizard.”

McCartney’s appearance on the show coincided with the release of his new solo album, The Boys of Dungeon Lane, in which he traces the music of his Liverpool childhood and the path it took him from the Merseyside docks to global fame.

The post Paul McCartney Just Found Out Prince Covered His Song — and Wants to Release It appeared first on Cream.

• Morris Day & The Time were announced as headliners for a June 27 show at the Great American State Fair — part of the Freedom 250 celebrations marking America’s 250th birthday on the National Mall
• Day, 68, immediately went to Instagram to deny it: “Contrary To Rumor, Morris Day & The Time Will Not Be Performing At The ‘Great American State Fair'”
• His caption: “It’s A No For Me” — with the sunglasses emoji
• Fans had already started pushing back on his advertised participation before Day posted his denial
• The festival lineup also includes Milli Vanilli and C+C Music Factory; the 16-day fair has been described as controversial given its political ties

Morris Day and The Time did not agree to play Freedom 250. They would like you to know that.

Earlier this week, the lineup was announced for the Great American State Fair, a 16-day event on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., tied to the Freedom 250 celebrations marking the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Day and The Time were listed as headliners for a June 27 show.

Day, 68, responded on Instagram almost immediately. The post featured text on a blue and purple background: “Contrary To Rumor, Morris Day & The Time Will Not Be Performing At The ‘Great American State Fair.'” His caption: “It’s A No For Me,” followed by the sunglasses smile emoji.

He didn’t elaborate further, but the vehemence of the denial — and its speed — made the message clear enough. This was not a scheduling conflict. This was a choice.

Fans had already been expressing discomfort about his listed participation before Day posted. The festival’s political associations have made it a flashpoint for artists who’d rather not be adjacent to the current administration’s celebration programming, and Day’s public pullout — framed as correcting a “rumor” even while organizers had advertised him — put the dispute squarely in the open.

The remaining Great American State Fair lineup, per Stereogum, includes Milli Vanilli and C+C Music Factory, among others. The event runs through July 4.

The post Morris Day & The Time Were Listed for Trump’s Freedom 250 Festival. They Say No. appeared first on Cream.