Paul McCartney’s Favorite Song on ‘Flowers in the Dirt’ Was Heavily Influenced by a Prince LP
Paul McCartney has influenced many singers and songwriters in his 65-year musical career. However, certain entertainers have made their mark on The Beatles’ bassist. One of these was Prince. In his final years, Prince used his music and his platform to explicitly challenge and appease his dedicated enthusiasts, provoke thought, and innovate the music marketplace. His out-of-the-box thinking influenced McCartney while recording his 8th solo album, Flowers in the Dirt.
Paul McCartney asked Prince to donate to a cause dear to his heart
McCartney never had the chance to collaborate with Prince before his 2016 death. However, 10 years prior, McCartney wrote a secret letter to Prince asking him to donate to a cause near and dear to The Beatles‘ bassist’s heart.
According to Far Out Magazine, McCartney asked for Prince’s support in 1996. McCartney took on the role of lead patron of the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts. He wrote several letters to his celebrity friends and acquaintances, asking for donations. LIPA is in the old school building McCartney himself attended, Liverpool Institute High School for Boys, which closed in 1985.
He wrote, “Now the hard part. A donation from you would be a great boost to the project, and I know your involvement in some way would be a thrill for everyone concerned.”
It was never revealed if Prince indeed donated to McCartney’s cause. The letter was sold by RR Auction in Boston in 2016 for $14,822.50, reported Newsweek.
Prince heavily influenced a song on Paul McCartney’s LP ‘Flowers in the Dirt’
In an interview with People Magazine, McCartney discussed one song on Flowers in the Dirt titled “Distractions.” His influence pushed McCartney to arrange the song differently after hearing Prince’s 1986 album Parade.
“That’s one of my favorites. I got in touch with this guy called Clare Fischer, who I thought was a woman with the name Clare,” McCartney admitted. “I just knew the person’s work from a Prince album [1986’s Parade], where I heard a really nice arrangement.”
He continued, “When I’d written this song, I thought, ‘It would be nice to have a really good arrangement, slightly jazz-tinged but not too much.’ So, I got in touch with Clare, and I was quite surprised to find out he was a middle-aged man. [laughs] But he was great—a bit of a genius. He and I talked about it a lot, and he got the idea. I really liked that arrangement.”
The music legend says ‘Distractions’ has meaningful lyrics as well as an excellent arrangement
McCartney also told People Magazine that there are times when “you hit a lyric that means something to you.” He then elaborated on the deeper meaning behind the lyrics of “Distractions.”
“For me, if you love someone, you want to hang out with them all the time and have the best time and life. But then you’ve got to go to work. You’ve got to do this; you’ve got to do that. So, I call all those things distractions,” he concluded.
