Posted on 03/18/2023 9:03:53 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Stevie Nicks was very clear on what she wanted to achieve when she turned her attention to recording “Edge of Seventeen.”
She later admitted that she’d never heard a dove’s call, even though the Fleetwood Mac icon represented it in her vocals. There was also a song by the Police that she wanted to imitate: “Bring on the Night,” from 1979’s Regatta de Blanc.
Guitarist Waddy Wachtel was lost. “I had never heard ‘Bring On the Night,’” the Bella Donna sideman told Musician in 1999, “and at that session they told me they were going to do this song based on this feel. I had heard something about the Police, but I didn’t know what they were talking about.”
In fact, he didn't completely appreciate the similarities between “Edge of Seventeen” and “Bring on the Night” for years. “I had the radio on, and on comes what sounds like ‘Edge of Seventeen’ – and all of a sudden, there’s Sting’s voice!” Wachtel said. “I thought, ‘We ripped them off completely!’ I called Stevie that night and said, ‘Listen to me: Don’t ever do that again!’”
She was more careful next time. “Stand Back,” from her very next solo album The Wild Heart, was directly inspired by Prince’s “Little Red Corvette.” This time, she spoke to Prince and actually got him involved in the recording.
Decades later, Wachtel admitted there was an upside to having borrowed the Police riff. “Onstage, the beginning of that song is like a break for Stevie,” he said. “I’d be standing there, playing that riff for around three minutes, before she’d even start singing! By the end of the tour, I was able to break walnuts with my right hand!”
If anyone was being ripped of it was probably Andy Summers, who probably came up with the riff. But I don't think either of them consider this a ripoff.
Per wiki...
“According to Nicks, the title came from a conversation she had with Tom Petty’s first wife, Jane, about the couple’s first meeting. Jane said they met “at the age of seventeen”, but Jane’s strong Southern accent made it sound like “edge of seventeen” to Nicks. She liked the sound of the phrase so much that she told Jane she would write a song for it and give her credit for the inspiration.[3]”
nick bites the bag.
yoko ono too
I remember that.
HUH?
I do not like stevie nicks
She sounds like Jerry Lewis singing to me. Never could stand her.
Me neither.
Not even the same chord progression. ‘Edge’ is just a VI-VII-i. Don’t hear the rip off.
There was a guy in our circle that had a serious fan crush on her. Another guy would always refer to her as a gash in rags whenever he was within earshot.
Yeah, that was Andy’s work and Sting, the least talented member of the Police, who nailed the vocals on Bring on the Night.
The Police may have inspired her, but it is not ripped off from the Police.
Musicians all rip each other off. Music lawsuits are stupid. Beethoven, Bach and several other classical composers if reincarnated could sue everybody.
Yeah, originality is seriously lacking these days.
I don’t really notice any similarities between the songs and just listened to the police song for the first time and hopefully the last
They sound like drunk Caribbean lounge singers
The two songs have nothing in common. The hype machine is working overtime.
I don’t like her either.
I am glad I was drawn to art instead of music.
By 1979, I was busy with our new born baby in our apartment overseas and working alternating shifts in the USAF.
I see many of FR's curmudgeons have found this thread to vent their disapproval.
That's OK. When I was a young teen, I had a mad, mad crush on Nicks (who didn't). She was a freakin' smokeshow!
Interesting bit of trivia. During the Bella Donna tour (1981) her father chaperoned her in a herculean effort to keep her away from drugs.
Here he introduces her on stage.
Gold Dust Woman ~ STEVIE NICKS White Wing Dove - 1981
Good job dad!
Just so you might think I have something against the Police, I like these a whole lot.
Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
Roxanne
Every Breath You Take
Don't Stand So Close To Me
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.