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Stand Back by Stevie Nicks - Friday Night Videos | From the Album The Wild Heart (1983)


 By Ken Hulsey

It's Friday, folks - in case you somehow didn't know. That means it's time for another episode of Friday Night Videos! Now, I usually like to share a little story to explain why I've chosen a particular artist to feature. But this week? I got nothin'. Zilch. Nada.

I wish I could regale you with some wild tale about Stevie Nicks - you know, like how we met in a hotel bar one night and totally hit it off. And to make a long story short, we had this hot and heavy weekend together, and she started falling for me, but I just wasn't ready for a serious relationship, so I had to let her down easy. Alas, none of that ever happened.

The honest truth is, I just friggin' love this song by Stevie. It was the first one that came to mind when I started planning this post. And let's be real, Stevie Nicks is the only woman who can make a shawl look downright sexy. So without further ado, here's an amazing track from the one and only Stevie Nicks!


Nicks has often recounted the story of how she wrote her hit song "Stand Back." On the day of her marriage to Kim Anderson on January 29, 1983, the newlyweds were driving to their honeymoon destination at San Ysidro Ranch in Santa Barbara when Prince's song "Little Red Corvette" came on the radio. Inspired by the lush synthesizers, Nicks started humming along and the melody for "Stand Back" began to take shape. They quickly stopped to get a tape recorder, and Nicks recorded the initial demo in their honeymoon suite that very night.

Later, when Nicks went into the studio to record the full version, she called Prince and told him the story of how his song had sparked the creation of "Stand Back." Prince came to the studio that night and played synthesizers on the track, though his contribution went uncredited on the album. The two did agree to split the publishing royalties 50-50. Nicks describes Prince then simply "getting up and leaving, as if the whole thing had happened in a dream."

Two music videos were filmed for Stevie Nicks' single. The first, known as the "Scarlett Version", was an elaborate production directed by Brian Grant. It featured Nicks in a Gone with the Wind-inspired scenario, but she ultimately rejected it because, according to Grant, she felt she looked overweight in the video. This unreleased version can now be found, with Nicks' commentary, on the DVD supplement of her 2007 greatest hits collection Crystal Visions – The Very Best of Stevie Nicks.

As an alternative, a second, lower-budget video was produced. Directed by choreographer Jeffrey Hornaday, it shows Nicks performing the song in a spotlight-filled room surrounded by glass walls and mirrors, interspersed with choreographed dance sequences. This version was the one aired on television and included on Nicks' 1986 video compilation I Can't Wait - The Video Collection, as well as the Crystal Visions DVD.


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