It’s well-known that Prince once claimed he was invited to duet with Michael Jackson on the 1987 hit “Bad.” Now, Sheila E. has shared that Prince actually recorded his own version of the song before promptly deleting it.
In an interview on The Jason Show, the legendary singer and drummer, 66, dismissed rumors of jealousy between the two icons, saying, “They hung out, we all hung out.” She was enthusiastic about sharing the untold story about the “Bad” duet that never came to be, according to People.
“So we get the song ‘Bad’ from Michael and we’re here at Paisley [Park]. And Prince is like, ‘Wait a minute.’ He said, ‘Michael wants me to sing this song with him.’ So he played it for us. He goes, ‘Your butt is mine…’ He said, ‘What?! Your butt is mine?’ And he just walked away, he said, ‘Uh, uh.’”
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Sheila E. recounted that Prince’s engagement with Jackson’s “Bad” extended further when they “re-recorded” the track together at his Paisley Park studio in Minnesota. Describing the rendition as “so funky” and “amazing,” she shared on The Jason Show that they were eager for Jackson to hear their version.
“And then after we recorded it, we’re like, ‘Oh my God, we can’t wait for Michael to hear it.’”
Despite the excitement over their re-recording of Jackson’s “Bad,” Prince decided to erase the entire track. “Prince went like this,” Sheila E. said as she mimicked Prince pressing a button to delete the recording. “And he erased the whole thing. Right there,” she recounted, leaving the audience in shock.
She clarified that re-recording tracks was a common practice for Prince and other musicians. “Oh yeah, it was fun. We did that all the time, though. I can name so many songs that we re-recorded that was sent to us. Ahhh. That’s another show.”
Sheila E.’s story about Prince’s reaction to Jackson’s “Bad” aligns with what Prince previously shared with Chris Rock and MTV in 1997. At that time, Prince expressed reservations about Jackson’s opening line, “Your butt is mine”, asking: “Who gon’ sing that to whom? Cause’ you sure ain’t singing it to me. And I sure ain’t singing it to you. So, right there we got a problem.”
“That Wesley Snipes character, that would’ve been me,” Prince added of the song’s music video. “Now you run that video in your mind.”
When asked at the time if he had any rivalry with Jackson, Prince clarified: “Not to me, no.”
This year however promises to be an exciting one for Prince fans, with new insights into his song-covering habits emerging and the announcement that the “Purple Rain” icon will receive a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
This honor, set for the Class of 2025, comes over eight years after Prince’s death in April 2016.
Prince initially declined the Walk of Fame honor twice, saying he was “not ready.” Walk of Fame producer Ana Martinez revealed to People that a Walk of Famer had discussed the nomination with Prince before his passing. An official date for the ceremony has yet to be announced.
Meanwhile, Prince was on Saturday posthumously inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame at a 40th anniversary screening of his film Purple Rain at Minneapolis’ Target Center. He was supposed to be honored at the SHOF gala in 2016 but died two months before the event.
