Paul McCartney Hopes to Release Posthumous Duet with Prince

LONDON (AP) - Paul McCartney says he hopes to create a posthumous collaboration with Prince.

Speaking on BBC Radio 2's "Tracks of My Years," McCartney praised Prince, citing "Kiss" as one of his favorite songs by the late musician.

"He took a lot from Hendrix, but he was a great player," McCartney said of Prince's guitar work. "It's just so simple. You can do a simple thing and it can sound simple but not great, but his sounds simply great. He's a wizard."

McCartney recalled a conversation from a few years ago, after Prince's death. "I was with some guy... and he said, 'Have you heard Prince do 'Long and Winding Road'? I said, 'Well, no, that's one of my songs, I don't think he ever did it.'"

According to setlist.fm, Prince performed "The Long and Winding Road" live 12 times, mostly during his 2007 residency at Club 3121 in Las Vegas.

McCartney said he was surprised to hear a recording of Prince's version. He noted that Prince made the song "kind of rocky" and added "some really good guitar on it." Hearing Prince's take inspired McCartney to consider a duet. "It's really great, so I'm going to ask them [for permission to use it]. Because I could make it into something really good."

If approved, a McCartney-Prince duet could be released. Prince's version of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" has been widely praised, and fans may have another collaboration to look forward to.