One of Prince’s most famous performances came at the 2004 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductions. Prince was there for his own induction, but it was during a tribute to George Harrison that he stepped up to play an incredible solo on “My Guitar Gently Weeps.” Alongside Tom Petty, Harrison’s son, Dhani, Steve Winwood, Jeff Lynne, and Marc Mann, Prince wrapped up the tribute with a shocking, almost otherworldly solo. After his death, those who were there that day spoke to The New York Times about how it all came together — and revealed that they hadn’t rehearsed it, and had no idea what was going to unfold on stage.
It was ceremony director and producer Joel Gallen who arranged to have Prince there, and explained that when they rehearsed, Prince was there … and stood by as others took on the solos. He volunteered for the end solo, and that was sort of it. “They never rehearsed it, really,” Gallen said. “Never showed us what he was going to do, and he left, basically telling me, the producer of the show, not to worry. And the rest is history.”
Petty also weighed in on the night, saying that the atmosphere was electric. He added that he had been thinking about Prince in the days before his death, saying, “I almost told myself I was going to call him and just see how he was. I’m starting to think you should just act on those things all the time.”
