In a recent podcast interview, Alicia reveals her experience with Prince before covering “How Come You Don’t Call Me.”

“How Come You Don’t Call Me” was first released in 1982 by Prince. Alicia once told the media that an A&R representative and her manager introduced her to the track.

“They gave me a copy of the song on tape,”

Keys must have fallen in love with that track because of a story about requesting permission to cover Prince’s song, which she revealed on a recent Malcolm Gladwell podcast. On the podcast, she was speaking about new music and book release.

Keys, the future princes of soul, was still a newbie in the industry when she made the request.

According to press releases, she was around the age of 18 or 19. And in fact, her release of chart-topper “Fallin” was still freshly released. As everyone knows, covers like “How Come You Don’t Call Me” need permission, especially from someone as accomplished as Prince. But, given what we know, Alicia made quite an impression.

Alicia Keys gets permission to cover Prince’s song.

Keys made the call. When asking permission to cover “How Come You Don’t Call Me,” Prince requested a personal performance of the song. You got it; she had to audition and get direct approval from “The Artist” himself.  Keys went to Paisley Park, and the rest is history. But, she is not the only artist to cover the song. Stephanie Mills did a cover of the Prince track in 1983.

This is a believable story but an unbelievable opportunity!

Prince is a known perfectionist and music enthusiast. And honestly, his desire for excellence is no industry secret. Even so, his request that Alicia audition the song before approval does make one wonder. Did R&B diva Stephanie Mills also have to audition to release her cover. Well, that is a piece for another time.

But, what we know, is that young Alicia made a request to an icon. The icon responded, and she later covered the song. Alicia’s version of “How Come You Don’t Call Me!” was released in 2001, almost 20 years after Prince’s 1982 release. What a story; rarely does an aspiring artist get express permission from the High Priest of Pop, His Royal Badness Prince, so kudos to her.

Author: Renae Richardson