In the digital age, viral moments can resurface and captivate audiences years after they occur. Following the untimely passing of Prince on April 21, 2016, one such moment exploded across social media feeds: a video of Prince delivering a mind-blowing guitar solo on a star-studded rendition of The Beatles’ classic, “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.” This wasn’t just any performance; it featured Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne, and other music luminaries, all gathered to honor George Harrison at the 2004 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
This electrifying performance, originally captured at the ceremony inducting Harrison, alongside Prince himself, ZZ Top, Bob Seger, Jackson Browne, Traffic, and The Dells, a Fifties doo-wop group, had already resonated with audiences on GuitarPlayer.com. First shared in August 2015 and revisited in December of the same year, the video’s popularity led to another share in March 2016, even before the surge of interest after Prince’s death. What made it so compelling? Prince’s solo was pure, unadulterated energy. But the truly unforgettable moment? The song’s finale, where Prince, in a flourish of rockstar brilliance, removed his H.S. Anderson Mad Cat Tele-style guitar and tossed it skyward, seemingly into oblivion.
He just burned it up. You could feel the electricity of ‘something really big’s going down here’
Tom Petty
The sheer impact of Prince’s performance resonated far beyond the immediate audience. In the days following Prince’s passing, The New York Times delved into the story behind this legendary performance. They interviewed Tom Petty and others who shared the stage with Prince that night, piecing together the events that led to this iconic musical moment. According to the article, Joel Gallen, the show’s producer, had initially requested Prince to play the solos, given his presence as an inductee. However, during rehearsals, Marc Mann, Jeff Lynne’s guitarist, stepped in, delivering a flawless, note-for-note rendition of Eric Clapton’s original mid-song solo.
As Gallen recounted to the New York Times, the rehearsal process took an unexpected turn when it came to the outro solo. “And we get to the big end solo,” Gallen explained, “and Prince again steps forward to go into the solo, and this guy starts playing that solo too!” Time constraints prevented extensive rehearsal, but Prince, ever the confident artist, reassured Gallen that everything would be perfect for the actual performance. His plan: Mann would handle the first solo, and Prince would unleash his own improvisational magic on the extended outro. “They never rehearsed it, really,” Gallen admitted. “Never really 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,” Gallen concluded. “It became one of the most satisfying musical moments in my history of watching and producing live music.” Indeed, the performance transcended a simple tribute; it became a cultural touchstone. Throughout the song, Prince remained stage right, a simmering presence until the final moments when he commanded center stage. From that instant onward, the performance became unequivocally his. His smooth stage presence, exemplified by a slick move at 4:43, and his intensely focused “guitar face” at 5:05, were as captivating as the notes he unleashed in a torrent of musical brilliance. Even Dhani Harrison, George Harrison’s son, who played acoustic guitar that night, couldn’t hide his admiration, his smile reflecting the collective awe at Prince’s masterful interpretation of his father’s song.
“You see me nodding at him, to say, ‘Go on, go on,’” Petty recalled. “I remember I leaned out at him at one point and gave him a ‘This is going great!’ kind of look.” Petty perfectly captured the atmosphere of the moment: “He just burned it up. You could feel the electricity of ‘something really big’s going down here.’” The energy in the room was palpable, a sense of witnessing music history in the making.
Yet, amidst the legendary performance, one lingering question remains: what happened to the guitar? Once Prince launched it into the air, it simply vanished. The video offers no clues, no glimpse of anyone catching it. Even Steve Ferrone, Tom Petty’s drummer, who had a front-row seat to the spectacle, remains baffled. “I didn’t even see who caught it,” he confessed. “I just saw it go up, and I was astonished that it didn’t come back down again.” To this day, the mystery endures. “Everybody wonders where that guitar went, and I gotta tell you, I was on the stage, and I wonder where it went, too,” Ferrone admitted, echoing the sentiments of countless viewers who have watched and rewatched this iconic performance of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” featuring Tom Petty and the unforgettable Prince.
