This is an interview with ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons, asking him about Prince, his guitar playing, and his influence.

Q: You’re a little bit older, you come from Texas and I’d imagine you first learned about Prince in the early ’80s, when you were both MTV stars.

Billy: As you may remember, he began bubbling up without a lot of advance fanfare. There was just this vague knowledge of this new guy on the scene called Prince. And then, of course, we all got our world rocked when “Purple Rain” showed up at the theaters. Even today, I’m struggling to try and emulate that guitar introduction to “When Doves Cry.” It’s just a testament to his extraordinary technique.

Q: Wait. When you say emulate — you mean you try to play it and you can’t?

Billy: I continually come back to attempting to piece together each and every one of those segments. And it’s very short. It’s not an extended solo by any means. But the way it is delivered. There’s certainly no way to write it. You’ve just got to dive in and feel it to see if you could come close.

In the interview, Billy talks about technique and references the video below. Prince was a master of technique. Take a listen. Prince is in complete control. This is not about speed, this is about breathing life into his guitar, making it an extension of his Princely self.