Miles Davis mention Prince in his autobiographies many times. Miles loved Prince, and Prince has the highest regards for Miles. How can he not feel this way?
 
I watched a video where Prince asked Miles to perform cold turkey... un-planned, and Miles accepted just like that no warmups or nothing, and just slammed some serious horns while Prince played... what? (you guessed it...) the bass.
 
That was so cool.
 
Peace and Love,
 
Hal-

It's always a problem when people (whether they are musicians, artists, movie stars, politicians, athletes, etc.) are assigned god status, whether it is assigned by themselves, the media, their fans, or whoever.  
First of all, they are not gods; they are just people with talent.  They may develop egos that convince them otherwise but it doesn't change the fact.  Second, if they take all the praise to heart, they may forget the contributions of those who came before them, those who paved the way and made their road easier to travel.  
There are some huge talents that probably were destined for greatness.  I think that they should show respect for others in their professions, regardless of the heights that they have personally attained.  But I don't know how I would act if people had been bowing down to me for decades, so I can't really say.  
It puts me off to hear some of the disrespectful things that celebrities say about others (including some things on Stanley's official website).  I think a little humility is a great thing for a person's character.
That said, over the last 35 years I have enjoyed a lot of Stanley's music.  Whether or not I buy more of his CDs, go see him play live, or pay any attention to him, I will always have the things he has contributed to my life in the past.
The most important thing he has given me is making me aware of Alembic.  That is something that has given me a lot of hands-on enjoyment just about every day of the last 6 years.
Rich

Except for Clapton.  He is god.  It used to say so all over the London subway, so it must be true!
 
Bill, tgo

Bill, I guess you are correct.  I forgot about Clapton and the London subway.  Between it and The Onion (America's Finest News Source) you don't need to go anywhere else for accurate information.
Rich

Don't leave out the internet - the bathroom wall of the 21st century!
 
hehehehe
 
Bill, tgo

Yep.  Nothing but accurate and objective info there.
Rich
 
Oops, sorry.  I hijacked a hijack of a hijack of a hijack of a hijack (is my count correct?) of the thread's original topic.

So who needs a beer?
Mike

Isn't SC a Scientologist? Sounds like he's still got some thetans/engrams/whatever to get rid of.  
 
On the other hand -- as a self-professed heroin addict, you know, Miles Davis was on drugs. If I was with someone and the only thing they said to me was SPACE, I might think they were on drugs, too. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Hugh; Miles Davis broke his addiction to heroin in 1954 when he was 28 years old.

A brief web search suggests that Stanley Clarke left Scientology in the early '80s.

Lol. Well, see? Clarke seems all engrammed out in that youtube vid. Anyway, you got me to start looking for info on Clarke and Scientology, and there isn't much. People are saying there was a strong Scientology undercurrent in RTF?

Miles was, in reality, a paradox. Himself the victim of a policeman's clubbing (reportedly, racially-inspired), he had the fairness and courage in the late 1950s to defy Black jazzmen's expectations by filling a piano vacancy  with a white player, Bill Evans, but then, by all accounts, often racially taunted him. A physical fitness enthusiast (with his own private gym), he nevertheless ingested vast quantities of drugs (sometimes, but not always, for arthritic pain). Forbiddingly gruff and solitary, he was also capable of acts of generosity toward down-at-heels musicians, both African American and white.
 
from answers.com
 
I think I also recall seeing Clarke talk about Miles asking him to join his band, but he couldn't do it for whatever reason.

Hugh; the point in Miles' life that you are citing did not include heroin.  By all accounts he quit heroin in 1954.
 
my primary source: Milestones, The Music and Times of Miles Davis by Jack Chambers, pp. 177 -179.

Yes, Dave, I got that. [can we get a confused emoticon here?]

In 1954, Stanley Clarke was still peeing in bed at 3 years old.
 
Peace and Love,
 
Hal-