Prince, the prolific artist who elevated the genres of funk, R&B, rock, blues and pop to greater explosive heights while implementing salacious sexual lyrics, love desire and political awareness died April 21, at his Paisley Park estate in Chanhassen, Minn. He was 57.
The results of the autopsy will not be available for several weeks, as noted by Martha Weaver, a spokeswoman from the coroner’s office.
Thursday evening, after the all-day news bulletins of Prince’s death, his fans around the world gathered at various sites. In Minneapolis, it was his Paisley Park estate and outside First Avenue, a local club made famous by the musician, where they placed flowers.
The Minnesota Twins lit up their stadium with purple screens to honor the iconic musician. In New York City, the Empire State Building sparkled with purple lights and the Apollo Theater paid tribute with heartfelt sentiments on its marquee.
More than 100 people gathered in front of Harlem’s world famous theater for two consecutive nights, signing large makeshift cards and dancing to the funk of Prince and his ballads, swimming in love.
“I stopped to dance and feel the spirit of Prince,” said Sherlly Pierre, a Prince fan. “He was one of the first people to be himself, and that gave me permission to be myself. He showed me there wasn’t only one way to be Black.”
Prince sold more than 100 million records worldwide. He won seven Grammy Awards, a Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004. Rolling Stone ranked Prince at number 27 on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.
Prince had the sex appeal of Jackie Wilson and Billy Eckstine. His dance steps took on the strut of James Brown and the arrogance of “Mr. Dynamite,” Wilson, who had a tendency to open his shirt to his navel. Prince just took his shirt off and performed topless.
He performed in briefs with thigh-high boots. The cover for his “LoveSexy” album was a nude photo of the multi-instrumentalist. He introduced us to sex straight-up, no chaser. His use of profanity on some of his singles wasn’t disrespectful for most listeners.
It was street talk, the way guys talk on the block, like “Gett Off,” “Irresistible Bitch” (I love the way you kiss/I wish I could resist) and “Sexy M.F.” A fine lady walks by and somebody is going to say, “Dam! Look at that sexy m.f.!” No disrespect, just fact. Not to mention all the cuts have that serious hardcore (James Brown) funk, and Prince was running it down rap style.
Prince could cross-dress or wear whatever he wanted. His androgynous look didn’t matter. Cats in the hood acknowledged he was cool. His songs spoke directly to the people. When he sang ballads such as “Purple Rain,” “When Doves Cry” and “I Would Die 4 U,” everybody felt the heart strings tugging.
The creative composer took the collective torch from Sly and the Family Stone, James Brown, Marvin Gaye, Jimi Hendrix and Miles Davis and turned it into a Prince thing.
A number of his songs are drenched in the blues, despite its uptempo beat. Let’s call them Prince blues songs—tunes such as “17 Days,” “She’s Always in My Hair,” “Another Lonely Christmas,” or “How Come U Don’t Call Me Any More.”
On “Pope,” he sings, “You can be the president/I’d rather be the pope.” The song opens with a soundtrack from Bernie Mac’s standup comedy routine. There is a political/religion mix here. Sometimes you have to listen to Prince more than once to get the knowledge in full effect.
Prince’s catalog of 39 albums plus is a monstrous representation of his universal musical genius.
My one Prince story: During the late 1980s, he performed at the Black Music Convention in Atlanta. The place was jam-packed, but I was fortunate enough to be seated in front. Prince jumped off the piano with guitar strapped on and went into a ferocious spin that led into a double split. He bounced up and resumed playing and singing. Wow! Yeah, Michael had that moonwalk, but Prince was not jokin’.
Prince Rogers Nelson was born in Minneapolis, the son of Mattie Della (Shaw) and John Lewis Nelson. His father was a pianist and songwriter, and his mother was a jazz singer.
He was named after his father, whose stage name was Prince Rogers and who performed with a jazz group called the Prince Rogers Trio.
Prince at his Paisley Park studios played a major role in launching the careers of such artists as The Time, Vanity 6, percussionist Sheila E. and producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.
In 1981, Prince formed the band The Time. They released four albums between 1981 and 1990, with Prince writing and performing most of the instrumentation and backing, with lead vocals by Morris Day.
Prince’s “Little Red Corvette” was one of the first two videos by a Black artist played in heavy rotation on MTV, along with Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean.”
In 1984, he composed and arranged the soundtrack and starred in the film “Purple Rain.” The story of a struggling Minneapolis musician. The film’s theme song won Prince an Academy Award for best original film score.
In 1993, Prince changed his name to the symbol , which was a combination
of the symbols for male and female .
In 2000, Prince stopped using the symbol and returned to using his given name after his publishing contract with Warner/Chappell expired.
Prince released a jazz album called “Madhouse” in 2003. One of Arsenio Hall’s last television shows in 2014 featured Prince performing with a large ensemble of dancers, 3rdeyegurl and New Power Generation; it resembled a big-band dance scene.
Prince stated on the show that he has no idea of how many songs he has written. Eric Leeds, a former saxophonist with Prince noted, “I recorded about 60 to 75 songs with him that have never been released.”
Prince was an arranger, musician, songwriter, philanthropist, actor and activist but always remained humble. “I don’t ask for much,” said Prince. “I just say thank you.”
He ordained purple as the color of his dynasty, wrote songs that prompted listeners to think and created his own unique sound that became the catalyst for the Minnesota sound. A soulful funk so persistent it made the world stand up and dance uncontrollably.
Prince’s musicology perspective was a sign of the times on planet Earth. He consistently searched for the truth without a crystal ball. Through controversy, chaos and disorder, he found emancipation. Mere mortals will dance in his creativity and feel the pain when doves cry purple rain.