Would please give us a few words in memory of Prince?

Men In Black would not have been the same without the Fresh Prince.

I wasn’t a huge fan, but there were a few moments.

I was 15 when the new millennium hit, so Party Like It’s 1999 was huge for a while.

I’m a big fan of Stevie Nicks, so definitely like the song Stand Back. The song was written by Stevie herself on her wedding night, but inspired by Little Red Corvette. Stevie told Prince she had written the song with his inspiration, and he showed up at the studio and played synthesizers for the recording. He wasn’t credited in the album, though.

And related to another recently lost legend: If you watch the Lemmy documentary, he says at one point someone asked him if he liked Prince and he said something like, “Nah, I actually saw Hendrix.”

“Anyway, all these computers and digital gadgets are no good. They just fill your head with numbers and that can’t be good for you.”

Prince

I felt he was speaking directly to me when he said, “Act your age, not your shoe size BAby”! ;-0

He rode the androgyny train to fame and wealth, yet he was homophobic.

The day I learned of Prince was in college. I went off to school with a group of friends from the suburbs of a small city and we looked like grunge rockers in our flannel shirts. Except it was the early 80s, not the 90s, so we looked like slack-jawed yokels.

We fell in with big city (Detroit-area) kids and they loved to have an audience to show their superior taste in, well, everything. We loved it, they loved it, good times.

One sunny fall day, a group of about ten of us were sitting on the grass, drinking beer and somebody had a cassette of 1999. “Listen! This is the best!!!”

We spent many a late, late night and early early morning playing Prince, and 1999, and Purple Rain, and Morris Day and the Time, and Sheila E, and the whole Prince universe.

Short version: Prince helped provide the soundtrack of my early 20s, nostalgia, I’m old now, etc., etc.

I was in the car on a short road trip when the news came on NPR that Prince had died. NPR is so low-key, I was certain that it was a spoof or hoax or joke of some kind at first. Slowly it dawned on me that Prince – THE Prince – had really died at the age of 58. Aw, geeze, his fans shouldn’t have to face this kind of shit for at least another 10 years. Where were the weeks of tabloid reports of drug abuse and alien abduction to prepare us?

I’m not a dancer. I was never a super-huge fan of his music even if I understood the tremendous appeal of, say Little Red Corvette. But the guy was influential. He was so good he produced his own first album. He created the Minneapolis Sound. He stayed true to his roots and both lived in and supported Minneapolis. Fought for musical artist’s rights.

The death of Prince was a loss to us all. Ultra talented, he never liked to do the same thing twice. Loved to innovate. His next album could have anyone’s lifetime favorite. Now we’ll never know. Our loss.
RIP

He was so good he produced his own first album

He was 19 years old and played 29 parts. He was one of the lucky few who always knew EXACTLY what he wanted to do in life.

Here are the credits:

Prince – vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, Orr bass, bass synth, singing bass, fuzz bass, Fender Rhodes electric piano, acoustic piano, Minimoog, Polymoog, ARP String Ensemble, ARP Pro Soloist, Oberheim 4-voice, clavinet, drums, syndrums, water drums, slapsticks, bongos, congas, finger cymbals, wind chimes, orchestral bells, wood blocks, brush trap, tree bell, hand claps, finger snaps

He rode the androgyny train to fame and wealth, yet he was homophobic.

Was he? Wendy and Lisa are a couple, they were core members of Prince’s band The Revolution in the 1980s.

They were not out at the time, but I thought that was like the Beatles hiding their marriages from the screaming teenage girls.

Regardless yes, he was flawed. I think he was like Steve Jobs, where he would not have been a world-class success without his world-class selfish weirdo obsessions.

Dearly beloved, we are gathered here…...
He was a part of my memories from the past. My nostalgia. I loved his movie Purple Rain and a lot of his music. I’m sad he is gone.

Last night, SNL did the whole show as a Prince tribute. I heard some songs on there that I’d never heard before, and his SNL performances were epic.

When Prince first got popular, I was probably 17 or 18 (1984 approximately?). Not only the typical ones, but Cream, Controversy, Erotic City and a bunch of others that were hits but not necessarily on the pop stations. When I hear the pop songs he did, it takes me back to that time when I first got out of high school and was a total free spirit.

In the past few days, so many radio stations that I listen to have been playing Prince tributes and lots of Prince songs. It is so poignant to hear these songs and so celebratory at the same time. I went to a party at my cousin’s in NYC last night and from my sister who is 30 to my stepfather who is in his late 60’s, we were all talking about how much we love Prince.

@chyna Dearly beloved

Whoa!! I did not use that to introduce my question! I hang my head in shame!

Not really sure why I should give a fuck. He was rich and tossed it all away. My sister has 15 year old twins and cleans vacated apartments to pay for rent and clothes while she works her way through grad school.

Fuck Prince. He got lucky.

Reading and watching and listening to tributes in the past few days, I am reminded how many artists Prince mentored.

If you have little kids I bet you can get them dancing to these songs from Prince World.

Morris Day and The Time – Jungle Love

Sheila E. – A love Bizarre – Solid Gold

@johnpowell From a practical stand, how many people owe their careers in music & video production to Prince? How many people bought a new home or sent their kid to college thanks to his energy and vision?

Minneapolis does not share your feelings.

“Tossed it away?” @johnpowell The man died.

Playing 29 parts at the age of 19 is not luck. It’s talent.
Even Prince’s luck in having a musician father who was a perfectionist was dependent upon Prince’s temperament and determination.

It might have been a drug overdose, so maybe tossing it away

Regardless, there is no denying his influence and genius

“Luck” is not an appropriate word, Prince worked harder and with more focus than everyone reading these words.

I am without words.

The man was not a drug addict. Far from it.

I hate the idea but it sounds likely. He had pain problems from decades of high energy performances on high heels. He had a hip replacement. Sheila E commented on it.

the man was a true music genius he will be missed RIP

Pain meds for ongoing excruciating pain is not a drug addict in my mind.

A meth head is.

Addict, abuser, victim, whatever. Opioid abuse is a growing problem. I know a regular here on Fluther lost a family member to it. Best for a different thread.

“Purple Rain” was the teenage soundtrak to many in my age group. I don’t even know how many times I saw that movie. I used to sit in the dark listening to it through my headphones over and over. It basically stirred up my yearnings to be grown up, free and out in the world. Listening to it now makes me miss that feeling so much.
I admit that other than his 80s music I didn’t listen to much of his music. But I sure do thank him for the gift of Purple Rain.

He influenced a lot of peoples’ style, too, back in the 80’s. The purple, the jackets, the dressy military look with the studs and the tapestry – his costume designers deserve some credit. Watching the SNL tribute gave me a new appreciation of his guitar playing ability and his dancing ability.

I am hearing speculation it was Percocet overdose. I hear that Prince was a vegan and generally led a very healthy life and lifestyle, including riding his bike around the neighborhood which you won’t hear of many celebrities that will do that.

@johnpowell: Someone like Prince might get a push from his musician father but unless he (Prince himself) has the drive, determination and talent, he’s not going to succeed on only a lucky break.

I am another oldie here. Prince first emerged during my early high school years. I rocked a pair of parachute pants and danced my bootie off to his music. Make out sessions, break -ups.. homework, prom, homecoming, he was right there with me as part of the sound track, as were many others. We had a guy in our class who would dress like him at dances and entered a talent show and won, lipsyncing and dancing to Prince. He went on to be a career and decorated Marine. Odd memories.

Here come the men in black purple