Prince Rogers Nelson. Fuck. No celebrity death has hit me as hard as this one. Earlier tonight, I was sitting in a local spot waiting on some food to go. I was listening to the PURPLE RAIN soundtrack. “I Would Die 4 U” came on. Instant tears.
Like many of you, I feel the need to express some feelings/memories so do indulge if you will. In random order.
- When I was a kid, I remember first hearing the CONTROVERSY album when it came out. I was 11. (Shut up, I’m old). Laughing at some of the dirty stuff but realizing how much I liked the music. All the other kids said that Prince was “dirty” and “naughty” and stuff so I kept it to myself after awhile. But then came “1999″ a year later followed by “Little Red Corvette” and “Delirious”. I was in completely. Never straying. And then the album PURPLE RAIN came out in 1984 AND movie of the same name…DAMN!
- My friend Wayne and I snuck into seeing PURPLE RAIN (saw it twice in theaters, if I recall correctly). We laughed when he first spoke because we had never heard him speak before. Only sing. (He didn’t do interviews back then). But that laughter quickly subsided as we were INTO that movie.
- I can’t remember how many times during my angst-ridden teen years that I used Prince lyrics in a love note to a girl. Or how many times in my adult life that I had Prince playing in the background when I was trying (probably badly) to make moves on a lady.
- There was never a time I didn’t have Prince music. I had most of his music either in album, cassette tape or CD form but hadn’t switched many to digital. Though recently, I randomly decided to get both PURPLE RAIN, THE BATMAN SOUNDTRACK and THE HITS/THE B-SIDES.
- 5 years ago, my dream came true. I FINALLY saw him in concert. Thanks to my friend Zena (whom had tickets). It was fucking majestic. People know what an amazing musician he is but seeing him live…magical. Euphoric. And he SHREDS that guitar! I remember reading how many big rock guitarists always gave him props as one of the best guitarists out there. (As much as I love music, for some reason, I’ve never been a concert goer…so that’s why it took me so long to see him).
- My church youth group decided to do one of those Air Band competitions. Only a few of us entered. I did Prince and got a few friends to be part of the band. I think I was 12 and can’t believe I got away with lip-syncing “Little Red Corvette”. Yup. We won.
- I’ve always been a giant comic book nerd and Batman has always been my favorite. So when he did the Batman soundtrack…my nerd world/music world exploded into a huge joyful experience.
- In high school, our colors were purple/white. PURPLE RAIN had come out the summer before I started high school and it was a huge at our school. We would sing the song “Purple Rain” at football games and make signs that said “Purple Reign”.
- My middle initial is “P”. I used to tell people it stood for Prince. (It doesn’t).
- I’ve always been amazed at his vocal prowess. His range is ridiculous. And when he screams in songs…it’s never off key or just shouting. It’s pure raw emotion. (As you can hear in the video I chose above).
- As a kid, I was very active in the arts, sports and more. I wanted to dance like Michael Jackson. Sing like Pavarotti. Play ball like Michael Jordan. But I wanted to BE Prince.
He seemed like one of those rare people that transcends space and time. An immortal.
Your Royal Badness, you ARE the soundtrack of my life. I look forward to seeing you jam at that big Paisley Park in the sky.
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