I always thought my first post about Prince would either be about the amazing time that I had at one of his concerts or me discussing how great of one of his albums is. I always wanted to talk about my experience at one of his shows on my blog so that maybe one day he would retweet it on Twitter like I had seen him do for others. I never thought the news I heard yesterday would be what my first Prince related post would be about. I never thought this was even possible, and I still don't actually think that it's true. Prince is immortal, so he couldn't possibly do anything as human as dying, right?
Over the past 4 years, I've became a huge Prince fan. During that time he has became my favorite musician/artist of all time (and I think he's the best ever period). I've listened to his music almost every single day over that time span. My friends have probably gotten tired of me trying to force Prince's music on them, but I didn't care, in my mind I was looking out for them. Regardless what was going on in my life I could always find a Prince song that could relate to what I was going through from day to day. Through all of the good times (relationship, graduating from college, traveling) and bad times (break up, down days, feeling lost), Prince has been the soundtrack to my life these past few years.
I started my Prince journey by first listening to the Purple Rain soundtrack. This album quickly became one of my all time favorites before finally settling in as my favorite (and I think the best ever) album. With "Let's Go Crazy" as the first song you hear and "Purple Rain" (the best song ever recorded) being the closer, you couldn't really go wrong with that as an introduction to Prince. The soundtrack was a combination of rock, funk, soul, and gospel all rolled into one. That was only the beginning of my Prince journey. After that, I decided to start collecting all of Prince's albums.
I wanted to have all of his 80s albums first. So I bought Dirty Mind, Controversy, 1999, Around the World in a Day, Parade, Sign 'O' the Times, Lovesexy, and the Batman soundtrack. Each one of these albums is not like any of the others. Just on Dirty Mind, for example, within a 4 song sequence ("Gotta Broken Heart Again", "Uptown", "Head", and "Sister") Prince described a heart break, a utopian place, giving someone else's bride oral sex on her wedding day, and incest, and it was all great. I mean who could even pull such a transition off? Prince that's who. Sign 'O' the Times, (which I think is Prince's second best album) is a show of the man's versatility. A double disc album with absolutely no filler on it. Just listen to that album and some of the lyrical themes... fucking genius man.
It's hard to believe that in a 10 year span he completed all of those albums, plus two movies, all while also working on other artist's material, and touring too, but he did it. Prince's output this decade is the greatest run we've ever seen in music, with Stevie Wonder's 70s run being a close second to me. So after I had all of his 80s material, I decided to buy the rest of his catalog. That took a long time because there is so many albums, but I did accomplish it.
(there are a few side projects that I'm still working on getting)
By listening to all of these albums, I grew to appreciate the man's artistry, creativity, musicianship, and his genius. He was always willing to try new genres of music, but alway kept it funky. Most (if not all) of his albums are all written, produced, arranged, and performed by him, just him, no one else. Everyone knows how great he is as a guitar player (the best in my opinion), but he was also a phenomenal bass player, pianist, and drummer. He could play almost any instrument. It's crazy to think that just about every sound you hear on a Prince album is him. He was a true "one man band", I mean, just check out the credits on his albums.
Prince was even better as a performer. Luckily I got to see him one time with his backing band, 3rdEyeGirl, last year in DC. I went to the concert with my mother, it's an experience I'll never forget and I don't think she will either. It was in a nice intimate venue and my seat had been upgraded to the 3rd row because they had put a camera in my original seat. So I was literally just a few feet away from him. It didn't even feel like a concert really, it was more of a party. Just a bunch of people dancing around, enjoying one of music's treasures putting on a phenomenal show. He's one of those artist that you just feel when you see them in person, like you're in awe to be even in their presence. Not many artists are like that based on my concert experiences, but he is definitely one of them. He composed a great set list and even covered a few songs by other artists. One of my favorite moments of that show, was when him and the band were playing Wild Cherry's "Play That Funky Music." One time when the crowd was singing the part "play that funky music white boy", Prince responded with "who you calling white boy" hahahaha, I couldn't help but laugh while I was dancing. I was excited that I got to see "Purple Rain" played in person, which is the song I've always wanted to see performed live. I told people that if I ever saw it live that I would probably cry (I teared up a little bit). Now when I hear that song I'm sure I'll cry every time.
I wish I could have seen him in concert a couple more times because from what I've read, no two concerts were the same. I wanted to see his Piano & a Microphone tour but I was waiting for a stop closer to me. My ultimate dream was to go see him at Paisley Park, but I kept putting it off because I knew he would be around forever and that the right time would come. I will always regret not making that trip to Minneapolis.
Prince's music always took me somewhere, whether it was to another world, the dance floor, church, or the bedroom, I always felt transported to another place. Whether it was dancing while I cleaned my room, acting like I was Prince performing on stage, laying in my bed thinking about past relationships, putting some of his sexier songs to good use (if you know what I mean), or driving home late at night with Purple Rain blasting through the speakers (it's really the best song to listen to when you're on the road by yourself late at night), I always had some type of emotional or physical reaction to every song. That's what great music does to you, it makes you feel something. But now, listening to his music now will feel different than it did to me before. Now with every listen I'll be thinking of him not being here with us anymore, missing the artist that gave me so much happiness. I'm sure when I wake up in the morning I'll have a Prince song stuck in my head like I have numerous times over the past few years and I'll have to listen to it on my way to work. It just won't be the same for me, knowing that Prince is not somewhere performing or in a studio writing and recording another great song. A little bit of me and the love I have for music has gone.
Becoming a Prince fan was one of the best decisions I've ever made, and I will forever listen to his music. I want to find a woman that makes me feel how he did when he made "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World", when I get married I want my first dance to be to "Adore" and before I die the last song I want to hear is "Purple Rain". When I have kids I will make sure that they listen to Prince's music and become a fan much earlier in their life than when I did. I will always try to get people to listen to his music, it'll be my way of paying him back for all he's done for me.
I'm thankful for all of the blessings you placed upon this planet while you were here Prince. I know the next place you ascend to you will also have them bathing in the purple rain. You'll forever be the baddest motherfucker that ever walked this Earth.
Prince Rogers Nelson
June 7, 1958 - April 21, 2016
(this will not be the last Prince post from me there will be more, much more, and if you need any Prince jams to listen to let me know, I'll set you on the right course)
