Prince

Dustin Kleingartner · Post by **Dustin Kleingartner** » 21 Apr 2016 9:45 am

Prince died today at Paisley Park, his home/studio near Minneapolis. He was 57 years old.

Prince was an absolutely amazing talent, and he will be missed greatly.

Post by **Brad Bechtel** » 21 Apr 2016 10:05 am

My wife's favorite performer. We first saw him open for the Rolling Stones in 1981 at the LA Coliseum (along with George Thorogood and the J. Geils Band).

He was an amazing guitarist, an accomplished keyboard player, and an overall outstanding musician.

RIP Prince Rogers Nelson.

Bob Ritter · Post by **Bob Ritter** » 21 Apr 2016 10:22 am

I thought he was great. I really liked him.
RIP .

Post by **Dave Mudgett** » 21 Apr 2016 10:22 am

Stunning. He was a truly great guitar player and musician/performer in general. Not sure everybody gets how great a guitar player.

It's real tough looking over here at Gone Home the last year or two. RIP.

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 21 Apr 2016 10:50 am

Brad Bechtel wrote:My wife's favorite performer. We first saw him open for the Rolling Stones in 1981 at the LA Coliseum (along with George Thorogood and the J. Geils Band).

He was an amazing guitarist, an accomplished keyboard player, and an overall outstanding musician.

RIP Prince Rogers Nelson.

Hey Brad, I remember that tour well. That was a rough one for him. He got booed off the stage in NJ, wearing only his black speedo and thigh high boots. I think it's pretty safe to say that the Rolling Stones could have opened for him at some point in time.

But man, I don't know if anyone else has ever been as complete a package as Prince. A legend deserving of every bit of it. He will truly be missed, but never forgotten.

Michael Johnstone · Post by **Michael Johnstone** » 21 Apr 2016 12:02 pm

He was also one of the best recording engineers with deep understanding of the process and great old school analog skills like incredible split second punching in/out and razor blade tape editing skills. A unique character. Extremely talented on so many levels. One of a kind.

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 21 Apr 2016 1:06 pm

Michael Johnstone wrote:He was also one of the best recording engineers with deep understanding of the process and great old school analog skills like incredible split second punching in/out and razor blade tape editing skills. A unique character. Extremely talented on so many levels. One of a kind.

Prince was only 18 when Warner Bros. was looking to sign him. But he demanded complete artistic control and to the ability to produce the record himself. Warner Bros. wanted him to prove himself with a studio audition, where he'd record one of his tunes in their presence, and half way through Lenny Waronker took his agent aside and said, "We'll give him complete control." Remarkable.

It would not be an exaggeration to say he was the greatest artist of his era. Simply with the songs that he wrote for others alone he could have had a formidable career.

Mike Brown · Post by **Mike Brown** » 21 Apr 2016 1:28 pm

Incredible talent.

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 21 Apr 2016 1:42 pm

great talent..RIP

Chris Boyd · Post by **Chris Boyd** » 21 Apr 2016 1:55 pm

Extremely sad to hear this today..Prince was a prodigiously talented genius who will never be forgotten..he wore every hat with finesse and total confidence...amazing!

Dustin Rigsby · Post by **Dustin Rigsby** » 21 Apr 2016 3:17 pm

I idolized Prince on many levels. I'm really sad about this. There will never be another.....To echo what others have said,he was the complete package. I nearly broke my fingers on Purple Rain trying to learn how to play it on guitar. Most artists today take for granted many of things he forged for pop/rock musicians like complete artisistic control and catalogue ownership. Truly an innovator.

Herb Steiner · Post by **Herb Steiner** » 21 Apr 2016 3:26 pm

There is a steel guitar connection to Prince which would justify this thread being back in Gone Home (where I first looked).

In about, I'd say 2005, I played an NYE gig with a band from Fort Worth, and I had to play "Purple Rain," which I had never heard. Fortunately, the song is easy and I did well on it.

So, regardless of how remote, there is a steel guitar connection to the multi-talented genius that was Prince. I'm inexperienced in his music but I acknowledge the fact that he was a musical heavyweight through the opinions of others whose input I respect.

Damir Besic · Post by **Damir Besic** » 21 Apr 2016 5:11 pm

RIP legend ...

Bob Ritter · Post by **Bob Ritter** » 22 Apr 2016 8:51 am

I guess if you combined Jimi Hendrix with Michael Jackson you would come up with something like prince.

Stu Schulman · Post by **Stu Schulman** » 22 Apr 2016 9:02 am

I am heartbroken...Rest in Peace Prince!

Godfrey Arthur · Post by **Godfrey Arthur** » 22 Apr 2016 9:29 am

Godspeed Prince Nelson.

You really burned up the airwaves with your brilliance. Really sad to see you go.

Prince was into what's going on with the planet. He talked about chemtrails and how he noted that whenever jets would fly over head and leave trails that people in his neighborhood started arguing.

I think besides his brilliance in music as he could rip on guitar, dance, sing, write, produce and engineer, we should also commend him for never selling out and speaking his mind not just through his music but in the public interviews he gave.

Here is one such short interview clip.

https://youtu.be/w9Ri3Z8lQm4

it is odd that like Merle who passed not too long ago from a strange flu, same as purported with Prince as cause of death, that both Prince and Merle spoke out about chemtrails and perhaps what this entails. Merle through his song What I Hate and Prince through his many television interviews. These artists did not cower. But steered clear of the matrix. And although some people would rather an artist stick to his/her music and not wax political, others expect as do the artists themselves, to weigh in on things that are affecting us, our lives and our health.

I have the utmost respect for artists who are visionaries and highly intelligent people when they step out of the persona they project to sell records, and come down to earth long enough to join humanity with the truth.

chris ivey · Post by **chris ivey** » 22 Apr 2016 1:05 pm

i thought prince was cool, but i can only name one song of his.

Steve Green · Post by **Steve Green** » 22 Apr 2016 6:00 pm

Godfrey Arthur wrote:Godspeed Prince Nelson.

That guitar is now in the Smithsonian.

CLICK HERE for the Smithsonian National Museum of American History

Jim Robbins · Post by **Jim Robbins** » 23 Apr 2016 8:17 am

How sad. I had the good fortune to see him for the first time a couple of weeks ago on the 'piano and microphone' tour -- solo, playing a grand with minimal effects and singing. It was an impressive display of musicianship. A very creative guy and someone who stood up to the music industry. RIP.

Justin Jacobson · Post by **Justin Jacobson** » 23 Apr 2016 6:48 pm

Once My wife gave me full control of the music played before our wedding, I gave our pianist three songs to learn. Two were wedding appropriate. The third was this. I chose it because, while the lyrics are sad and hopeful at the same time, it is up and away the most beautiful song I have ever heard and I wanted both the beauty of this song, and the man who wrote it, to play some part in that day.

I've seen it performed numerous times, and it always hit me hard, made feel those pesky human emotions I hear so much about.

His music has been a huge part of my life from a very early age. It a big part of why music is such a big part of my life today. I've stood six inches away from the man, unable to think a coherent thought. I've stood in line for hours to watch him perform more times than any other artist I can think of. The first song I introduced to my daughter was his, months before she was even born.

Bowie hurt hard, this is devastating.

So many others feel the same, I'm one of many feeling the human feelings this weekend.

I guess from now on, it'll snow every April... And all good things they say, never last.

http://youtu.be/zlZONgpmw58

Martin Abend · Post by **Martin Abend** » 24 Apr 2016 1:38 pm

I guess you all know his solo on the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame performance of Why My Guitar Gently Weeps?

https://youtu.be/6SFNW5F8K9Y

A sexy MF he was, indeed.

Mike Brown · Post by **Mike Brown** » 25 Apr 2016 5:54 am

Yes, Martin I am very aware of it. Classic, classy, tasteful and in whatever words you wish to describe it with. Monster musician and cool at that.

Andy Volk · Post by **Andy Volk** » 25 Apr 2016 9:21 am

http://liveforlivemusic.com/news/listen ... -sessions/

I largely ignored Prince in the 80s and 90s. I only now realize what a huge talent he was. These funk jams are amazing.

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 27 Apr 2016 2:47 pm

Justin Jacobson wrote:Once My wife gave me full control of the music played before our wedding, I gave our pianist three songs to learn. Two were wedding appropriate. The third was this. I chose it because, while the lyrics are sad and hopeful at the same time, it is up and away the most beautiful song I have ever heard and I wanted both the beauty of this song, and the man who wrote it, to play some part in that day.

I've seen it performed numerous times, and it always hit me hard, made feel those pesky human emotions I hear so much about.

His music has been a huge part of my life from a very early age. It a big part of why music is such a big part of my life today. I've stood six inches away from the man, unable to think a coherent thought. I've stood in line for hours to watch him perform more times than any other artist I can think of. The first song I introduced to my daughter was his, months before she was even born.

Bowie hurt hard, this is devastating.

So many others feel the same, I'm one of many feeling the human feelings this weekend.

I guess from now on, it'll snow every April... And all good things they say, never last.

This is my favorite Prince song, too. Last night, my favorite artist, D'Angelo, performed the tune in tribute to his favorite artist on the Tonight Show. It was very moving.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uzBHhPEWpE

Dustin Kleingartner · Post by **Dustin Kleingartner** » 27 Apr 2016 6:50 pm

I didn't watch the D'Angelo performance yet, because all the Prince stuff has been too much for me, I need to take it slow.

It is so wonderful seeing the world's reaction to his passing, but it has been wearing on my heart so hard... especially being here in Minneapolis. The whole city is Purple and there's tributes of different kinds everywhere. City Pages (our free weekly rag)came out today with their issue and its all highlights of their Prince coverage since he started, its really cool.

I have found myself avoiding watching/listening to stuff or joining conversations about the whole thing because it's all just so sad. I know he meant a lot to a lot of people all over the world, but man, we really just lost our native son that we were so proud of, and he was so proud of Minnesota. He is just such an icon here... of "cool" and of the minneapolis night life. He had a rock n roll swagger that was unique, and fearless. He has just been held in such high regard in all of my music playing friends throughout my life, that it is just a simple fact known to all that Prince is the gold standard for cool.

Uhh, so sad...

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