This week in music history, on April 21st to be exact, marks the 7th anniversary of the moment the world was dispossessed of one of its most invaluable artistic resources. The cause of death was said to be an accidental overdose of Fentanyl, which also recently took the life of rapper, Coolio, and no offence to him, but that is the only time these two will ever be mentioned in the same sentence.
They say the “Brightest stars burn the fastest”, and Prince Roger Nelson was the most blindingly incandescent of stars.
The artist formerly known as “The artist formerly known as “Prince” was a mythological demi-God. Fashioned by the artistic deities who incorporated the finest attributes of all divine musical forces into one entirely unique entertainment superhero: The vocal elasticity of Stevie Wonder. The rhythmic dexterity and performance energy of James Brown. The studio savvy of Phil Spector and production ingenuity of George Clinton. The instrumental virtuosity of Nina Simone on keyboards and Jimi Hendrix on guitar. And the prolific songwriting of any number of “Brill Building” composers combined.
In the eyes of the mortal spectator, he left us too quickly. But perhaps the Prince himself knew something we did not. Consider for a moment that the greatest gift he possessed may have been that of foresight. A hyper-awareness of the vitality required to cultivate and maintain a blaze of great magnitude, and knowing that his time to exist among us was limited. That would explain his passion and almost obsessive productivity.
Prince released 39 self-produced albums in the 37 years between 1978 and 2015. That does not include another 6 albums credited to Madhouse, The New Power Generation, and Kamasutra. Somehow he found time to produce groups like Vanity 6, and Wendy & Lisa, and write songs under various pseudonyms for artists like The Time, Sheena Easton, and Kenny Rogers. While not all of his work was commercially designed, it seemed that he could whip up a hit at will, as is apparent from the more than a dozen successes for other artists, like; The Bangles’ Manic Monday, Chaka Khan’s I Feel For You, and Sinead O’connor’s Nothing Compares To You. All of this, while touring almost every year until his death at age 57.
Oh, and there were a few movies in there as well.
If all of the above still does not strike you as otherworldly, there was enough material left over for another 3 posthumously-released albums. One of these was a cassette discovered in a Paisley Park vault, which contains a session from 1983 of Prince just sitting at a piano, seemingly workshopping some unknown songs, including a barely recognizable acoustic jazzy version of Purple Rain. The album was aptly-entitled Piano and a Microphone 1983.
It seems almost absurd to point out that he produced his first Warner Bros. album at 19 years of age because he, in fact, wrote his first song Funk Machine at age 7. To put this into perspective, that was the same age I took the training wheels off my bicycle, and I was not even allowed to say “Funk”.
In a 2009 interview with People magazine, Prince revealed that he was born epileptic. He tells how he would have seizures and that “My mother and father didn’t know what to do or how to handle it but they did the best they could.” Prince credits divine intervention recounting his mother’s anecdote. She recollects that he came to her one day and said “Mom, I’m not going to be sick anymore”. She asked “Why?”, to which Prince replied, “Because an angel told me so.”
Prince goes on to say “Now, I don’t remember saying it, that’s just what she told me.”.
Either way, that is a good story.
During his life, and in the annals of music history, Prince stands alone on a mountaintop. To quote, well… myself , “Prince raised the bar, and then removed it, irrevocably altering the very perception of artistic production.” As a result, he not only shaped the paths of many artists that came after, but even managed to impact his own influencers. Prince was unaffected by such accolades, largely because he seldom indulged in idle time that could only misdirect his focus, but also because what most considered “inconceivable”, was to him, just another day at the office.
Now, does that sound human to you? Or is that just the nature of any true musical genius?
The answer lies in his legacy. The music is our chronicle. Immerse, enlighten, awaken. Amen.
“There is a park that is known for the face it attracts. Colourful people whose hair on one side is swept back. The smile on their faces, it speaks of profound inner peace. Ask where they’re going, they’ll tell you nowhere. They’ve taken a lifetime lease on Paisley Park.”
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