This is something I hoped I’d not ever have to write. I’m still collecting my thoughts a day later. Having your heroes leave this dimension is not easy. I will probably write something more profound here soon, but for now I will simply add what I posted to Facebook yesterday, as I don’t know what else I can possibly add at the moment. I know there’s a lot of Purple Family out there who share this loss. But we will always have his music with us.
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Here it is… the first album I ever got from a store as a kid. 7 years old. I’ve told the story here before, but Prince was the first musician that ever truly blew my mind. Even on this one album. He refused to be strictly rock or r&b or funk or black or white music. His attitude, his swagger, his mystique. I was forever hooked. His music has been such a gigantic part of my life. As he kept making pretty much a new album every year, and rarely repeating himself. I was always excited to see where he was taking us next. Even on some of his missteps.
Even me and my partner Terry’s first weekend together hitting it off had a lot to do with Prince’s music. Apparently my goofily singing “When Doves Cry” at the right moment is what made Terry fall for me. And I’m so happy we got to finally see him last year in concert for the first time, together!
The man has influenced so many other musicians either directly or indirectly just in spirit. But then any artist can learn a few things by studying his career. Even when he’s done things to piss of his fans sometimes, I never stopped being interested in the music he was making. I’ve lost count of how many proper albums he has, aside from unreleased, side projects, proteges, etc. He’s done more in his 57 years than many musicians could in 2 lifetimes.
But the hard part is realizing your heroes are merely mortal. Your heroes are supposed to live forever! They’re untouchable and unstoppable! This year has taken so many of our truest artists from us all in short succession and it’s been rough. But I hope that as these artists are honored more people are inspired to write, to pick up an instrument, to be who they truly are because of what they created. Music and the inspiration it causes can never be killed.
But tomorrow the world is gonna feel a lot different knowing that the man who never stopped creating won’t be out there creating anymore. But we will have all his great music to play over and over until we dance our lives away.
“May U live 2 See the Dawn”.
Rob's Wall Of Music 
Rob -you were one of the many people I thought of last Thursday. I posted the following on my Facebook page that summed up how I was feeling:
For the last thirty years, I have listened to Prince’s music at least once a week, sometimes everyday for months, sometimes exclusively. Something clicked and shifted inside my brain in 1985 when I met Aron Baker and other Prince fanatics. We exchanged tapes. Trawled the record fairs for bootlegs. Watched him live on many occasions. We communicated through Prince lyrics. Religiously devoured his albums. Followed his every change in direction. We lived Prince. I have done since and still do now. He was music. It infused his soul. He genuinely was not of this earth and without a doubt the only proper genius of popular music to have lived. Funk, jazz, pop, soul, orchestration, dance, lyricism, sexiness, perversion, joy, entertainment and the groove. He could play guitar better than Hendrix, dance better than Michael Jackson, get down funkier than James Brown and write songs that could crossover all the genres. He was bonkers and I loved him. I mean properly loved him. He was party. He was funk. Following him was spiritual. It has consumed me. He is and always will be pure joy.
I pulled up in a layby yesterday evening when Purple Rain came on because I couldn’t see the road.
I’m happy because my life has been better for having him around but sad because there will no longer be a new direction, any more reviews to disagree with or the chance of another gig.
If there is an afterlife, there is one f*cking awesome gig going off right now.
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Hang in there, Brother. This collective sadness gives #PrinceFunk a whole new meaning for many of us still coping with it.
That’s the truly big thing about the internet. Checking on my recent shoppings, amongst them the cd version of “Around the world in a day” (because it’s easier to listen to than the LP I have since back then), I started wondering about the artwork on the cover, and that’s googlediboogle how I came to your site.
I don’t believe a lot in the afterlife (just a little maybe), and I do think that Prince Rogers Nelson at times could be a real p.i.t.a. to those around him – but, oh well, who can’t…?!
His music though was unique, and me too I grew up with it – Purple Rain being the album which awakened my musical awareness, as well as the courage to do things differently and be bold, be sexy, be myself.
For this I will be forever grateful – and am just happy to see, that other people around the world (much less than a day away nowadays) feel in a very similar way, they too having been touched by Princes music – just like you, Rob. Thanks for your nice words.
Greetings from a hotel room in Port Harcourt, Nigeria
Paulo
Does anyone remember Apollonia or have a list of all of the superstars that Prince wrote music for?