PART 2
We pick up Part II of Prince’s Post in 2005…..and you will be amazed at how prolific and productive in his musical and entertainment career that Prince was in essentially the last decade of his life from 47 years old to 57 at his death in 2016. In April 2005, Prince played guitar (along with En Vogue singing backing vocals) on Stevie Wonder’s single “So What the Fuss”…..which was Wonder’s 1st since 1999. In late 2005, Prince signed with Universal Music to release his album, 3121, on March 21, 2006. The first single was “Te Amo Corazón”, the video for which was directed by actress Salma Hayek and filmed in Marrakech, Morocco, featuring Argentine actress and singer Mía Maestro. The video for the second single, “Black Sweat”, was nominated at the MTV VMAs for Best Cinematography. The immediate success of 3121 gave Prince his first # 1 debut on the Billboard 200 with the album.
Music – Official Music Video – 2005 – From the Album “3121” – Prince Sings – “Te Amo Corazon”
Music – Official Music Video – 2005 – From the Album “3121” – Prince Sings – “Black Sweat”
To promote the new album, Prince was the musical guest on Saturday Night Live on February 4, 2006, 17 years after his last SNL appearance on the 15th anniversary special…..and nearly 25 years since his 1st appearance on a regular episode in 1981. At the 2006 Webby Awards on June 12, Prince received a Webby Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his “visionary use of the Internet to distribute music and connect with audiences”, exemplified by his decision to release his album Crystal Ball in 1998 exclusively online.
Music – 2006 – A Saturday Night Live Musical Guest Special – Prince – “Fury”
Music – 1998 – From the Album “Crystal Ball” – Prince – “Love Sign (Shock G’s Silky Remix)”
Music – 1998 – From the Album “Crystal Ball” – Prince – “Crystal Ball”
In July 2006, weeks after winning a Webby Award, Prince shut down his NPG Music Club website, after more than five years of operation. On the day of the music club’s shutdown, a lawsuit was filed against Prince by the British company HM Publishing (owners of the Nature Publishing Group, also NPG). Despite these events occurring on the same day, Prince’s attorney stated that the site did not close due to the trademark dispute. Prince appeared at multiple award ceremonies in 2006…….when on February 15, he performed at the 2006 Brit Awards, along with Wendy & Lisa and Sheila E……and on June 27, Prince appeared at the 2006 BET Awards…..where he was awarded Best Male R&B Artist. Prince performed a medley of Chaka Khan songs for Khan’s BET Lifetime Achievement Award.
Music & Awards – 2006 – Live at the Brit Awards – Prince + Wendy + Lisa + Shelia E – “Te Amo Corazón” + “Purple Rain” + “Lets Go Crazy”
Music & Awards – 2006 – Live as the BET Awards Show – Prince + Chaka Khan Duet – “Feel For You”
In November 2006, Prince was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame when he appeared to collect his award but did not perform. Also in November 2006, Prince opened a nightclub called 3121, in Las Vegas at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino…..where he performed weekly on Friday and Saturday nights until April 2007…..when his contract with the Rio ended. On August 22, 2006, Prince released Ultimate Prince…..which was a double-disc set that contained one CD of previous hits…..and another of extended versions and mixes of material that had largely only previously been available on vinyl record B-sides. That same year, Prince wrote and performed a song for the hit animated film Happy Feet in 2006…..as the song, “The Song of the Heart”, appears on the film’s soundtrack…..which also features a cover of Prince’s earlier hit “Kiss”, sung by Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman. In January 2007, “The Song of the Heart” won a Golden Globe for Best Original Song.
Music – 2006 – From the Album “Ultimate Prince” – Prince – “She’s Always In My Hair”
Music – Animated Movie – 2006 – From the Movie “Happy Feet” – Prince – “The Song of the Heart”
On February 4, 2007, Prince played at the Super Bowl XLI halftime show in Miami, Florida on a large stage shaped like his symbol…..when the event was carried to 140 million television viewers, his biggest ever audience. His 12 minute performance in the rain began with an intro of the Queen song “We Will Rock You” and concluded with “Purple Rain”. In 2015, Billboard ranked it the greatest Super Bowl performance ever. (NOTE: Regretfully, the NFL in their “infinite glory” has chosen not to allow the Super Bowl XLI halftime show to be copied…..so, we are unable to share this program with our viewers.)
Music – Talk Radio – 2022 – The Skip Bayless Show – “Prince’s Super Bowl Halftime Show Was the Best of All-Time”
Music – 2007 – A Hokiemule Production Special – “Prince: Super Bowl XLI Halftime Show Press Conference”
Prince played 21 concerts at the O2 Arena in London during the Earth Tour in mid-2007…..when tickets for the 20,000 capacity venue were capped by Prince at £31.21 ($48.66). Featuring Maceo Parker in his band, Prince’s residency at the O2 Arena was increased to 15 nights after all 140,000 tickets for the original seven sold out in 20 minutes, before it was then further extended to 21 nights.
Music – Mini Documentary – 2007 – Live O2 Arena in London During the Earth Tour – Prince Live In Concert
Prince performed with Sheila E. at the 2007 ALMA Awards. On June 28, 2007, the Mail on Sunday stated that it had made a deal to give Prince’s new album, Planet Earth, away for free with the paper…..which made it the 1st place in the world to get the album…..while sparking controversy among music distributors…..and also led the UK arm of Prince’s distributor, Sony BMG, to withdraw from distributing the album in UK stores……while the UK’s largest high street music retailer, HMV, stocked the paper on release day due to the giveaway. On July 7, 2007, Prince returned to Minneapolis to perform three shows…..and he performed concerts at the Macy’s Auditorium (to promote his new perfume “3121”) on Nicollet Mall, the Target Center arena, and First Avenue. It was the 1st time he had played at First Avenue (the club appeared in the film Purple Rain) since 1987.
Music – Official Music Video – 2007 – For the Album “Planet Earth” – Prince Sings – “Guitar”
Music – 2007 – Live at the ALMA Awards – Live on Stage – Prince & Shelia E Medley Performance
Music – Official Music Video – 2007 – For the Album “Planet Earth” – Prince Sings – “Chelsea Rodgers”
From 2008, Prince was managed by UK-based Kiran Sharma…..when on April 25, 2008, Prince performed on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno…..where he debuted a new song, “Turn Me Loose”……then days after, he headlined the 2008 Coachella Festival. Prince was paid more than $5 million for his performance at Coachella, according to Reuters. Prince canceled a concert, planned at Dublin’s Croke Park on June 16, 2008, at 10 days’ notice. In October 2009 promoters MCD Productions went to court to sue him for €1.6 million to refund 55,126 tickets. Prince settled the case out of court in February 2010 for $2.95 million. During the trial, it was said that Prince had been offered $22 million for seven concerts as part of a proposed 2008 European tour. In October 2008, Prince released a live album entitled Indigo Nights, a collection of songs performed live at after-shows in the IndigO2.
Music – 2008 – Unreleased Song – Prince Sings – “Turn Me Loose”
Music – Live in Concert – 2008 – Live at Cochella 2008 Music & Arts Festival – Prince Sings – “Creep”
Music – 2008 – Live In Concert at the Cochella Music & Arts Festival – Prince Performs Entire Concert
Music – 2008 – From the Album “Indigo Nights – Live Sessions” – Prince – “The One”
On January 3, 2009, the new website LotusFlow3r.com was launched…..while streaming and selling some of the recently aired material and concert tickets. On January 31, Prince released two more songs on LotusFlow3r.com: “Disco Jellyfish”, and “Another Boy”…..plus “Chocolate Box”, “Colonized Mind” and “All This Love” were later released on the website. Prince released a triple album set containing Lotusflower, MPLSoUND…..and an album credited to Bria Valente, called Elixer, on March 24, 2009, followed by a physical release on March 29.
Music – Official Music Video – 2009 – From the Album “LotusFlow3r” – Prince – “Chocolate Box”
Music – 2009 – From the Album “LotusFlow3r” – Prince – “Colonized Mind”
Music – Official Music Video – 2009 – From the Album “Elixir” – Bria Valente & Prince Duet – “Elixir”
On July 18, 2009, Prince performed two shows at the Montreux Jazz Festival, backed by the New Power Generation, including Rhonda Smith, Renato Neto and John Blackwell…..then on October 11, 2009, he gave two surprise concerts at the Grand Palais…..when on the following night he gave another surprise performance at La Cigale…..after which on October 24, Prince played a concert at Paisley Park.
Music – Live in Concert – 2009 – Live at The Montreux Jazz Festival – Prince – First Show – Entire Concert
Music – Live in Concert – 2009 – Live at The Montreux Jazz Festival – Second Show – Prince – Entire Concert
Music – Live in Concert – 2014 – The Hit and Run II Tour Special – “Prince: Live in Manchester” – Entire Concert
Music – Live on Stage – 2009 – A Hit and Run 1 Production Special – “GSharp & Prince: Live at Paisley Park”
In January 2010, Prince wrote a new song, “Purple and Gold”, inspired by his visit to a Minnesota Vikings football game against the Dallas Cowboys. The following month, he let Minneapolis-area public radio station 89.3 The Current premiere his new song “Cause and Effect” as a gesture in support of independent radio.
Music – 2010 – Prince Sings – “Purple and Gold” – Written After Seeing the NFL Vikings Beat the Cowboys
Music – Live in Concert – 2013 – A Montreux Jazz Festival Production Special – “Prince & 3RDEYEGIRL – “Cause and Effect”
In 2010, Prince was listed in Time‘s annual ranking of the “100 Most Influential People in the World”. He released a new single on Minneapolis radio station 89.3 The Current called “Hot Summer” on June 7, his 52nd birthday. The same month, Prince appeared on the cover of the July 2010 issue of Ebony, and he received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2010 BET Awards.
Music & Awards – 1992 & 2010 – A Heritage Award and BET Lifetime Achievement Award Production Special – “Prince’s Acceptance Speeches”
Music – 2010 – Prince – “Hot Summer”
Prince released his album 20Ten in July 2010 as a free covermount with publications in the UK, Belgium, Germany, and France. He refused album access to digital download services and closed LotusFlow3r.com. On July 4, 2010, Prince began his 20Ten Tour, a concert tour in two legs, with shows in Europe. The second leg began on October 15 and ended with a concert following the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on November 14. The second half of the tour had a new band, John Blackwell, Ida Kristine Nielsen, and Sheila E. Prince let Europe 1 debut the snippet of his new song “Rich Friends” from the new album 20Ten Deluxe on October 8, 2010. He embarked on the Welcome 2 Tour on December 15, 2010. Prince was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame on December 7, 2010.
Music – Live in Concert – 2010 – 20Ten Tour Special – “Prince: Live in Berlin” – Entire Concert
Music – 2010 – From the Album “20Ten” – Prince – “Rich Friends”
Prince presented Barbra Streisand with an award and donated $1.5 million to charities on February 12, 2011…..and on the same day, it was reported that he had not authorized the television show Glee to cover his hit “Kiss”, in an episode that had already been filmed. Prince headlined the Hop Farm Festival on July 3, 2011, marking his first UK show since 2007 and his 1st ever UK festival appearance. Despite having previously rejected the Internet for music distribution, on November 24, 2011, he released a reworked version of the previously unreleased song “Extraloveable” through both iTunes and Spotify. Purple Music, a Switzerland-based record label, released a CD single “Dance 4 Me” on December 12, 2011, as part of a club remixes package including the Bria Valente CD single “2 Nite” released on February 23, 2012. The CD features club remixes by Jamie Lewis and David Alexander, produced by Prince.
Music – Live in Concert – 2011 – A Hop Farm, UK Production Special – “Prince: Welcome 2 Europe Entire Concert”
Music – Official Music Video – 2011 – Prince – “Extralovable”
Music – 2009 – From the Album “LotusFlow3r” – Prince Sings – “Dance 4 Me”
Music – Live in Concert – 2011 – Live At The Los Angeles Forum – Prince – “The Bird”
In January 2013, Prince released a lyric video for a new song called “Screwdriver”. In April 2013, Prince announced a West Coast tour titled Live Out Loud Tour with 3rdeyegirl as his backing band. The final two dates of the 1st leg of the tour were in Minneapolis where former Revolution drummer Bobby Z. sat in as guest drummer on both shows. In May, Prince announced a deal with Kobalt Music to market and distribute his music. On August 14, 2013, Prince released a new solo single for download through the 3rdeyegirl.com website…..when the single “Breakfast Can Wait” had cover art featuring comedian Dave Chappelle’s impersonation of him, from a 2004 2nd-season Chappelle’s Show comedy sketch on Comedy Central.
Music – Official Music Video – 2013 – Prince & 3rdeyegirl – “Screwdriver”
Music – 2013 – From the Album “Art Official One” – Prince & 3rdeyegirl – “Breakfast Can Wait”
Music – Official Audio – 2013 – From the Album “Art Official One” – Prince & 3rdeyegirl – “This Could Be Us”
Music – Official Audio – 2013 – From the Album “Art Official One” – Prince & 3rdeyegirl – “Way Back Home”
In February 2014, he performed concerts with 3rdeyegirl in London titled the Hit and Run Tour…..which began with three intimate shows….. the 1st was held at the London home of singer Lianne La Havas…..which was followed by two performances of what Prince described as a “sound check” at the Electric Ballroom in Camden…..and another at Shepherd’s Bush Empire. On April 18, 2014, Prince released a new single entitled “The Breakdown”. He re-signed with his former label, Warner Bros. Records after an 18-year split. Warner announced that Prince would release a remastered deluxe edition of Purple Rain in 2014 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the album. In return, Warner gave Prince ownership of the master recordings of his recordings with the company.
Music – 2013 – Live at the Montreax Jazz Festival – Prince Sings – “The Breakdown”
In February 2014, Prince began what was billed as his ‘Hit N Run Part One’ tour…..which involved Prince’s Twitter followers keeping an avid eye on second-by-second information as to the whereabouts of his shows…..as many of these shows would only be announced on the day of the concert….. and many of these concerts involved two performances…..with a matinee and an evening show…..when these shows began at Camden’s Electric Ballroom, billed as ‘Soundchecks’, and spread throughout the UK capital to KoKo Club, in Camden, Shepherd’s Bush Empire and various other small venues…..then after his London dates, he moved on to other European cities. In May 2014, Prince began his ‘Hit N Run Part Two’ shows…..which followed a more normal style of purchasing tickets online and being held in music arenas. In Spring 2014, he launched NPG Publishing, a music company to administer his own music and that of other artists without the restrictions of mainstream record companies. In May 2015, following the death of Freddie Gray and the subsequent riots, Prince released a song, “Baltimore”, in tribute to Gray and in support of the protesters in that city. He also held a tribute concert for Gray at his Paisley Park estate called “Dance Rally 4 Peace” in which he encouraged fans to wear the color gray in honor of Freddie Gray. On May 10, he performed a special concert at the Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore called “Rally 4 Peace,” that featured a special appearance by Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby, and one set performed by Prince alone at a keyboard.
Music – 2015 – From the Album Hit and Run (Phase I) – Prince – “1000 X’s & O’s”
Music – 2015 – From the Album Hit and Run (Phase I) – Prince – “FALLINLOVE2NITE”
Music – Official Music Video – 2015 – From the Album Hit and Run (Phase II) – Prince – “Baltimore”
Music – Official Music Video – 2015 – From the Album Hit and Run (Phase II) – Prince – “Revelation”
Prince’s penultimate album, Hit n Run Phase One, was first made available on September 7, 2015, on the music streaming service Tidal before being released on CD and for download on September 14. His final album, Hit n Run Phase Two, was meant as a continuation of this, and was released on Tidal for streaming and download on December 12, 2015. In February 2016, Prince embarked on the Piano & A Microphone Tour, a tour that saw his show stripped back to only him and a custom piano on stage. He performed a series of warm-up shows at Paisley Park in late January 2016 and the tour commenced in Melbourne, Australia, on February 16, 2016, to critical acclaim. The Australian and New Zealand legs of the tour were played in small-capacity venues, including the Sydney Opera House. Hit n Run Phase Two CDs were distributed to every attendee after each performance. The tour continued to the United States but was cut abruptly short by illness in April 2016.
Music – 1983 – From the Album “Piano & A Microphone” – Prince Sings – “17 Days”
Music – 1983 – From the Album “Piano & A Microphone” – Prince Sings – “Purple Rain” – Beautiful Piano Solo
Music – 1983 – From the Album “Piano & A Microphone” – Prince Sings – “Cold Coffee & Cocaine”
Prince saw Michael T. Schulenberg, a Twin Cities specialist in family medicine, in Excelsior on April 7, 2016, and again on April 20. On April 7, he postponed two performances at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta from his Piano & a Microphone Tour; the venue released a statement saying he had influenza. He rescheduled and performed what was to be his final show on April 14, despite still not feeling well. While flying back to Minneapolis early the next morning, he became unresponsive, and his private jet made an emergency landing at Quad Cities International Airport in Moline, Illinois, where he was hospitalized and received naloxone, a medication used to block the effects of opioids, especially following an overdose. Once he became conscious, he left against medical advice. Representatives said he was dehydrated and had influenza for several weeks. Prince was seen bicycling the next day in his hometown of Chanhassen. He shopped that evening at the Electric Fetus in Minneapolis for Record Store Day and made a brief appearance at an impromptu dance party at his Paisley Park recording studio complex, stating that he was feeling fine. On April 19, he attended a performance by singer Lizz Wright at the Dakota Jazz Club.
Music & Interviews – 2022 – A VLAD TV Production Special – “Tavis Smiley On His 20 Year Friendship With Prince”
On April 20, 2016, Prince’s representatives called Howard Kornfeld, a California specialist in addiction medicine and pain management, seeking medical help for the star. Kornfeld scheduled to meet with him on April 22, and he contacted a local physician who cleared his schedule for a physical exam on April 21. On April 21, at 9:43 am, the Carver County Sheriff’s Office received a call requesting an ambulance be sent to Prince’s home at Paisley Park. The caller initially told the dispatcher that an unidentified person at the home was unconscious, then moments later said he was dead, and finally identified the person as Prince. The caller was Kornfeld’s son, who had flown in with buprenorphine that morning to devise a treatment plan for opioid addiction. Emergency responders found Prince unresponsive in an elevator and performed CPR, but a paramedic said he had already been dead for at least six hours, and they were unable to revive him. They pronounced him dead at 10:07 am, 19 minutes after their arrival. There were no signs of suicide or foul play. A press release from the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office in Anoka County on June 2 stated that the musician had died of an accidental overdose of fentanyl, at the age of 57. The fentanyl that led to his overdose was contained in counterfeit pills made to look like a generic version of the painkiller hydrocodone/paracetamol. The question of how and from what source Prince obtained the drug that led to his death has been the subject of investigations by several law enforcement agencies. A sealed search warrant was issued for his estate, and another unsealed search warrant was issued for the local Walgreens pharmacy. On April 19, 2018, the Carver County Attorney announced that the multi-agency investigation related to the circumstances of the star’s death had ended with no criminal charges filed.
Music & News – 2016 – An ABC News Production Special – “Inside Prince’s Final Days Before His Death”
Following an autopsy performed by Dr. A. Quinn Strobl, a protege of Janis Amatuzio, his remains were cremated. On April 26, 2016, Prince’s sister and only full sibling Tyka Nelson filed court documents in Carver County, to open a probate case, stating that no will had been found. As of his death, the twice-divorced Prince was neither married nor known to have fathered any surviving children. Under Minnesota law, the absence of a will meant that, in addition to his full sister, Prince’s five half-siblings also had a claim to an estate totaling millions of dollars in cash as well as real estate, stocks, and cars. Within three weeks of his death, 700 people claimed to be half-siblings or descendants. Bremer Trust was given temporary control of his estate, had his vault drilled open, and was authorized to obtain a blood sample for DNA profiling from the coroner who had performed the autopsy.
Music & News – 2020 – An ABC News Production Special – “Prince Suddenly Dies at Paisley Park from Fentanyl Overdose”
Prince’s ashes were placed into a custom 3D-printed urn shaped like the Paisley Park estate. The urn was placed on display in the atrium of the Paisley Park complex in October 2016. As of April 2019, no additional estate claimants were recognized by the courts besides Prince’s full sister and five half-siblings. It was reported in August 2022 the Prince estate had settled. Filings in the Minnesota First Judicial District ordered that the cash in Prince’s estate be split evenly between Prince Legacy LLC and Prince OAT Holdings LLC.
Music – 2022 – A “Grunge” Production Special – “Prince: Here’s Who Inherited Prince’s Massive Fortune After He Died”
Numerous musicians and cultural figures reacted to Prince’s death…..when President Obama mourned him…..and the United States Senate passed a resolution praising his achievements “as a musician, composer, innovator, and cultural icon”…..while cities across the U.S. held tributes and vigils and lit buildings, bridges, and other structures in purple. In the first five hours after the media reported his death, “Prince” was the top trending (most-used) term on Twitter, and Facebook had 61 million Prince-related interactions. MTV interrupted its programming to air a marathon of Prince music videos and Purple Rain. AMC Theatres and Carmike Cinemas screened Purple Rain in select theaters over the following week. Saturday Night Live aired an episode in his honor, titled “Goodnight, Sweet Prince”, featuring his performances from the show.
Music & Comedy – Tribute – 2017 – A JazzMJFan Production Special – “Prince – Funny & Great Moments In His Career”
Music & Documentary – 2018 – A Greg De Belles Production Special – “Prince: Last Year of a Legend”
Nielsen Music reported that sales of his material spiked 42,000 percent. The artist’s catalog sold 4.41 million albums and songs from April 21 to 28, with five albums simultaneously in the top ten of the Billboard 200, a first in the chart’s history. At the 59th Grammy Awards, Morris Day with the Time and Bruno Mars performed a tribute.
Music & Awards Show – Tribute – 2017 – A 59th Grammy Awards Presentation Special – “Bruno Mars, Morris Day and The Times: Salute To Prince”
The May 2, 2016, cover of The New Yorker featured an illustration of purple rain. In June 2016 Vanity Fair/Condé Nast, released a special edition commemorative magazine, The Genius of Prince…..as it celebrated the star’s life and achievements…..with new photography and archive articles…..which included the original Vanity Fair article from November 1984…..when written in the wake of the singer-songwriter’s breakout success…..with other content from the magazine, The New Yorker, Wired, and Pitchfork. The cover of The Genius of Prince featured a portrait by Andy Warhol, Orange Prince in 1984. Casts of the musicals The Color Purple and Hamilton paid tribute to the star during their curtain calls with “Purple Rain” and “Let’s Go Crazy”, respectively.
Music & Talk Shows – Tribute – 2016 – A Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon Production Special – “Jimmy Fallon Pays Tribute To Prince”
In 2016, Minnesota representative Joe Atkins introduced a bill in the state legislature to memorialize Prince with a statue in the National Statuary Hall in the United States Capitol, in recognition of his contributions to music and the state of Minnesota. As of 2020, however, the bill has not had a second reading.
Music & News – 2017 – A WCCO – CBS Minnesota Production Special – “A Look At Prince’s Minnesota Legacy”
On August 21, 2016, Prince was posthumously inducted into the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame. The 1st album released following his death was a greatest hits album, 4Ever, released on November 22, 2016…..which contains one previously unreleased song, “Moonbeam Levels”, recorded in 1982 during the 1999 sessions.
Music – 2016 – From the Album Prince 4ever – Prince Sings – “Moonbeam Levels”
Music – 2016 – From the Album Prince 4ever – Prince Sings – “Take Me With U”
Music – 2016 – From the Album Prince 4ever – Prince Sings – “Pop Life”
On February 9, 2017, Prince’s estate signed a distribution deal with Universal Music Group…..which included the post-1995 recordings on his NPG Records label and unreleased tracks from his vault. On June 27, Comerica (acting on behalf of the estate) requested that Carver County District Judge Kevin Eide cancel the estate’s deal with Universal…..as UMG’s contract would interfere with a contract with Warner Music Group that Prince signed in 2014. After Universal’s attorneys were granted access to the Warner contract, the attorneys also offered to cancel the deal. On July 13, the court voided Universal’s deal with Prince’s estate, though Universal will continue to administer Prince’s songwriting credits and create merchandise.
Music – Tribute – 2016 – Bruce Springsteen Live in Concert Tribute to Prince – “Purple Rain”
On April 19, an EP featuring six unreleased Prince recordings, Deliverance, was announced with an expected release date for later that week. The next day, Prince’s estate was granted a temporary restraining order against George Ian Boxill, an engineer who co-produced the tracks and was in possession of the master tapes, and halted the release of the EP. On June 23, Purple Rain was re-released in Deluxe and Deluxe Expanded editions…..as the 1st Prince album to be remastered and reissued…..which consisted of two discs…..with the 1st being a remaster of the original album made in 2015 overseen by Prince himself and a bonus disc of previously unreleased songs, called From the Vault & Previously Unreleased. The Deluxe Expanded edition consists of two more discs, a disc with all the single edits, maxi-single edits, and B-sides from the Purple Rain era…..and a DVD with a concert from the Purple Rain Tour filmed in Syracuse on March 30, 1985, previously released on home video in 1985. The album debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and at No. 1 on both the Billboard R&B Albums and Vinyl Albums charts.
Music – Live in Concert – 1985 – Live in Syracuse, NY – Prince & The Revolution – “Purple Rain” – 16 Minutes of Magic
On April 19, 2018, the previously unreleased original recording of “Nothing Compares 2 U” from 1984 was released as a single by Warner Bros. Records in conjunction with Prince’s estate…..plus, the Prince version was given its own music video…..which was released in conjunction with the single….. while the video consists of edited rehearsal footage for the Purple Rain tour, shot in the summer of 1984. Troy Carter, adviser for Prince’s estate, later announced in an interview with Variety that a full-length album was planned for release on September 28.
Music – Live in Concert – 2004 – For the Nothing Compares 2 U Tour – Live in London – Prince – Entire Concert
In June, the Prince estate signed a distribution deal with Sony Music Entertainment, which includes the rights to all of Prince’s studio albums, plus unreleased music, remixes, live recordings, music videos and B-sides from before 1995. The deal will immediately include Prince’s albums from 1995 to 2010. Beginning in 2021, Prince’s Warner Bros. albums from 1978–1996 will become distributed by Sony/Legacy Recordings in the United States, with Warner Music Group still controlling the international rights. On July 11, Heritage Auctions announced the auction of Prince’s personal possessions to be conducted in Dallas, Texas, on July 21, 2018. A total of 27 items was announced to be put in the auction, including Prince’s bible, stage worn clothing, and some personal documents. On August 17, NPG Records released all 23 post-Warner Bros. albums by Prince digitally on streaming platforms, together with a new compilation album Anthology: 1995–2010, containing 37 tracks. On September 21, Piano and a Microphone 1983 was released on CD, vinyl, and digital formats…..as the 1st album released by the Prince estate with material from his archive, the Vault. The Sony/Legacy reissues began in February 2019. The first three releases were Musicology, 3121, and Planet Earth on limited edition purple vinyl and standard CD formats. Later that month, the Prince Estate announced reissues of the albums Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic and Rave In2 the Joy Fantastic on purple vinyl as well as Ultimate Rave, a 2 CD and 1 DVD set which includes Prince In Concert: Rave Un2 the Year 2000. On April 13 (Record Store Day), the cassette The Versace Experience – Prelude 2 Gold, originally issued in 1995 and given as a gift to attendees to the Versace collection at that year’s Paris Fashion Week, was reissued in a limited edition. On June 7, Warner released a new Prince album Originals exclusively through TIDAL. The album contains Prince’s original versions of 15 songs he offered to other artists in the past. A wide release on CD and vinyl followed on June 20. On September 13, The Versace Experience was reissued on purple vinyl and CD as well as on digital formats, together with reissues of Chaos and Disorder and Emancipation. On October 18, a single with his acoustic demo of “I Feel for You” was released digitally, alongside a limited edition “7” purple vinyl in honor of the 40th anniversary of the Prince album release. On November 27, 1999 was reissued in Remastered, Deluxe, and Super Deluxe editions, the latter including 35 previously unreleased songs and two live concerts.
Music & Documentaries – 2023 – A The Detail. Production Special – “Prince: On His Rivalry with Michael Jackson!….Candidly In His Own Words”
On September 25, 2020, The Estate of Prince Rogers Nelson released three editions of Prince’s Sign o’ the Times Super Deluxe…..as the Remastered edition contains a remaster of the original album (discs one and two)…..when the Deluxe edition contains the remaster…..and a 3rd disc with all the single and maxi-single mixes as well as the B-sides…..while the Super Deluxe edition contains six additional discs…..while having three of them containing 45 previously unissued studio tracks…..with two discs containing the live audio concert recordings of the Sign o’ the Times Tour at stadium Galgenwaard in Utrecht, The Netherlands, and the last disc is a DVD with the live video concert recordings of the New Year’s Eve show at Paisley Park, that has been bootlegged prior to this release. The albums were also issued on vinyl in a 2 LP, 2 LP peach vinyl, 4 LP and 13 LP + DVD set and are available on all digital download and streaming services. The video content is exclusive to the physical DVD and does not appear on digital download or streaming versions of the Super Deluxe Edition set. Pitchfork rated the Super Deluxe version, released on October 2, 2020, 10 out of 10 and named it Best New Reissue.
Music & Talk Shows – 2001 – A The Tonight Show With Jay Leno Production Special – “Prince: On Why He Doesn’t Sign Any Record Label Contracts”
On April 7, 2021, The Estate of Prince Rogers Nelson announced a vinyl reissue of the 1998 album The Truth for Record Store Day 2021 on June 12. The next day, they announced the forthcoming release of the previously unreleased album Welcome 2 America featuring Tal Wilkenfeld on bass, Chris Coleman on drums, Morris Hayes on keyboards, and vocals from New Power Generation singers Liv Warfield, Shelby J. and Elisa Fiorillo on July 30.
Music – 1998 – From the Album The Truth – Prince Sings – “The Truth”
Music – 2021 – From the Album Welcome 2 America – Prince Sings – “Hot Summer”
Music – 2021 – From the Album Welcome 2 America – Prince Sings – “Welcome 2 America”
Prince is widely regarded as one of the greatest musicians of his generation. Rolling Stone ranked Prince at # 27 on its list of 100 Greatest Artists, “the most influential artists of the rock & roll era”…..and according to Acclaimed Music, he is the 9th most celebrated artist in popular music history. In 2010, Prince was ranked # 7 on VH1’s “100 Greatest Artists of All Time”. In 2003, Rolling Stone‘s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list included Purple Rain at # 72….. Sign o’ the Times at # 93…..1999 at # 163…..and Dirty Mind at # 204. And in 2004, on their 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list, Rolling Stone included “When Doves Cry” at # 52…..“Little Red Corvette” at # 108….. “Purple Rain” at # 143…..”1999″ at # 212…..“Sign o’ the Times” at # 299….. and “Kiss” at # 461.
Music & Comedy – 2018 – A PlePur Production Special – “Prince: A Compilation of the Comedy of Prince” – Part 1
Music & Comedy – 2018 – A PlePur Production Special – “Prince: A Compilation of the Comedy of Prince” – Part 2
The Los Angeles Times called Prince “our 1st post-everything pop star, defying easy categories of race, genre and commercial appeal”…..while Jon Pareles of The New York Times described him as “a master architect of funk, rock, R&B and pop”, and highlighted his ability to defy labels…..while Geoffrey Himes described him as a leading artist in “a tradition of left-wing black music” or “progressive soul”…..albeit even he conceded the term may be “too narrow”. Los Angeles Times writer Randall Roberts called Prince “among the most versatile and restlessly experimental pop artists of our time,” writing that his “early work connected disco and synthetic funk [while his] fruitful mid-period merged rock, soul, R&B and synth-pop.” Simon Reynolds called him a “pop polymath, flitting between funkadelia, acid rock, deep soul, schmaltz—often within the same song”. AllMusic wrote that, “With each album he released, Prince showed remarkable stylistic growth and musical diversity, constantly experimenting with different sounds, textures, and genres […] no other contemporary artist blended so many diverse styles into a cohesive whole.” Jon Pareles has named Prince among the “pantheon” of artists in the album era, in which the album format was the dominant form of recorded music expression and consumption.
Music – Style Analysis – 2013 – A Morrisman Smith Production Special – “Prince: An Analysis of His Guitar Playing Style”
As a performer, he was known for his flamboyant style and showmanship….. as he came to be regarded as a sex symbol for his androgynous, amorphous sexuality, play with signifiers of gender, and defiance of racial stereotypes. His “audacious, idiosyncratic” fashion sense made use of “ubiquitous purple, alluring makeup and frilled garments”….. while his androgynous look has been compared to those of Little Richard and David Bowie. In 2016, Reynolds described it as “Prince’s ’80s evasion of conventional gender definitions speaks to us now in this trans-aware moment. But it also harks backwards in time to the origins of rock ‘n’ roll in racial mixture and sexual blurring”. Prince was known for the strong female presence in his bands…..and his support for women in the music industry throughout his career.
Music & Talk Shows – 1989 – A Boyki319 Production Special – “Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman: Our Years As Prince’s Girls In The Revolution”
Music – Interview – 2017 – A Yahoo Music Production Special – “Backspin Interview: The Revolution Talk Prince’s ‘Parade,’ ‘Sign O’ the Times,’ and the Band’s Breakup”
Music – Live in Concert – 2014 – Live in Le Zénith, Paris, FR – Prince & 3rdEyeGirl Perform – “CRAZY2COOL Medley” – With More of the Girls in Prince’s Bands
Music – Official Music Video – 2018 – For the Album “3121” – Prince + The Twinz Maya and Nandy McClean + Tamar Sing – “Fury”
Music & Interview – 2020 – A Recording Academy Grammy’s Behind the Scenes Look & Salute To Prince Production Special – “Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters) Tells The Story Of Jamming With Prince In An Empty Arena – It Was Awesome!”
Many artists have cited Prince as an influence and inspiration, including Beyoncé, Justin Timberlake, Bruno Mars, Rihanna, Alicia Keys, Usher, Janelle Monáe, The Weeknd, Lady Gaga, Lorde, Marilyn Manson, Lenny Kravitz, André 3000, Mark Speer, Jamie Lidell, Frank Ocean, Miguel, Mya, Robyn, D’Angelo, H.E.R. and Beck. Bono of U2 regarded Prince as one of his “favorite composers of the twentieth century”. Beyoncé expressed her admiration for Prince in the book Prince: A Private View, calling him “my mentor”…..and also praising his independence saying “He dared to fight for what was rightfully his: his freedom, wrapped up in words and music he created.”
Music – Special – 2020 – A PurpleRainsTube Production Special – “Artists Speaking About Prince”
In August 2017, Pantone Inc. introduced a new shade of purple in their color system in honor of Prince…..as the shade is called Love Symbol #2.
Music – Official Music Video – 1995 – From the Album “The Gold Experience” – Prince – “Endorphinmachine”
Prince’s music synthesized a wide variety of influences, and drew inspiration from a range of musicians, including Ike Turner, James Brown, George Clinton, Joni Mitchell, Duke Ellington, Jimi Hendrix, the Beatles, Chuck Berry, David Bowie, Earth, Wind & Fire, Mick Jagger, Rick James, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Curtis Mayfield, Elvis Presley, Todd Rundgren, Carlos Santana, Sly Stone, Jackie Wilson and Stevie Wonder.
Music – Live in Concert – 2011 – From the Album Welcome 2 America Deluxe Edition -Live at the Forum in LA – Prince Sings – “Play That Funky Music”
Music – Live in Concert – 2011 – From the Album Welcome 2 America Live Blu-Ray -Live at the Forum in LA – Prince Sings – “17 Days”
Music – Live in Concert – 2010 – Live at Paris Bercy – Stevie Wonder & Prince Perform – “Very Superstitious”
Music – Live in Concert Tribute – 2016 – A JP Rayne Production Special – “Santana – Tribute To Prince Live at Leon’s Centre”
Prince has been compared with jazz artist Miles Davis in regard to the artistic changes throughout his career. Davis said he regarded Prince as an otherworldly blend of James Brown, Jimi Hendrix, Marvin Gaye, Sly Stone, Little Richard, Duke Ellington, and Charlie Chaplin. Prince and Miles Davis performed together for a Charity Event at Paisley Park. This performance was viewed as the pinnacle of their on-again, off-again partnership.
Music – 2020 – An NPG Records Remastered Production Special – Prince & Miles Davis Perform – “Can I Play With U?” – Live at Paisley Park
Music – Official Music Video – 1987 – Live at Paisley Park – Prince & Miles Davis Perform – “Housequake”
Music & Documentary – 2023 – Clip from the Miles Davis Documentary The Birth of Cool – Miles Davis Loves Prince
Journalist Nik Cohn described him as “rock’s greatest ever natural talent”…… as Prince was a natural tenor…..but he had a wide vocal range from falsetto to baritone…..and performed rapid, seemingly effortless shifts of register. Prince was also renowned as a multi-instrumentalist…..while he is considered a guitar virtuoso and a master of drums, percussion, bass, keyboards, piano and synthesizer…..when on his 1st five albums, he played nearly all the instruments, including 27 instruments on his debut album…..with among them various types of bass, keyboards and synthesizers. Prince was also quick to embrace technology in his music, making pioneering use of drum machines like the Linn LM-1 on his early ’80’s albums…..while employing a wide range of studio effects. The LA Times also noted his “harnessing [of] new-generation synthesizer sounds in service of the groove,”…..thus laying the foundations for post-’70’s funk music. Prince was also known for his prolific and virtuosic tendencies…..which resulted in him recording large amounts of unreleased material.
Music – Special – 2020 – A PurpleRainsTube Production Special – “Prince: 6 Minutes of Magic – A Drum Compilation”
Music – Special – 2020 – A Jaxsn – The Bass Player Production Special – “Prince: Killing Bass in His Studio”
Music – Special – 2020 – A PurpleRainsTube Production Special – “Prince: Ultimate Piano Solo Compilation”
Music – Special – 2020 – A The Artist Production Special – “Prince: Playing Acoustic Guitar Compilation”
Prince also wrote songs for other artists…..and some songs of his were covered by musicians, such as the hit songs “Manic Monday” performed by The Bangles…..“I Feel For You”, originally on Prince’s self-titled 2nd album from 1979…..and covered by Chaka Khan…..plus, “Nothing Compares 2 U”….. which was written for Prince’s side project the Family…..and covered very successfully by Sinéad O’Connor. Prince co-wrote “Love… Thy Will Be Done” with singer Martika, for her 2nd album, Martika’s Kitchen…..and he also gifted Celine Dion a song for her 2nd album, Celine Dion, titled …..for it was a song Prince had written specifically for her. Prince also wrote “U” for Paula Abdul, appearing on her 1991 release Spellbound.
Music – Special – 2020 – A The Artist Production Special – “Prince: Singing I Feel For You + Playing Acoustic Guitar”
A guitar virtuoso, Prince was also known to have a stylish and flamboyant custom guitar collection, which consisted of 121 guitars. One notable series is his Cloud Guitars, which were commissioned and released in colored versions of white, yellow and purple. The white version is prominently shown in the Purple Rain film and the “Raspberry Beret” video. Other notable guitars are The Love Symbol guitars, which were designed in the separate colors of gold and purple. The guitar that was used for the majority of Prince’s music career was the H.S. Anderson Madcat guitar – a Telecaster copy created by Hohner. Several versions of the guitar were used throughout his career – due to one being donated for charitable reasons, while one or more were stolen. Another guitar primarily used in his later years was the Vox HDC-77, which was introduced to him by 3rdeyegirl member Ida Kristine Nielsen, both a Blackburst version, and a White Ivory version. Two other noteworthy guitars are the G1 Purple Special, and the black-and-gold Gus G3 Prince bass, which would become the last two guitars to ever be made for him.
Music – Special – 2021 – A Smithsonian Channel Production Special – “Prince’s Iconic Guitar” – With John Troutman, National Museum of American History
On May 9, 2023 Governor Tim Walz signed into state legislature a law dedicating Minnesota State Highway 5 (MN 5) from Chanhassen to Eden Prairie as “Prince Rogers Nelson Memorial Highway”…..as this dedicated highway runs past Paisley Park…..and the road signs were written into law to be purple in color…..which got an exception from the Minnesota Department of Transportation…..as these signs are typically brown…..while purple is reserved for toll roads.
Music & Dance – 2020 – A PurpleRainsTube Production Special – “Prince: His Best Dance Breaks”
In 1993, during negotiations regarding the release of The Gold Experience, a legal battle ensued between Warner Bros. and Prince over the artistic and financial control of his musical output. During the lawsuit, Prince appeared in public with the word “slave” written on his cheek. He explained that he had changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol to emancipate himself from his contract with Warner Bros……and that he had done it out of frustration because he felt his own name now belonged to the company.
Music – Special – 2023 – An helloyassine Production Special – “Prince: How He Beat The Music Industry”
Prince sometimes used pseudonyms to separate himself from the music he had written, produced or recorded…..and at one point stated that his ownership and achievement were strengthened by the act of giving away ideas…..so, pseudonyms he adopted at various times includes Jamie Starr and The Starr Company…..for the songs he wrote for the Time and many other artists from 1981 to 1984…..along with Joey Coco…..for many unreleased Prince songs in the late 1980’s…..as well as songs written for Sheena Easton and Kenny Rogers…..in addition to Alexander Nevermind….. for writing the song “Sugar Walls” in 1984 by Sheena Easton…..plus Christopher…..for his songwriting credit of “Manic Monday” in 1986 for the Bangles.
Music – Live Concert – 2014 – A “P World” Production Special – “Prince: Live in Manchester – Entire Concert
Prince was one of a small handful of musicians to deny “Weird Al” Yankovic permission to parody his music. By Yankovic’s account, he’d done so “about a half-dozen times” and has been the sole artist not to give any explanation for his rejection beyond a flat “no”.
Music – Live Concert – September 9, 1988 – A Dortmund Europe TV Production Special – “Prince Live In Concert” – With Incredible Dance Program Intro to the Evening
Prince was romantically linked with many women over the years, including Kim Basinger, Madonna, Vanity, Jill Jones, Sheila E., Carmen Electra, Susannah Melvoin and Sherilyn Fenn. Susannah Melvoin recalled how, around the time of Sign o’ the Times, “Wendy [Melvoin, her twin sister] and Lisa [Coleman] and I lived together and we would have [Prince] stay at our place. We became really close. He got to be in a family of three women, and we got to have our Prince. Not many people had that kind of relationship with him.” In 1990, he saw 16-year-old dancer Mayte García standing outside his tour bus, and referred to her as his “future wife” when pointing her out to bandmate Rosie Gaines. García began working as one of his backup singers and dancers after graduating from high school…..and they were married on February 14, 1996…..when he was 37 and she was 22. They had a son named Amiir (born October 16, 1996)…..who died a week after being born due to Pfeiffer syndrome. The distress of losing a child and García’s subsequent miscarriage took a toll on the marriage, and the couple divorced in 2000. Prince married Manuela Testolini, a Canadian businesswoman of Italian and Egyptian descent, in a private ceremony in 2001…..as she hails from Toronto, which led the couple to live there part-time. They separated in 2005 and divorced in May 2006.
Music & News – 2016 – A CNN Production Special – “Prince: His Epic Love Life” – As Aired On CNN the Day of His Death
Music & News – 2017 – A Wall Street Journal Production Special – “Prince’s First Wife Mayte Garcia On the Star We Didn’t Know”
García said of Prince’s religious beliefs…..“He was always a spiritual seeker….. who was fascinated in all possibilities to integrate the signs of the zodiac and 3rd eye…..and reincarnation into the Christian beliefs his Baptist mother and Seventh-day Adventist father had exposed him to.” Prince became a Jehovah’s Witness in 2001, following a two-year debate with bassist Larry Graham, who became his mentor and a close friend at this time. He did not consider it a conversion but a “realization”…..while comparing it to Morpheus and Neo in The Matrix movie from 1999. He attended meetings at a local Kingdom Hall…..and occasionally knocked on people’s doors to discuss his faith. Prince had needed double hip replacement surgery since 2005. An unverified rumor was spread by tabloids that he would not undergo the operation because of his religious beliefs…..which included a refusal to have blood transfusions…..albeit the Star Tribune reported that Graham “denied claims that Prince couldn’t have hip surgery because his faith prohibited blood transfusions”…..while stating that “medical technology offers alternatives”. Longtime collaborator Jimmy Jam, said that “If he didn’t, he was in pain, like, unbelievable (pain), because that’s the way Morris felt too”, referring to the lead singer of The Time…..who had hip surgery in 2008…..and the fact remains that Jam still could not “believe the stories suggesting Prince may have been dependent on pain pills”. While many patients can undergo hip transplant without transfusion, the need for blood is highly individual.
Music & Documentary – 2020 – A Facts Verse Production Special – “Prince: These 20 Tragic Facts Surfaced After Prince’s Death”
In late March 2016, Prince told an audience he was writing a memoir titled The Beautiful Ones. His cowriter, Dan Piepenbring, continued work on the memoir, and The Beautiful Ones was published in October 2019.
Music & Book Review – 2019 – A Prince’s Friend” Production Special – “Prince: The Beautiful Ones Book Review” – Memoir & Game Changer
Prince sold over 150 million records worldwide, ranking him among the best-selling music artists of all time. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2006, and the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame in 2016. In 2016, he was posthumously honored with a Doctor of Humane Letters by the University of Minnesota. He was inducted into the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame in 2022.
Music – Special – 2023 – A PurpleRainsTube Production Special – “A Compilation of Great Guitarists Speaking About Prince”
He has won 7 Grammy Awards…..7 Brit Awards…..6 American Music Awards …..4 MTV Video Music Awards…..an Academy Award for Best Original Song Score for the film Purple Rain…..and a Golden Globe Award. Two of his albums, Purple Rain in 1984 and Sign o’ the Times in 1987….. received the Grammy Award for Album of the Year nominations……and 1999 in 1982….. Purple Rain…..and Sign o’ the Times have all been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. At the 28th Grammy Awards, Prince was awarded the President’s Merit Award. Prince was also honored with the American Music Award for Achievement and American Music Award of Merit at the American Music Awards of 1990…..and American Music Awards of 1995 respectively. At the 2013 Billboard Music Awards, he was honored with the Billboard Icon Award. In 2019, the 1984 film Purple Rain was added by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”.
Music & Awards – 1985 – A My Childhood Memories Production Special – “Prince: Dominates The American Music Awards”
Music & Awards – 1985 – An Oscars Production Special – “Prince: Wins Academy Award for Original Song Score”
Music & Awards – 1998 – An erick Production Special – “Prince Receives the 1998 Essence Award Highlights and Speech” – Presented by Chris Rock
Prince has been honored with a star on the outside mural of the Minneapolis nightclub First Avenue…..while recognizing performers that have played sold-out shows or have otherwise demonstrated a major contribution to the culture at the iconic venue……when receiving a star “might be the most prestigious public honor an artist can receive in Minneapolis,” according to journalist Steve Marsh. Prince’s backing band, the Revolution, also has a star on the mural, to the immediate right of Prince’s. Originally painted silver like the other stars on the mural, Prince’s star was repainted in gold leaf during the night of May 4, 2016, about two weeks after Prince’s death. Originally anonymous, the artist was revealed a few months later to be graphic designer and graffiti artist Peyton Russell…..who had worked for Prince at his club Glam Slam in the 1990s and wanted to pay tribute.
Music & Documentary – 2020 – A The Prince Encyclopedia Production Special – “Slave Trade – Prince Documentary”
Who’s still rocking Prince in 2023… because he’s Freaking TIMELESS!!!…..and the best thing about being a Prince fan is that you’ll never run out of discovering awesome music from him that’s new to you. There is no better artist, composer, story teller and teacher than Prince himself…..as he brought it all to the table …..for Prince was truly unique. His high and low register was so good that it almost sounded like 2 different people…..which is truly REMARKABLE!! Prince did everything in so many of his songs where he did every voice, every instrument, every ounce of production…..all the while he was performing every element of his recording….cuz it was is all his….. simply put, true genius. Prince was such a gifted composer and musician who knew how to translate deep emotions into his music. The quality of musicianship and performing skills was stunning…..with energy levels that were through the roof. Nobody put on a show like Prince…..while he has to be the greatest musician ever with just a mind boggling talent…..and certainly the most prolific one by orders or magnitude. Prince played from the heart…..which made the emotional impact of his music much greater…..while providing a higher consciousness when playing that tapped into the universe. So as I’m starting to watch Prince more these days. I can’t believe just how talented he was…..with an impeccable vocal range…..he could sing anything , in any note in any key…..as he even sang jazz. Wow, what a talent. Prince may be the greatest all around artist…..with the electric guitar, the exquisite song-writing, the pitch-perfect, instantly recognizable voice and, probably most importantly, those DANCE MOVES! This guy can rightly take his place amongst the topmost tier in the pantheon of music/songwriting…..which includes Messrs. Beethoven, Mozart, Lennon, Cohen, et al. Prince was differently blessed and gifted…..when he gave all praise to our Jesus Christ. What an insightful man and he truly spoke of love in his music. I really don’t have enough words to describe my admiration and respect for this man…..as mostly likely the greatest musical genius….. with such an interesting and complex personality….for Prince was surreal and admirable on so many levels!…..and he remains unbeatable and irreplaceable…..but a True Legend whose light shines on forever! The Beautiful Ones is one of my favorite Prince songs ever…..cuz I can’t believe one human did the vocals, guitar, bass, drums, piano, synthesizers, and songwriting all on one of the greatest songs ever…you’d be hard pressed to find a similar situation. the greatest ever…..as Prince made this song seem like it was a full symphony orchestra backing his vocals…..a one man band…..PURE MUSICAL GENIUS!! Prince was not of this world. He was and still is an enigmatic entity….beautiful and ethereal… like no other. He’s smart, well spoken, soft spoken too, thoughtful and philosophical…..who is childlike, shy and tries consciously not to be jaded, not to be distrustful. “I’m not a woman, I’m not a man, I am something that you’ll never understand”…..as Prince is referring to the Higher Power …..and this song really touches me. I miss Prince he was so different and unique. and what I loved the most about him was his spirituality , that man was beyond his years. Proof in the pudding of this fact can be found in the acoustic set posted herewithj…..and look at the audience when the house lights go up……and lo and behold in the audience is a sea of young, old, black, white, red, green, purple….Prince was a force of nature. I feel truly blessed to have lived at the same time and planet he did. Those who make art and music that touches our souls long after they’ve left this place, they are immortal…..and their spirit will never parish…..cuz what they left for this earth will never be forgotten…..while Prince was among the best of them. The thing that made Prince the greatest was that he was willing to share the spotlight with so many other talented musicians. He didn’t have to be front and center stage the whole time. He gave others a chance to shine…..which is rare in music industry….where a lot of narcissism exists…..since it’s got to be all about the star. Prince was probably the best musician on that stage…..who could play ANY instrument; probably better than all of those other people…..and yet he still had the humility to step back so that others could step forward. In this SportsPhile’s opinion, Prince was truly an “angel of love”…..while seemingly running deep in his heart and soul….cuz it sure came out that way in his artistry…..his heart and soul!…..while evidence of that l lies is this quote of his…..“You’re just a sinner, I am told Be your fire when you’re cold Make you happy when you’re sad Make you good when you are bad I’m not a human I am a dove I’m your conscience I am love All I really need is to know that you believe”….“Black day, stormy night No love, no hope in sight Don’t cry, He is coming Don’t die without knowing the Cross.” ‘Genius’ isn’t apropos enough for this man’s out-of-this world talent. Produced, written, arranged, composed and performed by Prince…..and I think, never will we see anything like Prince again.
Music & Interview – 2016 – A Joe Little III TV Production Special – “Prince: Interview With Stephen Stills of BET Network & Performance”
Music – Special Video Compilation – 2020 – A PurpleRainsTube Production Special – “Prince: Best Live Vocals Compilation”
Music – Documentary – 2023 – A Mic The Snare Production Special – “Prince: Deep Discog Dive” – Covering Prince’s 39 Albums
Music – Mini Documentary – 2007 – Live O2 Arena in London During the Earth Tour – Prince Live In Concert
Prince performed with Sheila E. at the 2007 ALMA Awards. On June 28, 2007, the Mail on Sunday stated that it had made a deal to give Prince’s new album, Planet Earth, away for free with the paper…..which made it the 1st place in the world to get the album…..while sparking controversy among music distributors…..and also led the UK arm of Prince’s distributor, Sony BMG, to withdraw from distributing the album in UK stores……while the UK’s largest high street music retailer, HMV, stocked the paper on release day due to the giveaway. On July 7, 2007, Prince returned to Minneapolis to perform three shows…..and he performed concerts at the Macy’s Auditorium (to promote his new perfume “3121”) on Nicollet Mall, the Target Center arena, and First Avenue. It was the 1st time he had played at First Avenue (the club appeared in the film Purple Rain) since 1987.
Music – Official Music Video – 2007 – For the Album “Planet Earth” – Prince Sings – “Guitar”
Music – 2007 – Live at the ALMA Awards – Live on Stage – Prince & Shelia E Medley Performance
Music – Official Music Video – 2007 – For the Album “Planet Earth” – Prince Sings – “Chelsea Rodgers”
From 2008, Prince was managed by UK-based Kiran Sharma…..when on April 25, 2008, Prince performed on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno…..where he debuted a new song, “Turn Me Loose”……then days after, he headlined the 2008 Coachella Festival. Prince was paid more than $5 million for his performance at Coachella, according to Reuters. Prince canceled a concert, planned at Dublin’s Croke Park on June 16, 2008, at 10 days’ notice. In October 2009 promoters MCD Productions went to court to sue him for €1.6 million to refund 55,126 tickets. Prince settled the case out of court in February 2010 for $2.95 million. During the trial, it was said that Prince had been offered $22 million for seven concerts as part of a proposed 2008 European tour. In October 2008, Prince released a live album entitled Indigo Nights, a collection of songs performed live at after-shows in the IndigO2.
Music – 2008 – Unreleased Song – Prince Sings – “Turn Me Loose”
Music – Live in Concert – 2008 – Live at Cochella 2008 Music & Arts Festival – Prince Sings – “Creep”
Music – 2008 – Live In Concert at the Cochella Music & Arts Festival – Prince Performs Entire Concert
Music – 2008 – From the Album “Indigo Nights – Live Sessions” – Prince – “The One”
On January 3, 2009, the new website LotusFlow3r.com was launched…..while streaming and selling some of the recently aired material and concert tickets. On January 31, Prince released two more songs on LotusFlow3r.com: “Disco Jellyfish”, and “Another Boy”…..plus “Chocolate Box”, “Colonized Mind” and “All This Love” were later released on the website. Prince released a triple album set containing Lotusflower, MPLSoUND…..and an album credited to Bria Valente, called Elixer, on March 24, 2009, followed by a physical release on March 29.
Music – Official Music Video – 2009 – From the Album “LotusFlow3r” – Prince – “Chocolate Box”
Music – 2009 – From the Album “LotusFlow3r” – Prince – “Colonized Mind”
Music – Official Music Video – 2009 – From the Album “Elixir” – Bria Valente & Prince Duet – “Elixir”
On July 18, 2009, Prince performed two shows at the Montreux Jazz Festival, backed by the New Power Generation, including Rhonda Smith, Renato Neto and John Blackwell…..then on October 11, 2009, he gave two surprise concerts at the Grand Palais…..when on the following night he gave another surprise performance at La Cigale…..after which on October 24, Prince played a concert at Paisley Park.
Music – Live in Concert – 2009 – Live at The Montreux Jazz Festival – Prince – First Show – Entire Concert
Music – Live in Concert – 2009 – Live at The Montreux Jazz Festival – Second Show – Prince – Entire Concert
Music – Live in Concert – 2014 – The Hit and Run II Tour Special – “Prince: Live in Manchester” – Entire Concert
Music – Live on Stage – 2009 – A Hit and Run 1 Production Special – “GSharp & Prince: Live at Paisley Park”
In January 2010, Prince wrote a new song, “Purple and Gold”, inspired by his visit to a Minnesota Vikings football game against the Dallas Cowboys. The following month, he let Minneapolis-area public radio station 89.3 The Current premiere his new song “Cause and Effect” as a gesture in support of independent radio.
Music – 2010 – Prince Sings – “Purple and Gold” – Written After Seeing the NFL Vikings Beat the Cowboys
Music – Live in Concert – 2013 – A Montreux Jazz Festival Production Special – “Prince & 3RDEYEGIRL – “Cause and Effect”
In 2010, Prince was listed in Time‘s annual ranking of the “100 Most Influential People in the World”. He released a new single on Minneapolis radio station 89.3 The Current called “Hot Summer” on June 7, his 52nd birthday. The same month, Prince appeared on the cover of the July 2010 issue of Ebony, and he received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2010 BET Awards.
Music & Awards – 1992 & 2010 – A Heritage Award and BET Lifetime Achievement Award Production Special – “Prince’s Acceptance Speeches”
Music – 2010 – Prince – “Hot Summer”
Prince released his album 20Ten in July 2010 as a free covermount with publications in the UK, Belgium, Germany, and France. He refused album access to digital download services and closed LotusFlow3r.com. On July 4, 2010, Prince began his 20Ten Tour, a concert tour in two legs, with shows in Europe. The second leg began on October 15 and ended with a concert following the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on November 14. The second half of the tour had a new band, John Blackwell, Ida Kristine Nielsen, and Sheila E. Prince let Europe 1 debut the snippet of his new song “Rich Friends” from the new album 20Ten Deluxe on October 8, 2010. He embarked on the Welcome 2 Tour on December 15, 2010. Prince was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame on December 7, 2010.
Music – Live in Concert – 2010 – 20Ten Tour Special – “Prince: Live in Berlin” – Entire Concert
Music – 2010 – From the Album “20Ten” – Prince – “Rich Friends”
Prince presented Barbra Streisand with an award and donated $1.5 million to charities on February 12, 2011…..and on the same day, it was reported that he had not authorized the television show Glee to cover his hit “Kiss”, in an episode that had already been filmed. Prince headlined the Hop Farm Festival on July 3, 2011, marking his first UK show since 2007 and his 1st ever UK festival appearance. Despite having previously rejected the Internet for music distribution, on November 24, 2011, he released a reworked version of the previously unreleased song “Extraloveable” through both iTunes and Spotify. Purple Music, a Switzerland-based record label, released a CD single “Dance 4 Me” on December 12, 2011, as part of a club remixes package including the Bria Valente CD single “2 Nite” released on February 23, 2012. The CD features club remixes by Jamie Lewis and David Alexander, produced by Prince.
Music – Live in Concert – 2011 – A Hop Farm, UK Production Special – “Prince: Welcome 2 Europe Entire Concert”
Music – Official Music Video – 2011 – Prince – “Extralovable”
Music – 2009 – From the Album “LotusFlow3r” – Prince Sings – “Dance 4 Me”
Music – Live in Concert – 2011 – Live At The Los Angeles Forum – Prince – “The Bird”
In January 2013, Prince released a lyric video for a new song called “Screwdriver”. In April 2013, Prince announced a West Coast tour titled Live Out Loud Tour with 3rdeyegirl as his backing band. The final two dates of the 1st leg of the tour were in Minneapolis where former Revolution drummer Bobby Z. sat in as guest drummer on both shows. In May, Prince announced a deal with Kobalt Music to market and distribute his music. On August 14, 2013, Prince released a new solo single for download through the 3rdeyegirl.com website…..when the single “Breakfast Can Wait” had cover art featuring comedian Dave Chappelle’s impersonation of him, from a 2004 2nd-season Chappelle’s Show comedy sketch on Comedy Central.
Music – Official Music Video – 2013 – Prince & 3rdeyegirl – “Screwdriver”
Music – 2013 – From the Album “Art Official One” – Prince & 3rdeyegirl – “Breakfast Can Wait”
Music – Official Audio – 2013 – From the Album “Art Official One” – Prince & 3rdeyegirl – “This Could Be Us”
Music – Official Audio – 2013 – From the Album “Art Official One” – Prince & 3rdeyegirl – “Way Back Home”
In February 2014, he performed concerts with 3rdeyegirl in London titled the Hit and Run Tour…..which began with three intimate shows….. the 1st was held at the London home of singer Lianne La Havas…..which was followed by two performances of what Prince described as a “sound check” at the Electric Ballroom in Camden…..and another at Shepherd’s Bush Empire. On April 18, 2014, Prince released a new single entitled “The Breakdown”. He re-signed with his former label, Warner Bros. Records after an 18-year split. Warner announced that Prince would release a remastered deluxe edition of Purple Rain in 2014 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the album. In return, Warner gave Prince ownership of the master recordings of his recordings with the company.
Music – 2013 – Live at the Montreax Jazz Festival – Prince Sings – “The Breakdown”
In February 2014, Prince began what was billed as his ‘Hit N Run Part One’ tour…..which involved Prince’s Twitter followers keeping an avid eye on second-by-second information as to the whereabouts of his shows…..as many of these shows would only be announced on the day of the concert….. and many of these concerts involved two performances…..with a matinee and an evening show…..when these shows began at Camden’s Electric Ballroom, billed as ‘Soundchecks’, and spread throughout the UK capital to KoKo Club, in Camden, Shepherd’s Bush Empire and various other small venues…..then after his London dates, he moved on to other European cities. In May 2014, Prince began his ‘Hit N Run Part Two’ shows…..which followed a more normal style of purchasing tickets online and being held in music arenas. In Spring 2014, he launched NPG Publishing, a music company to administer his own music and that of other artists without the restrictions of mainstream record companies. In May 2015, following the death of Freddie Gray and the subsequent riots, Prince released a song, “Baltimore”, in tribute to Gray and in support of the protesters in that city. He also held a tribute concert for Gray at his Paisley Park estate called “Dance Rally 4 Peace” in which he encouraged fans to wear the color gray in honor of Freddie Gray. On May 10, he performed a special concert at the Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore called “Rally 4 Peace,” that featured a special appearance by Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby, and one set performed by Prince alone at a keyboard.
Music – 2015 – From the Album Hit and Run I – Prince – “1000 X’s & O’s”
Music – 2015 – From the Album Hit and Run I – Prince – “FALLINLOVE2NITE”
Music – Official Music Video – 2015 – From the Album Hit and Run (Phase II) – Prince – “Baltimore”
Music – Official Music Video – 2015 – From the Album Hit and Run (Phase II) – Prince – “Revelation”
Prince’s penultimate album, Hit n Run Phase One, was first made available on September 7, 2015, on the music streaming service Tidal before being released on CD and for download on September 14. His final album, Hit n Run Phase Two, was meant as a continuation of this, and was released on Tidal for streaming and download on December 12, 2015. In February 2016, Prince embarked on the Piano & A Microphone Tour, a tour that saw his show stripped back to only him and a custom piano on stage. He performed a series of warm-up shows at Paisley Park in late January 2016 and the tour commenced in Melbourne, Australia, on February 16, 2016, to critical acclaim. The Australian and New Zealand legs of the tour were played in small-capacity venues, including the Sydney Opera House. Hit n Run Phase Two CDs were distributed to every attendee after each performance. The tour continued to the United States but was cut abruptly short by illness in April 2016.
Music – 1983 – From the Album “Piano & A Microphone” – Prince Sings – “17 Days”
Music – 1983 – From the Album “Piano & A Microphone” – Prince Sings – “Purple Rain” – Beautiful Piano Solo
Music – 1983 – From the Album “Piano & A Microphone” – Prince Sings – “Cold Coffee & Cocaine”
Prince saw Michael T. Schulenberg, a Twin Cities specialist in family medicine, in Excelsior on April 7, 2016, and again on April 20. On April 7, he postponed two performances at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta from his Piano & a Microphone Tour; the venue released a statement saying he had influenza. He rescheduled and performed what was to be his final show on April 14, despite still not feeling well. While flying back to Minneapolis early the next morning, he became unresponsive, and his private jet made an emergency landing at Quad Cities International Airport in Moline, Illinois, where he was hospitalized and received naloxone, a medication used to block the effects of opioids, especially following an overdose. Once he became conscious, he left against medical advice. Representatives said he was dehydrated and had influenza for several weeks. Prince was seen bicycling the next day in his hometown of Chanhassen. He shopped that evening at the Electric Fetus in Minneapolis for Record Store Day and made a brief appearance at an impromptu dance party at his Paisley Park recording studio complex, stating that he was feeling fine. On April 19, he attended a performance by singer Lizz Wright at the Dakota Jazz Club.
Music & Interviews – 2022 – A VLAD TV Production Special – “Tavis Smiley On His 20 Year Friendship With Prince”
On April 20, 2016, Prince’s representatives called Howard Kornfeld, a California specialist in addiction medicine and pain management, seeking medical help for the star. Kornfeld scheduled to meet with him on April 22, and he contacted a local physician who cleared his schedule for a physical exam on April 21. On April 21, at 9:43 am, the Carver County Sheriff’s Office received a call requesting an ambulance be sent to Prince’s home at Paisley Park. The caller initially told the dispatcher that an unidentified person at the home was unconscious, then moments later said he was dead, and finally identified the person as Prince. The caller was Kornfeld’s son, who had flown in with buprenorphine that morning to devise a treatment plan for opioid addiction. Emergency responders found Prince unresponsive in an elevator and performed CPR, but a paramedic said he had already been dead for at least six hours, and they were unable to revive him. They pronounced him dead at 10:07 am, 19 minutes after their arrival. There were no signs of suicide or foul play. A press release from the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office in Anoka County on June 2 stated that the musician had died of an accidental overdose of fentanyl, at the age of 57. The fentanyl that led to his overdose was contained in counterfeit pills made to look like a generic version of the painkiller hydrocodone/paracetamol. The question of how and from what source Prince obtained the drug that led to his death has been the subject of investigations by several law enforcement agencies. A sealed search warrant was issued for his estate, and another unsealed search warrant was issued for the local Walgreens pharmacy. On April 19, 2018, the Carver County Attorney announced that the multi-agency investigation related to the circumstances of the star’s death had ended with no criminal charges filed.
Music & News – 2016 – An ABC News Production Special – “Inside Prince’s Final Days Before His Death”
Following an autopsy performed by Dr. A. Quinn Strobl, a protege of Janis Amatuzio, his remains were cremated. On April 26, 2016, Prince’s sister and only full sibling Tyka Nelson filed court documents in Carver County, to open a probate case, stating that no will had been found. As of his death, the twice-divorced Prince was neither married nor known to have fathered any surviving children. Under Minnesota law, the absence of a will meant that, in addition to his full sister, Prince’s five half-siblings also had a claim to an estate totaling millions of dollars in cash as well as real estate, stocks, and cars. Within three weeks of his death, 700 people claimed to be half-siblings or descendants. Bremer Trust was given temporary control of his estate, had his vault drilled open, and was authorized to obtain a blood sample for DNA profiling from the coroner who had performed the autopsy.
Music & News – 2020 – An ABC News Production Special – “Prince Suddenly Dies at Paisley Park from Fentanyl Overdose”
Prince’s ashes were placed into a custom 3D-printed urn shaped like the Paisley Park estate. The urn was placed on display in the atrium of the Paisley Park complex in October 2016. As of April 2019, no additional estate claimants were recognized by the courts besides Prince’s full sister and five half-siblings. It was reported in August 2022 the Prince estate had settled. Filings in the Minnesota First Judicial District ordered that the cash in Prince’s estate be split evenly between Prince Legacy LLC and Prince OAT Holdings LLC.
Music – 2022 – A “Grunge” Production Special – “Prince: Here’s Who Inherited Prince’s Massive Fortune After He Died”
Numerous musicians and cultural figures reacted to Prince’s death…..when President Obama mourned him…..and the United States Senate passed a resolution praising his achievements “as a musician, composer, innovator, and cultural icon”…..while cities across the U.S. held tributes and vigils and lit buildings, bridges, and other structures in purple. In the first five hours after the media reported his death, “Prince” was the top trending (most-used) term on Twitter, and Facebook had 61 million Prince-related interactions. MTV interrupted its programming to air a marathon of Prince music videos and Purple Rain. AMC Theatres and Carmike Cinemas screened Purple Rain in select theaters over the following week. Saturday Night Live aired an episode in his honor, titled “Goodnight, Sweet Prince”, featuring his performances from the show.
Music & Comedy – Tribute – 2017 – A JazzMJFan Production Special – “Prince – Funny & Great Moments In His Career”
Music & Documentary – 2018 – A Greg De Belles Production Special – “Prince: Last Year of a Legend”
Nielsen Music reported that sales of his material spiked 42,000 percent. The artist’s catalog sold 4.41 million albums and songs from April 21 to 28, with five albums simultaneously in the top ten of the Billboard 200, a first in the chart’s history. At the 59th Grammy Awards, Morris Day with the Time and Bruno Mars performed a tribute.
Music & Awards Show – Tribute – 2017 – A 59th Grammy Awards Presentation Special – “Bruno Mars, Morris Day and The Times: Salute To Prince”
The May 2, 2016, cover of The New Yorker featured an illustration of purple rain. In June 2016 Vanity Fair/Condé Nast, released a special edition commemorative magazine, The Genius of Prince…..as it celebrated the star’s life and achievements…..with new photography and archive articles…..which included the original Vanity Fair article from November 1984…..when written in the wake of the singer-songwriter’s breakout success…..with other content from the magazine, The New Yorker, Wired, and Pitchfork. The cover of The Genius of Prince featured a portrait by Andy Warhol, Orange Prince in 1984. Casts of the musicals The Color Purple and Hamilton paid tribute to the star during their curtain calls with “Purple Rain” and “Let’s Go Crazy”, respectively.
Music & Talk Shows – Tribute – 2016 – A Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon Production Special – “Jimmy Fallon Pays Tribute To Prince”
In 2016, Minnesota representative Joe Atkins introduced a bill in the state legislature to memorialize Prince with a statue in the National Statuary Hall in the United States Capitol, in recognition of his contributions to music and the state of Minnesota. As of 2020, however, the bill has not had a second reading.
Music & News – 2017 – A WCCO – CBS Minnesota Production Special – “A Look At Prince’s Minnesota Legacy”
On August 21, 2016, Prince was posthumously inducted into the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame. The 1st album released following his death was a greatest hits album, 4Ever, released on November 22, 2016…..which contains one previously unreleased song, “Moonbeam Levels”, recorded in 1982 during the 1999 sessions.
Music – 2016 – From the Album Prince 4ever – Prince Sings – “Moonbeam Levels”
Music – 2016 – From the Album Prince 4ever – Prince Sings – “Take Me With U”
Music – 2016 – From the Album Prince 4ever – Prince Sings – “Pop Life”
On February 9, 2017, Prince’s estate signed a distribution deal with Universal Music Group…..which included the post-1995 recordings on his NPG Records label and unreleased tracks from his vault. On June 27, Comerica (acting on behalf of the estate) requested that Carver County District Judge Kevin Eide cancel the estate’s deal with Universal…..as UMG’s contract would interfere with a contract with Warner Music Group that Prince signed in 2014. After Universal’s attorneys were granted access to the Warner contract, the attorneys also offered to cancel the deal. On July 13, the court voided Universal’s deal with Prince’s estate, though Universal will continue to administer Prince’s songwriting credits and create merchandise.
Music – Tribute – 2016 – Bruce Springsteen Live in Concert Tribute to Prince – “Purple Rain”
On April 19, an EP featuring six unreleased Prince recordings, Deliverance, was announced with an expected release date for later that week. The next day, Prince’s estate was granted a temporary restraining order against George Ian Boxill, an engineer who co-produced the tracks and was in possession of the master tapes, and halted the release of the EP. On June 23, Purple Rain was re-released in Deluxe and Deluxe Expanded editions…..as the 1st Prince album to be remastered and reissued…..which consisted of two discs…..with the 1st being a remaster of the original album made in 2015 overseen by Prince himself and a bonus disc of previously unreleased songs, called From the Vault & Previously Unreleased. The Deluxe Expanded edition consists of two more discs, a disc with all the single edits, maxi-single edits, and B-sides from the Purple Rain era…..and a DVD with a concert from the Purple Rain Tour filmed in Syracuse on March 30, 1985, previously released on home video in 1985. The album debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and at No. 1 on both the Billboard R&B Albums and Vinyl Albums charts.
Music – Live in Concert – 1985 – Live in Syracuse, NY – Prince & The Revolution – “Purple Rain” – 16 Minutes of Magic
On April 19, 2018, the previously unreleased original recording of “Nothing Compares 2 U” from 1984 was released as a single by Warner Bros. Records in conjunction with Prince’s estate…..plus, the Prince version was given its own music video…..which was released in conjunction with the single….. while the video consists of edited rehearsal footage for the Purple Rain tour, shot in the summer of 1984. Troy Carter, adviser for Prince’s estate, later announced in an interview with Variety that a full-length album was planned for release on September 28.
Music – Live in Concert – 2004 – For the Nothing Compares 2 U Tour – Live in London – Prince – Entire Concert
In June, the Prince estate signed a distribution deal with Sony Music Entertainment, which includes the rights to all of Prince’s studio albums, plus unreleased music, remixes, live recordings, music videos and B-sides from before 1995. The deal will immediately include Prince’s albums from 1995 to 2010. Beginning in 2021, Prince’s Warner Bros. albums from 1978–1996 will become distributed by Sony/Legacy Recordings in the United States, with Warner Music Group still controlling the international rights. On July 11, Heritage Auctions announced the auction of Prince’s personal possessions to be conducted in Dallas, Texas, on July 21, 2018. A total of 27 items was announced to be put in the auction, including Prince’s bible, stage worn clothing, and some personal documents. On August 17, NPG Records released all 23 post-Warner Bros. albums by Prince digitally on streaming platforms, together with a new compilation album Anthology: 1995–2010, containing 37 tracks. On September 21, Piano and a Microphone 1983 was released on CD, vinyl, and digital formats…..as the 1st album released by the Prince estate with material from his archive, the Vault. The Sony/Legacy reissues began in February 2019. The first three releases were Musicology, 3121, and Planet Earth on limited edition purple vinyl and standard CD formats. Later that month, the Prince Estate announced reissues of the albums Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic and Rave In2 the Joy Fantastic on purple vinyl as well as Ultimate Rave, a 2 CD and 1 DVD set which includes Prince In Concert: Rave Un2 the Year 2000. On April 13 (Record Store Day), the cassette The Versace Experience – Prelude 2 Gold, originally issued in 1995 and given as a gift to attendees to the Versace collection at that year’s Paris Fashion Week, was reissued in a limited edition. On June 7, Warner released a new Prince album Originals exclusively through TIDAL. The album contains Prince’s original versions of 15 songs he offered to other artists in the past. A wide release on CD and vinyl followed on June 20. On September 13, The Versace Experience was reissued on purple vinyl and CD as well as on digital formats, together with reissues of Chaos and Disorder and Emancipation. On October 18, a single with his acoustic demo of “I Feel for You” was released digitally, alongside a limited edition “7” purple vinyl in honor of the 40th anniversary of the Prince album release. On November 27, 1999 was reissued in Remastered, Deluxe, and Super Deluxe editions, the latter including 35 previously unreleased songs and two live concerts.
Music & Documentaries – 2023 – A The Detail. Production Special – “Prince: On His Rivalry with Michael Jackson!….Candidly In His Own Words”
On September 25, 2020, The Estate of Prince Rogers Nelson released three editions of Prince’s Sign o’ the Times Super Deluxe…..as the Remastered edition contains a remaster of the original album (discs one and two)…..when the Deluxe edition contains the remaster…..and a 3rd disc with all the single and maxi-single mixes as well as the B-sides…..while the Super Deluxe edition contains six additional discs…..while having three of them containing 45 previously unissued studio tracks…..with two discs containing the live audio concert recordings of the Sign o’ the Times Tour at stadium Galgenwaard in Utrecht, The Netherlands, and the last disc is a DVD with the live video concert recordings of the New Year’s Eve show at Paisley Park, that has been bootlegged prior to this release. The albums were also issued on vinyl in a 2 LP, 2 LP peach vinyl, 4 LP and 13 LP + DVD set and are available on all digital download and streaming services. The video content is exclusive to the physical DVD and does not appear on digital download or streaming versions of the Super Deluxe Edition set. Pitchfork rated the Super Deluxe version, released on October 2, 2020, 10 out of 10 and named it Best New Reissue.
Music & Talk Shows – 2001 – A The Tonight Show With Jay Leno Production Special – “Prince: On Why He Doesn’t Sign Any Record Label Contracts”
On April 7, 2021, The Estate of Prince Rogers Nelson announced a vinyl reissue of the 1998 album The Truth for Record Store Day 2021 on June 12. The next day, they announced the forthcoming release of the previously unreleased album Welcome 2 America featuring Tal Wilkenfeld on bass, Chris Coleman on drums, Morris Hayes on keyboards, and vocals from New Power Generation singers Liv Warfield, Shelby J. and Elisa Fiorillo on July 30.
Music – 1998 – From the Album The Truth – Prince Sings – “The Truth”
Music – 2021 – From the Album Welcome 2 America – Prince Sings – “Hot Summer”
Music – 2021 – From the Album Welcome 2 America – Prince Sings – “Welcome 2 America”
Prince is widely regarded as one of the greatest musicians of his generation. Rolling Stone ranked Prince at # 27 on its list of 100 Greatest Artists, “the most influential artists of the rock & roll era”…..and according to Acclaimed Music, he is the 9th most celebrated artist in popular music history. In 2010, Prince was ranked # 7 on VH1’s “100 Greatest Artists of All Time”. In 2003, Rolling Stone‘s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list included Purple Rain at # 72….. Sign o’ the Times at # 93…..1999 at # 163…..and Dirty Mind at # 204. And in 2004, on their 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list, Rolling Stone included “When Doves Cry” at # 52…..“Little Red Corvette” at # 108….. “Purple Rain” at # 143…..”1999″ at # 212…..“Sign o’ the Times” at # 299….. and “Kiss” at # 461.
Music & Comedy – 2018 – A PlePur Production Special – “Prince: A Compilation of the Comedy of Prince” – Part 1
Music & Comedy – 2018 – A PlePur Production Special – “Prince: A Compilation of the Comedy of Prince” – Part 2
The Los Angeles Times called Prince “our 1st post-everything pop star, defying easy categories of race, genre and commercial appeal”…..while Jon Pareles of The New York Times described him as “a master architect of funk, rock, R&B and pop”, and highlighted his ability to defy labels…..while Geoffrey Himes described him as a leading artist in “a tradition of left-wing black music” or “progressive soul”…..albeit even he conceded the term may be “too narrow”. Los Angeles Times writer Randall Roberts called Prince “among the most versatile and restlessly experimental pop artists of our time,” writing that his “early work connected disco and synthetic funk [while his] fruitful mid-period merged rock, soul, R&B and synth-pop.” Simon Reynolds called him a “pop polymath, flitting between funkadelia, acid rock, deep soul, schmaltz—often within the same song”. AllMusic wrote that, “With each album he released, Prince showed remarkable stylistic growth and musical diversity, constantly experimenting with different sounds, textures, and genres […] no other contemporary artist blended so many diverse styles into a cohesive whole.” Jon Pareles has named Prince among the “pantheon” of artists in the album era, in which the album format was the dominant form of recorded music expression and consumption.
Music – Style Analysis – 2013 – A Morrisman Smith Production Special – “Prince: An Analysis of His Guitar Playing Style”
As a performer, he was known for his flamboyant style and showmanship….. as he came to be regarded as a sex symbol for his androgynous, amorphous sexuality, play with signifiers of gender, and defiance of racial stereotypes. His “audacious, idiosyncratic” fashion sense made use of “ubiquitous purple, alluring makeup and frilled garments”….. while his androgynous look has been compared to those of Little Richard and David Bowie. In 2016, Reynolds described it as “Prince’s ’80s evasion of conventional gender definitions speaks to us now in this trans-aware moment. But it also harks backwards in time to the origins of rock ‘n’ roll in racial mixture and sexual blurring”. Prince was known for the strong female presence in his bands…..and his support for women in the music industry throughout his career.
Music & Talk Shows – 1989 – A Boyki319 Production Special – “Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman: Our Years As Prince’s Girls In The Revolution”
Music – Interview – 2017 – A Yahoo Music Production Special – “Backspin Interview: The Revolution Talk Prince’s ‘Parade,’ ‘Sign O’ the Times,’ and the Band’s Breakup”
Music – Live in Concert – 2014 – Live in Le Zénith, Paris, FR – Prince & 3rdEyeGirl Perform – “CRAZY2COOL Medley” – With More of the Girls in Prince’s Bands
Music – Official Music Video – 2018 – For the Album “3121” – Prince + The Twinz Maya and Nandy McClean + Tamar Sing – “Fury”
Music & Interview – 2020 – A Recording Academy Grammy’s Behind the Scenes Look & Salute To Prince Production Special – “Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters) Tells The Story Of Jamming With Prince In An Empty Arena – It Was Awesome!”
Many artists have cited Prince as an influence and inspiration, including Beyoncé, Justin Timberlake, Bruno Mars, Rihanna, Alicia Keys, Usher, Janelle Monáe, The Weeknd, Lady Gaga, Lorde, Marilyn Manson, Lenny Kravitz, André 3000, Mark Speer, Jamie Lidell, Frank Ocean, Miguel, Mya, Robyn, D’Angelo, H.E.R. and Beck. Bono of U2 regarded Prince as one of his “favorite composers of the twentieth century”. Beyoncé expressed her admiration for Prince in the book Prince: A Private View, calling him “my mentor”…..and also praising his independence saying “He dared to fight for what was rightfully his: his freedom, wrapped up in words and music he created.”
Music – Special – 2020 – A PurpleRainsTube Production Special – “Artists Speaking About Prince”
In August 2017, Pantone Inc. introduced a new shade of purple in their color system in honor of Prince…..as the shade is called Love Symbol #2.
Music – Official Music Video – 1995 – From the Album “The Gold Experience” – Prince – “Endorphinmachine”
Prince’s music synthesized a wide variety of influences, and drew inspiration from a range of musicians, including Ike Turner, James Brown, George Clinton, Joni Mitchell, Duke Ellington, Jimi Hendrix, the Beatles, Chuck Berry, David Bowie, Earth, Wind & Fire, Mick Jagger, Rick James, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Curtis Mayfield, Elvis Presley, Todd Rundgren, Carlos Santana, Sly Stone, Jackie Wilson and Stevie Wonder.
Music – Live in Concert – 2011 – From the Album Welcome 2 America Deluxe Edition -Live at the Forum in LA – Prince Sings – “Play That Funky Music”
Music – Live in Concert – 2011 – From the Album Welcome 2 America Live Blu-Ray -Live at the Forum in LA – Prince Sings – “17 Days”
Music – Live in Concert – 2010 – Live at Paris Bercy – Stevie Wonder & Prince Perform – “Very Superstitious”
Music – Live in Concert Tribute – 2016 – A JP Rayne Production Special – “Santana – Tribute To Prince Live at Leon’s Centre”
Prince has been compared with jazz artist Miles Davis in regard to the artistic changes throughout his career. Davis said he regarded Prince as an otherworldly blend of James Brown, Jimi Hendrix, Marvin Gaye, Sly Stone, Little Richard, Duke Ellington, and Charlie Chaplin. Prince and Miles Davis performed together for a Charity Event at Paisley Park. This performance was viewed as the pinnacle of their on-again, off-again partnership.
Music – 2020 – An NPG Records Remastered Production Special – Prince & Miles Davis Perform – “Can I Play With U?” – Live at Paisley Park
Music – Official Music Video – 1987 – Live at Paisley Park – Prince & Miles Davis Perform – “Housequake”
Music & Documentary – 2023 – Clip from the Miles Davis Documentary The Birth of Cool – Miles Davis Loves Prince
Journalist Nik Cohn described him as “rock’s greatest ever natural talent”…… as Prince was a natural tenor…..but he had a wide vocal range from falsetto to baritone…..and performed rapid, seemingly effortless shifts of register. Prince was also renowned as a multi-instrumentalist…..while he is considered a guitar virtuoso and a master of drums, percussion, bass, keyboards, piano and synthesizer…..when on his 1st five albums, he played nearly all the instruments, including 27 instruments on his debut album…..with among them various types of bass, keyboards and synthesizers. Prince was also quick to embrace technology in his music, making pioneering use of drum machines like the Linn LM-1 on his early ’80’s albums…..while employing a wide range of studio effects. The LA Times also noted his “harnessing [of] new-generation synthesizer sounds in service of the groove,”…..thus laying the foundations for post-’70’s funk music. Prince was also known for his prolific and virtuosic tendencies…..which resulted in him recording large amounts of unreleased material.
Music – Special – 2020 – A PurpleRainsTube Production Special – “Prince: 6 Minutes of Magic – A Drum Compilation”
Music – Special – 2020 – A Jaxsn – The Bass Player Production Special – “Prince: Killing Bass in His Studio”
Music – Special – 2020 – A PurpleRainsTube Production Special – “Prince: Ultimate Piano Solo Compilation”
Music – Special – 2020 – A The Artist Production Special – “Prince: Playing Acoustic Guitar Compilation”
Prince also wrote songs for other artists…..and some songs of his were covered by musicians, such as the hit songs “Manic Monday” performed by The Bangles…..“I Feel For You”, originally on Prince’s self-titled 2nd album from 1979…..and covered by Chaka Khan…..plus, “Nothing Compares 2 U”….. which was written for Prince’s side project the Family…..and covered very successfully by Sinéad O’Connor. Prince co-wrote “Love… Thy Will Be Done” with singer Martika, for her 2nd album, Martika’s Kitchen…..and he also gifted Celine Dion a song for her 2nd album, Celine Dion, titled …..for it was a song Prince had written specifically for her. Prince also wrote “U” for Paula Abdul, appearing on her 1991 release Spellbound.
Music – Special – 2020 – A The Artist Production Special – “Prince: Singing I Feel For You + Playing Acoustic Guitar”
A guitar virtuoso, Prince was also known to have a stylish and flamboyant custom guitar collection, which consisted of 121 guitars. One notable series is his Cloud Guitars, which were commissioned and released in colored versions of white, yellow and purple. The white version is prominently shown in the Purple Rain film and the “Raspberry Beret” video. Other notable guitars are The Love Symbol guitars, which were designed in the separate colors of gold and purple. The guitar that was used for the majority of Prince’s music career was the H.S. Anderson Madcat guitar – a Telecaster copy created by Hohner. Several versions of the guitar were used throughout his career – due to one being donated for charitable reasons, while one or more were stolen. Another guitar primarily used in his later years was the Vox HDC-77, which was introduced to him by 3rdeyegirl member Ida Kristine Nielsen, both a Blackburst version, and a White Ivory version. Two other noteworthy guitars are the G1 Purple Special, and the black-and-gold Gus G3 Prince bass, which would become the last two guitars to ever be made for him.
Music – Special – 2021 – A Smithsonian Channel Production Special – “Prince’s Iconic Guitar” – With John Troutman, National Museum of American History
On May 9, 2023 Governor Tim Walz signed into state legislature a law dedicating Minnesota State Highway 5 (MN 5) from Chanhassen to Eden Prairie as “Prince Rogers Nelson Memorial Highway”…..as this dedicated highway runs past Paisley Park…..and the road signs were written into law to be purple in color…..which got an exception from the Minnesota Department of Transportation…..as these signs are typically brown…..while purple is reserved for toll roads.
Music & Dance – 2020 – A PurpleRainsTube Production Special – “Prince: His Best Dance Breaks”
In 1993, during negotiations regarding the release of The Gold Experience, a legal battle ensued between Warner Bros. and Prince over the artistic and financial control of his musical output. During the lawsuit, Prince appeared in public with the word “slave” written on his cheek. He explained that he had changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol to emancipate himself from his contract with Warner Bros……and that he had done it out of frustration because he felt his own name now belonged to the company.
Music – Special – 2023 – An helloyassine Production Special – “Prince: How He Beat The Music Industry”
Prince sometimes used pseudonyms to separate himself from the music he had written, produced or recorded…..and at one point stated that his ownership and achievement were strengthened by the act of giving away ideas…..so, pseudonyms he adopted at various times includes Jamie Starr and The Starr Company…..for the songs he wrote for the Time and many other artists from 1981 to 1984…..along with Joey Coco…..for many unreleased Prince songs in the late 1980’s…..as well as songs written for Sheena Easton and Kenny Rogers…..in addition to Alexander Nevermind….. for writing the song “Sugar Walls” in 1984 by Sheena Easton…..plus Christopher…..for his songwriting credit of “Manic Monday” in 1986 for the Bangles.
Music – Live Concert – 2014 – A “P World” Production Special – “Prince: Live in Manchester – Entire Concert
Prince was one of a small handful of musicians to deny “Weird Al” Yankovic permission to parody his music. By Yankovic’s account, he’d done so “about a half-dozen times” and has been the sole artist not to give any explanation for his rejection beyond a flat “no”.
Music – Live Concert – September 9, 1988 – A Dortmund Europe TV Production Special – “Prince Live In Concert” – With Incredible Dance Program Intro to the Evening
Prince was romantically linked with many women over the years, including Kim Basinger, Madonna, Vanity, Jill Jones, Sheila E., Carmen Electra, Susannah Melvoin and Sherilyn Fenn. Susannah Melvoin recalled how, around the time of Sign o’ the Times, “Wendy [Melvoin, her twin sister] and Lisa [Coleman] and I lived together and we would have [Prince] stay at our place. We became really close. He got to be in a family of three women, and we got to have our Prince. Not many people had that kind of relationship with him.” In 1990, he saw 16-year-old dancer Mayte García standing outside his tour bus, and referred to her as his “future wife” when pointing her out to bandmate Rosie Gaines. García began working as one of his backup singers and dancers after graduating from high school…..and they were married on February 14, 1996…..when he was 37 and she was 22. They had a son named Amiir (born October 16, 1996)…..who died a week after being born due to Pfeiffer syndrome. The distress of losing a child and García’s subsequent miscarriage took a toll on the marriage, and the couple divorced in 2000. Prince married Manuela Testolini, a Canadian businesswoman of Italian and Egyptian descent, in a private ceremony in 2001…..as she hails from Toronto, which led the couple to live there part-time. They separated in 2005 and divorced in May 2006.
Music & News – 2016 – A CNN Production Special – “Prince: His Epic Love Life” – As Aired On CNN the Day of His Death
Music & News – 2017 – A Wall Street Journal Production Special – “Prince’s First Wife Mayte Garcia On the Star We Didn’t Know”
García said of Prince’s religious beliefs…..“He was always a spiritual seeker….. who was fascinated in all possibilities to integrate the signs of the zodiac and 3rd eye…..and reincarnation into the Christian beliefs his Baptist mother and Seventh-day Adventist father had exposed him to.” Prince became a Jehovah’s Witness in 2001, following a two-year debate with bassist Larry Graham, who became his mentor and a close friend at this time. He did not consider it a conversion but a “realization”…..while comparing it to Morpheus and Neo in The Matrix movie from 1999. He attended meetings at a local Kingdom Hall…..and occasionally knocked on people’s doors to discuss his faith. Prince had needed double hip replacement surgery since 2005. An unverified rumor was spread by tabloids that he would not undergo the operation because of his religious beliefs…..which included a refusal to have blood transfusions…..albeit the Star Tribune reported that Graham “denied claims that Prince couldn’t have hip surgery because his faith prohibited blood transfusions”…..while stating that “medical technology offers alternatives”. Longtime collaborator Jimmy Jam, said that “If he didn’t, he was in pain, like, unbelievable (pain), because that’s the way Morris felt too”, referring to the lead singer of The Time…..who had hip surgery in 2008…..and the fact remains that Jam still could not “believe the stories suggesting Prince may have been dependent on pain pills”. While many patients can undergo hip transplant without transfusion, the need for blood is highly individual.
Music & Documentary – 2020 – A Facts Verse Production Special – “Prince: These 20 Tragic Facts Surfaced After Prince’s Death”
In late March 2016, Prince told an audience he was writing a memoir titled The Beautiful Ones. His cowriter, Dan Piepenbring, continued work on the memoir, and The Beautiful Ones was published in October 2019.
Music & Book Review – 2019 – A Prince’s Friend” Production Special – “Prince: The Beautiful Ones Book Review” – Memoir & Game Changer
Prince sold over 150 million records worldwide, ranking him among the best-selling music artists of all time. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2006, and the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame in 2016. In 2016, he was posthumously honored with a Doctor of Humane Letters by the University of Minnesota. He was inducted into the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame in 2022.
Music – Special – 2023 – A PurpleRainsTube Production Special – “A Compilation of Great Guitarists Speaking About Prince”
He has won 7 Grammy Awards…..7 Brit Awards…..6 American Music Awards …..4 MTV Video Music Awards…..an Academy Award for Best Original Song Score for the film Purple Rain…..and a Golden Globe Award. Two of his albums, Purple Rain in 1984 and Sign o’ the Times in 1987….. received the Grammy Award for Album of the Year nominations……and 1999 in 1982….. Purple Rain…..and Sign o’ the Times have all been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. At the 28th Grammy Awards, Prince was awarded the President’s Merit Award. Prince was also honored with the American Music Award for Achievement and American Music Award of Merit at the American Music Awards of 1990…..and American Music Awards of 1995 respectively. At the 2013 Billboard Music Awards, he was honored with the Billboard Icon Award. In 2019, the 1984 film Purple Rain was added by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”.
Music & Awards – 1985 – A My Childhood Memories Production Special – “Prince: Dominates The American Music Awards”
Music & Awards – 1985 – An Oscars Production Special – “Prince: Wins Academy Award for Original Song Score”
Music & Awards – 1998 – An erick Production Special – “Prince Receives the 1998 Essence Award Highlights and Speech” – Presented by Chris Rock
Prince has been honored with a star on the outside mural of the Minneapolis nightclub First Avenue…..while recognizing performers that have played sold-out shows or have otherwise demonstrated a major contribution to the culture at the iconic venue……when receiving a star “might be the most prestigious public honor an artist can receive in Minneapolis,” according to journalist Steve Marsh. Prince’s backing band, the Revolution, also has a star on the mural, to the immediate right of Prince’s. Originally painted silver like the other stars on the mural, Prince’s star was repainted in gold leaf during the night of May 4, 2016, about two weeks after Prince’s death. Originally anonymous, the artist was revealed a few months later to be graphic designer and graffiti artist Peyton Russell…..who had worked for Prince at his club Glam Slam in the 1990s and wanted to pay tribute.
Music & Documentary – 2020 – A The Prince Encyclopedia Production Special – “Slave Trade – Prince Documentary”
Who’s still rocking Prince in 2023… because he’s Freaking TIMELESS!!!…..and the best thing about being a Prince fan is that you’ll never run out of discovering awesome music from him that’s new to you. There is no better artist, composer, story teller and teacher than Prince himself…..as he brought it all to the table …..for Prince was truly unique. His high and low register was so good that it almost sounded like 2 different people…..which is truly REMARKABLE!! Prince did everything in so many of his songs where he did every voice, every instrument, every ounce of production…..all the while he was performing every element of his recording….cuz it was is all his….. simply put, true genius. Prince was such a gifted composer and musician who knew how to translate deep emotions into his music. The quality of musicianship and performing skills was stunning…..with energy levels that were through the roof. Nobody put on a show like Prince…..while he has to be the greatest musician ever with just a mind boggling talent…..and certainly the most prolific one by orders or magnitude. Prince played from the heart…..which made the emotional impact of his music much greater…..while providing a higher consciousness when playing that tapped into the universe. So as I’m starting to watch Prince more these days. I can’t believe just how talented he was…..with an impeccable vocal range…..he could sing anything , in any note in any key…..as he even sang jazz. Wow, what a talent. Prince may be the greatest all around artist…..with the electric guitar, the exquisite song-writing, the pitch-perfect, instantly recognizable voice and, probably most importantly, those DANCE MOVES! This guy can rightly take his place amongst the topmost tier in the pantheon of music/songwriting…..which includes Messrs. Beethoven, Mozart, Lennon, Cohen, et al. Prince was differently blessed and gifted…..when he gave all praise to our Jesus Christ. What an insightful man and he truly spoke of love in his music. I really don’t have enough words to describe my admiration and respect for this man…..as mostly likely the greatest musical genius….. with such an interesting and complex personality….for Prince was surreal and admirable on so many levels!…..and he remains unbeatable and irreplaceable…..but a True Legend whose light shines on forever! The Beautiful Ones is one of my favorite Prince songs ever…..cuz I can’t believe one human did the vocals, guitar, bass, drums, piano, synthesizers, and songwriting all on one of the greatest songs ever…you’d be hard pressed to find a similar situation. the greatest ever…..as Prince made this song seem like it was a full symphony orchestra backing his vocals…..a one man band…..PURE MUSICAL GENIUS!! Prince was not of this world. He was and still is an enigmatic entity….beautiful and ethereal… like no other. He’s smart, well spoken, soft spoken too, thoughtful and philosophical…..who is childlike, shy and tries consciously not to be jaded, not to be distrustful. “I’m not a woman, I’m not a man, I am something that you’ll never understand”…..as Prince is referring to the Higher Power …..and this song really touches me. I miss Prince he was so different and unique. and what I loved the most about him was his spirituality , that man was beyond his years. Proof in the pudding of this fact can be found in the acoustic set posted herewithj…..and look at the audience when the house lights go up……and lo and behold in the audience is a sea of young, old, black, white, red, green, purple….Prince was a force of nature. I feel truly blessed to have lived at the same time and planet he did. Those who make art and music that touches our souls long after they’ve left this place, they are immortal…..and their spirit will never parish…..cuz what they left for this earth will never be forgotten…..while Prince was among the best of them. The thing that made Prince the greatest was that he was willing to share the spotlight with so many other talented musicians. He didn’t have to be front and center stage the whole time. He gave others a chance to shine…..which is rare in music industry….where a lot of narcissism exists…..since it’s got to be all about the star. Prince was probably the best musician on that stage…..who could play ANY instrument; probably better than all of those other people…..and yet he still had the humility to step back so that others could step forward. In this SportsPhile’s opinion, Prince was truly an “angel of love”…..while seemingly running deep in his heart and soul….cuz it sure came out that way in his artistry…..his heart and soul!…..while evidence of that l lies is this quote of his…..“You’re just a sinner, I am told Be your fire when you’re cold Make you happy when you’re sad Make you good when you are bad I’m not a human I am a dove I’m your conscience I am love All I really need is to know that you believe”….“Black day, stormy night No love, no hope in sight Don’t cry, He is coming Don’t die without knowing the Cross.” ‘Genius’ isn’t apropos enough for this man’s out-of-this world talent. Produced, written, arranged, composed and performed by Prince…..and I think, never will we see anything like Prince again.
Music & Interview – 2016 – A Joe Little III TV Production Special – “Prince: Interview With Stephen Stills of BET Network & Performance”
Music – Special Video Compilation – 2020 – A PurpleRainsTube Production Special – “Prince: Best Live Vocals Compilation”
Music – Documentary – 2023 – A Mic The Snare Production Special – “Prince: Deep Discog Dive” – Covering Prince’s 39 Albums
