Prince was another one-of-a-kind, larger than life,personality.
A talented, multi instrumentalist, song writer & producer,he left his mark & shared his
influence over a 30+ year career. I first heard of Prince when he opened for the
Rolling Stones Tattoo You tour in 1981 at the Los Angeles Coliseum. I was there in
the crowd in front of the stage,waiting for George Thorogood & the J. Giles Band to
get things started when out walks this unknown artist named Prince. He started
playing some mixture of funk,soul & rock with some pretty suggestive lyrics and,
unfortunately, didn't impress this crowd of Stones fans. He ended up getting boo'd off
the stage & the show went on. It's funny all these years later,this was the main thing I remember now. Mick Jagger,in his wisdom,probably saw the potential this kid had &
gave him the spot. Little did any of us know what a force he'd become. Purple Rain,
the movie,was when I started to appreciate Prince's talent & especially the song itself.
If music is the universal language,then he was speaking my dialect now. Look at that
guitar! And what a solo! Now,I can't say I was a big fan of his,but this was the time that
he made his biggest impression on me and I am truly saddened that he too,is now gone.
I'm thankful for his musical contributions,the great songs he wrote for others & the
future stars he mentored. I've done a little reading up on Prince & viewed some
clips on You Tube since his passing & if you get the chance, check out George Harrison's induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame from 2004. Prince joins Tom
Petty & Jeff Lynne on George's While my Guitar gently weeps, what a solo! He truly
was gifted. Legend has it someone asked Eric Clapton what it felt like to be the worlds
greatest guitarist. His response? I don't know, ask Prince.
A talented, multi instrumentalist, song writer & producer,he left his mark & shared his
influence over a 30+ year career. I first heard of Prince when he opened for the
Rolling Stones Tattoo You tour in 1981 at the Los Angeles Coliseum. I was there in
the crowd in front of the stage,waiting for George Thorogood & the J. Giles Band to
get things started when out walks this unknown artist named Prince. He started
playing some mixture of funk,soul & rock with some pretty suggestive lyrics and,
unfortunately, didn't impress this crowd of Stones fans. He ended up getting boo'd off
the stage & the show went on. It's funny all these years later,this was the main thing I remember now. Mick Jagger,in his wisdom,probably saw the potential this kid had &
gave him the spot. Little did any of us know what a force he'd become. Purple Rain,
the movie,was when I started to appreciate Prince's talent & especially the song itself.
If music is the universal language,then he was speaking my dialect now. Look at that
guitar! And what a solo! Now,I can't say I was a big fan of his,but this was the time that
he made his biggest impression on me and I am truly saddened that he too,is now gone.
I'm thankful for his musical contributions,the great songs he wrote for others & the
future stars he mentored. I've done a little reading up on Prince & viewed some
clips on You Tube since his passing & if you get the chance, check out George Harrison's induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame from 2004. Prince joins Tom
Petty & Jeff Lynne on George's While my Guitar gently weeps, what a solo! He truly
was gifted. Legend has it someone asked Eric Clapton what it felt like to be the worlds
greatest guitarist. His response? I don't know, ask Prince.