Remembering Prince

Remembering Prince

Photo: By Nicolas Genin from Paris, France [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

I was only fortunate to see Prince perform live one time. It was during the 1988 Lovesexy Tour. I would have loved to have seen the Purple Rain Tour, but was unable to get tickets for any of those shows. The Lovesexy tour was performed in the round. The size of the stage was so huge that it covered almost the entire floor of the arena. That in essence created a front row that stretched in a circle all around the arena. Prince had a much larger band on the Lovesexy tour than the small group he had used during the Purple Rain Tour with Wendy and Lisa. There were great musicians performing in the Lovesexy tour band. Prince seemed very proud of those players. Prince was so confident in his abilities that he never seemed intimated by anyone on stage. He seemed to take great joy in listening to the musicians on stage. For so many years he worked hard at developing talent. You could hear Prince’s fingerprints all over those artists. On so many of those records from artists like Vanity, Vanity 6 Appolina, Carmen Electra, Sheila E, Brenda K Starr, and so on, Prince never even took credit on the albums in his own name

There is so much to write about Prince. But for the moment, this very sad moment, all I can think about is a moment I witnessed during that Lovesexy concert. Prince was singing “Purple Rain.” He was circling the stage as the band played the song’s legendary chorus.  I had went to the ticket booth the day of the concert and was unbelievably lucky to score two front row tickets that had just been released hours before the show. I sat in those magical seats watching Prince sing “Purple Rain”. As he paraded around the stage he stopped right in front of me. As that crowd sang the words “Purple Rain,” Prince looked up towards the rafters. There was a smile that came across his face. It was not just a happy smile but rather an expression of extreme pride in hearing twenty thousand people singing those wonderful words to “Purple Rain.” Prince had so much success with “Purple Rain,” that one may think hearing a huge crowd sing that song would have just seemed routine to him. But that smile that I saw defined clearly just how dear his music was, and how much it meant to him that all those people were singing those words. It was a smile so genuine and beautiful, just like the artist he was.

Photo by Scott Penner (Flickr: Prince) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Add Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Killswitch Engage Songs
Top 10 Killswitch Engage Songs
Mountain Songs
Top 10 Mountain Songs
Richard Thompson Songs
Top 10 Richard Thompson Songs
Megadeth Songs
Top 10 Megadeth Songs
Eagles Albums
Picking Out Our Favorite Eagles Albums
George Harrison Albums
Our Favorite George Harrison Albums
Electric Light Orchestra Albums
10 Electric Light Orchestra Albums Everyone Should Own
Stevie Nicks Albums
Top 10 Stevie Nicks Albums
Monsters of Rock Cruise 2024: Day Five Review
Justin Hawkins of The Darkness Monsters Of Rock Cruise 2024: Day Four Review
Monsters Of Rock Cruise 2024: Day Four Review
M3 Rock Festival Is Back For 15th year! May 4 & 5 In Columbia, MD
Monsters of Rock Cruise 2024: Day Three Review
Russell Marsden Interview
An Interview With Russell Marsden of Band Of Skulls
Jeff Fabb of Black Label Society Interview
An Interview With Jeff Fabb of Black Label Society
Joey Vera of Armored Saint: The ClassicRockHistory.com Interview
Mel Gaynor Interview
An Interview With Mel Gaynor, Formerly Of Simple Minds
Ace Frehley Albums
Complete List of Ace Frehley Albums And Discography
Status Quo Albums
Complete List Of Status Quo Studio Albums And Discography
Phantom, Rocker & Slick Albums
Complete List Of Phantom, Rocker & Slick Albums
Paul Young Albums
Complete List Of Paul Young Albums And Discography
Music CDs Comeback
Why Music CDs Have No Chance Of Making A Comeback
Classic Rock Bands Still Together But Overdue For A New Album
Classic Rock Bands Still Together But Overdue For A New Album
When Glam Bands Went Grunge In The 1990s
When Glam Bands Went Grunge In The 1990s
25 Most Famous Female American Singers Now!
25 Most Famous Female American Singers Now!
11 Tracks Of Whack Album Review
Walter Becker – 11 Tracks of Whack Album Review
Sammy Hagar Album Review
Why Sammy Hagar’s 1977 ‘Sammy Hagar’ LP Was One Of His Best
Grand Funk On Time Album Review
Looking Back At Grand Funk Railroad’s Debut Album ‘On Time’
Ghost Writer Album Review
How ‘Ghost Writer’ Turned Us On To The Music Of Garland Jeffreys