Prince, 1958 – 2016
POSTED:: April 22, 2016
FILED UNDER:: General
When the world learned the devastatingly sad news that music icon Prince had passed away I am swept back to the memory of his American Bandstand performance where he made Dick Clark sweat through his interview with him. He made Dick Clark lose his dogged cool nerve on national television no less! I thought this is punk rock. Dick Clark later admitted in a “Best of American Bandstand” show that this was the toughest thing he ever had to do. Not only did he show the performance but he re-aired the interview, too. Prince had already become too big of star not to.
Forward to fall 1981 when Controversy came out, that album, especially the title track as it tore through all of the playlists on WMSE, completely changed my universe. Here was a song that questioned not only Prince the artist and all of the curiosities about him but really it was also a call out to humanity and the way we all perceive one another. Landmark moment, indeed. We all have that moment when we became a Prince fan for life and that truly was mine.
Why did he die? Soon all the world will know. One thing for sure is Prince by far is one the greatest performers in the history of modern music bar none. He leaves behind one of most prolific and impactful bodies of music this planet will ever see. Just a meager 39 studio albums in all, pick one you will not be disappointed.
– Station Manager, Tom Crawford
You can stream Tom’s s Prince tribute show from last night here.