RIP Prince

I still can't believe it .. 

http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/21/entertainment/prince-estate-death/

definitely a shocker.  

A great talent.

Tragic. 

So sad.  

One of my favorite performances of his.  He comes to the front around the 3:20 mark:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SFNW5F8K9Y

2016 has been terrible for the music industry .. Wow !! Great legends leaving us. So sad.

Prince wrote the music of my adolescence and young adulthood. I am so sad. He was too young.

One of the best live shows I've ever seen, and I've seen plenty, including Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, The Doors, The Dead, Allman Brothers, The Who, Zappa, Blind Faith, Cream, Miles Davis, Dizzy, and many more. Prince was unbelievably talented and had a facility with the guitar that really set him apart. And he was funky. My favorite Prince CD is the Love Symbol Album.

The_Soulful_Mr_T said:

One of the best live shows I've ever seen, and I've seen plenty, from Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, The Doors, The Dead, Allman Brothers, Miles Davis, Dizzy, and many more. Prince was unbelievably talented and had a facility with the guitar that really set him apart. And he was funky. My favorite Prince CD is the Love Symbol Album.

we finally saw his show at the Izod Center a few years ago.  He played in the round, and it was a killer show.  He seemed so much younger than his age that it's hard to believe he would die at such an early age.

mikescott said:

definitely a shocker.  

A great talent.

ditto

Also saw him at IZOD. Can't imagine a better live performer in this lifetime. When we saw him at MSG years before he also shot hoops on stage. And didn't miss.

Terrible, terrible, shocking news.  Too young. There was nobody like him

oh no, the world has absolutely lost a bit of sparkle with this one.  

My favorite artist and an unbelievable talent -- songwriter, singer, dancer, pianist, guitarist (one of the world's greatest), actor, fashion leader, and on and on.  I saw him in DC and he arrived in a red Corvette. 

Hahaha said:

Prince wrote the music of my adolescence and young adulthood. I am so sad. He was too young.

Me too! I remember sitting in the theater and watching Purple Rain over and over. Seeing him live a number of times was definitely a highlight of my music-going life. I was just looking at his concert schedule commenting how we should make plans to see him again. A little piece of my youth died with him today. RIP Prince.

I loved him as a teen, emulated his look (perm and all!). It was only later that I appreciated his greatness on the guitar. Truly one of the great guitarists of all time.

conandrob240 said:

Hahaha said:

Prince wrote the music of my adolescence and young adulthood. I am so sad. He was too young.

Me too! I remember sitting in the theater and watching Purple Rain over and over. Seeing him live a number of times was definitely a highlight of my music-going life. I was just looking at his concert schedule commenting how we should make plans to see him again. A little piece of my youth died with him today. RIP Prince.

I worked for Warner Bros. when the Purple Rain movie was released and I remember getting the press kits and looking at the stills and saying "who the heck is this guy?  He thinks he's Jimi Hendrix!"  Little did I know...   

.

what a beautiful cover

rbcole123 said:

My favorite artist and an unbelievable talent -- songwriter, singer, dancer, pianist, guitarist (one of the world's greatest), actor, fashion leader, and on and on.  I saw him in DC and he arrived in a red Corvette. 

Did he have enough gas?  Oh yas!  I always loved that line.  RIP.

"Dearly beloved We are gathered here today 2 get through this thing called Life..." -Prince

Story taking a turn. What a waste.

possible drug overdose is what may have led to recent hospitalization? Do they typically release people hours after a drug overdose? 

as a devout Jehovah's witness, he is not someone I'd suspect of having a drug problem. Suicide maybe?

You know, I really didn't care for his music when I was a teen ager in the 80s.  It grew on me a bit as I got older but I was never what you would call a fan.  That said, over the years I came to appreciate the way that he just made the world a more random and funky place.  We are poorer for his passing.

conandrob240 said:

possible drug overdose is what may have led to recent hospitalization? Do they typically release people hours after a drug overdose? 

as a devout Jehovah's witness, he is not someone I'd suspect of having a drug problem. Suicide maybe?

Hospital really can't force someone to stay. In terms of it being against his beliefs.... We all fall short of the ideals we have if we have any worth holding. 

let's not jump to any conclusions but, yes, certainly people have demons.

Rolling Stone:  15 great Prince songs that were hits for other artists

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/15-great-prince-songs-that-were-hits-for-other-artists-20160421

lots of theories out there about cause of death. I'd rather not speculate and spend my energy remembering his music  and talent  

Some people are more than just there

They are bedrock and we discounted the fact that they were human

The Super Star Status would make it hard for  them to seek real help

Rest now.................you did us proud

Great musician, excellent showman, and anti establishment rebel.  There are multiple reports that Eric Clapton was once asked what it was like to be the greatest guitar player alive, and he responded, "I don't know. Ask Prince." I've also read that Prince was a very good basketball player despite his stature. Even in death he continues to surprise me, I did not see this coming...RIP

the18thletter said:

Great musician, excellent showman, and anti establishment rebel.  There are multiple reports that Eric Clapton was once asked what it was like to be the greatest guitar player alive, and he responded, "I don't know. Ask Prince." I've also read that Prince was a very good basketball player despite his stature. Even in death he continues to surprise me, I did not see this coming...RIP

I think people are confusing a sentiment Clapton expressed about Hendrix. 

In terms of guitar playing, there's no question he's a good guitar player. He is in no way the greatest guitarist that ever lived, or anything approaching the greatest.  

He may however be the greatest pop/rock musician composer and live performer who plays guitar. 

Some are looking at the "While My Guitar Gentle Weeps" vid and declaring it the greatest solo ever. It's not even the greatest solo by Prince ever.  The second half of it is just him hacking around and being a ham. Go check out the first live version of Purple Rain that pops up of you search. Some flashes of brilliance there.... The double stop (the part that sounds like a train horn) hits like a sledgehammer and is the point on which the performance turns. That's killer! Composer and performer one in the same, delivering blow to the solar plexus and doing it live.

And there's the key. He's an incredible writer, composer, multi (20!) instrumentalist. He's composed monster hits for both his own voice and that of others. And then he was able to PULL IT OFF LIVE, guitar solos and all. That's a hell of a lot more than being the "greatest guitarist" or "greatest any instrument" really. 

I don't want to get into a big rant on push button music- people create in the medium that suits them- I am pleased however that people still think traditional rock/pop instruments are cool enough that they'd consider dubbing someone "the greatest" player of one perhaps one of the highest crowns that could be placed on a remarkable head. I'd consider his very good guitar playing one of the jewels in the crown at best.

ETA- could he have been one of the greatest if he wanted to? Yeah I think he could have. If he spent all his time just on guitar, with his ear, sense of theatrics, inate musical ability, composing skills and physical dexterity, not to mention legendary single mindedness  towards goals, he could have been way up there.