I am so sad. First Bowie, now Prince.....I didn't grow up with their music (think Beatles etc., for that) but raised my children with it. You may not be a fan of Prince's music, but there is no denying he was one of the most remarkable and prolific musicians of our day. He produced an album a year for 37 years. It's rumored that in the vault at his estate, he has an enormous amount of additional music that has never seen the light of day. Prince became big during the 80's and 90's, not only as himself as musical talent, band leader, singer and guitar player, but as a composer and producer/promotor of other still world famous songs and groups. He radically redefined music, somewhat like Elvis did back in the day, and The Beatles and many big names over almost 40 years still owe everything to him. Did you know he wrote "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" for George Harrison? He wrote, played, and recorded all the instruments in his recordings. His sheer genius was awe inspiring. Like Bowie, his stage persona was incredibly transgressive and pushed way beyond gender binaries in a truly remarkable way. Apocryphal story: Eric Clapton was once asked how it felt to be the greatest guitarist alive. Reportedly his response was, "I don't know. I'm not Prince."
Not especially a Prince fan. My oldest daughter was though, along with Devo, Men Down Under, Atom Ant and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. I grew up in the time of Ricky Nelson, Fabian, Ed Ames, etc. Was Prince a guitar strummer or did he actually use all 10 fingers? Cause being a strummer puts him way down on the list of best. Jose Creco, Richie Havens, Roy Clark, Mason Williams, Glen Campbell, Jimi Hendrix, Chuck Berry, Eric Clapton, B.B. King, George Harrison and many, many others.
Another giant loss in an already greedy year. While I wasn't a committed fan I did like his material. Is it blasphemy to mention I've never seen Purple Rain? However he'll always hold a special place in my heart for his contribution to the 1989 Batman soundtrack. I think this may be incorrect Ronni. Sorry to be "that guy".
It was written by George Harrison and recorded by the Beetles on their White Album in 1968. Played (uncredited on the album) by Eric Clapton.
