The Minneapolis superstar’s influence was wide-ranging and his music inspiring. West Michigan artists react to the sad news and list their favorite Prince tracks.
One of a Kind: Prince created music that “transcended everything.”
ADD YOUR OWN PRINCE REMEMBRANCES AND FAVORITE SONGS IN THE COMMENTS BELOW
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Prince was a game-changer.
When he burst onto the scene in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the mainstream music world had never experienced anything like him or his music – a marvelously infectious blend of funk, rock, pop and soul that literally spawned a new genre dubbed the “Minneapolis sound.”
So Much Passion: Prince
From his looks to his demeanor to his voice to his brilliant guitar-playing (which spawned the unverifiable Internet-fueled quote from Eric Clapton, who when asked what it feels like to be the best guitarist alive allegedly responded, “I don’t know, you’ll have to ask Prince”), Prince Rogers Nelson was unique, boundary-pushing, dynamic, enigmatic and creatively eccentric.
His deep, wide-ranging influence manifested itself in dramatic fashion Thursday after news of his untimely death at age 57 spread across West Michigan and beyond. Musicians in particular expressed shock and dismay at the unexpected passing of the enduring superstar.
“He was one of a kind. Like Bowie, Michael and Louis, he crossed generations,” said Mark Jackson, lead singer for Grand Rapids soul/pop group Hey Marco! “He inspired so many to imitate. He spawned an entire culture.”
A GENIUS HONING IN ON ‘COMPLETE ORIGINALITY’
Noted Molly Bouwsma Schultz, of the soul-rock band Vox Vidorra: “There was a seamlessness to his body of work, style and actions. Despite many adversities, he became everything he wanted to be and so much more. He honed in on complete originality and an ancestral connection to his African roots through music and spirituality. He took care of his body and mind to fight to be excellent. He embodied the things that were most important to him: God, love, freedom, truth, honesty and creating spaces and sounds that bring us together. Prince, The Beautiful One.”
Molly Bouwsma Schultz (Photo/Anthony Norkus)
“He was an overall living embodiment of cool and badass; nobody owned anything the way he owned everything,” remarked Devin & The Dead Frets guitarist and singer Devin Weber. “Not to mention one of the greatest and most underrated guitar players ever … and pretty much every other instrument.”
Diego Morales, frontman for West Michigan’s The Soul Syndicate, argued that Prince knew “the exact colors he needed on the palette” to create “these scenes that were quite surreal.”
“The vibration he created transcended everything,” he said. “By the time (the 1989 soundtrack) ‘Batman’ came out, no one could argue with his genius.”
Local Spins asked some West Michigan musicians to cite Prince’s most influential song and why he meant so much to the music world. We’ve also created a playlist in tribute to the fallen star. Check out a Spotify version below.
As for me, I have to go with “Little Red Corvette.” When that 1982 song was released, I was completely smitten by the seamless melding of rock, funk and soul, and the explosive energy that simmered within every line. It still holds up today.
Michelle Rzanca, a rock/pop/techno singer from Wyoming, chose “Purple Rain.” “It was like watching him make love to his guitar. So much passion,” she wrote. “I am devastated.”
Jackson cited “Purple Rain” and “When Doves Cry.”
‘THE PERFECT COMBINATION OF ROCK, R&B, GOSPEL AND POP’
“ ‘Purple Rain’ because of the emotion. One of the best examples of bringing the raw passion found on gospel music to the pop world,” he suggested. “It’s for me the perfect combination of rock, R&B, gospel and pop styles. And ‘Doves’ because it helped define the ’80s pop sound along with MJ and Madonna. It was the biggest jam of the time: THE tune to dance to when I was in high school (and) a sound we hadn’t heard before.”
Diego Morales
For Bouwsma Schultz, it, too, was “When Doves Cry,” as well as the entire “Purple Rain” album.
“The song begins with the most beastly guitar solo imaginable and then he comes in with these strange Howling Wolf-esque guttural ‘ow ow’s leading into a seductive description of intimacy and a sort of alternative reality,” she said.
“He managed to be overtly sexual and calmly romantic at the same time. Many artists today wouldn’t know how to do that if they tried because it doesn’t come from such an honest place.”
Morales pointed to songs such as “Let’s Go Crazy,” “Sign o’ the Times” and “(There’ll Never B) Another Like Me.”
“Cat was bad ass,” Morales quipped. “The reasons why the music moved me was because there was no element that wasn’t purposely there. We all know how the music game goes. You’ve got a great hook or melody. A great groove or whatever and you’ve got the basics.
“And then you color here and there. You add this and that because you feel it’s lacking. Then later you realize it wasn’t necessary and some reissue is offered with a different mix and stripped down. And the real version of the intended expression is finally heard. With Prince you didn’t get that. EACH piece made up the puzzle. No more no less.”
PRINCE: The Local Spins Playlist
Prince: The Beautiful One
1. “Little Red Corvette,” from “1999” (1983)
2. “Purple Rain,” from “Purple Rain” (1984)
3. “When Doves Cry,” from “Purple Rain” (1984)
4. “Sign O’ the Times,” from “Sign O’ the Times” (1987)
5. “Let’s Go Crazy,” from “Purple Rain” (1984)
6. “Raspberry Beret,” from “Around the World in a Day” (1985)
7. “Kiss,” from “Parade” (1986)
8. “(There’ll Never B) Another Like Me,” from “MPLSound” in the “Lotusflower” set (2009)
9. “1999” from “1999” (1983)
10. “Batdance” from “Batman” (1989)
(Editor’s Note: Officially, Prince’s music is not available on Spotify or YouTube.)
Copyright 2016, Spins on Music LLC
