SA4 S TA R T R I B U N E
TOM WALLACE tom.wallace@startribune.com
There was no one better.
Whenever I caught one
of his shows, I came away
humbled. Im going to miss
that. Im going to miss him.
Bruce Springsteen
His generosity was really
endless. He took me with
him when he got an Essence
Award. He invited me to
watch Midnight Special vid-
eos with him, sitting on his
living room floor. He let me
share the mic with him and
Gwen Stefani at Paisley Park.
Ill be a fan until the day I die.
Robyne Robinson,
former KMSP anchor
He was one of a handful of
guys that, when one of those
videos showed up at the
MTV offices, everyone would
stop what they were doing
and gather in the office.
Michael Jackson opened
the door for black artists on
MTV, but Prince knocked it
down. Madonna, Michael
Jackson, Bruce Springsteen.
In 1984, those were the guys
who ruled the world.
Doug Herzog, president of
Viacom Music and
Entertainment Group
He was a true original and a
great inspiration. Prince will
definitely go down in history
as one of pops major icons.
Chan Poling,
co-founder of the Suburbs
Prince was an artist with a
capital A. One of the greatest
guitar players of all time, a
brilliant songwriter, amaz-
ing singer and dynamic
performer who was also
a champion of personal
freedom and individual-
ism. He was fearless, sing-
ing about sex, God, gender,
race sometimes all in the
same song. He could move
your ass and stir your soul
simultaneously. He was
deeply spiritual even in a
G-string and leg warmers.
Kevin Cole, former First Avenue
DJ, now program director at
KEXP in Seattle
This is what it sounds like
when doves cry.
Whoopi Goldberg
S U N DAY, M AY 1, 2016
Dearly beloved
Tributes from our music critic and others Prince inspired
I
guess I was the only person who was with Prince throughout his entire professional career. All The first time I saw him on
Saturday Night Live, I did
40 years. Thats because he couldnt fire me. not like his image. But even-
Others came and went and sometimes came back. I was there to chronicle nearly every tually, I came to appreciate
the makeup and high-heel
purple step. Sort of an unauthorized biographer for the hometown newspaper. shoes. He was saying: Be
Over the years, Ive written countless words about him. In the past several days, Ive your own man. Lift up your
flag and party like its 1999
written thousands more. every day. When I heard
If I had to sum up Prince in one word, it would be visionary. the news, I called up Little
Richard just to tell him I love
He could see things that we couldnt. He envisioned a world in which black and white, straight and him. It was a reminder that
gay, Christian and Jew, freak and geek, all got along. He sang about it in his songs and demonstrated it tomorrow is not guaranteed.
Fancy Ray McCloney,
with his various bands.
Minneapolis entertainer
He was a visionary when it came to musical sound. To Prince, there were no rules, no boundaries,
no genres. If he wanted to release a song without a bass line, he did and When Doves Cry became Prince played with andro-
gyny and racial identity in a
the biggest single of his career. If he wanted to roll James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Sly Stone, Jimi Hen- way that no black artists had
drix, Joni Mitchell, the Beatles and Santana into one album, it became a cool new genre. Call it Prince. ever done. Unlike Michael
Jackson, he never denied
He was a visionary when it came to the visual side of music. He designed his outfits, conceived his his blackness but instead
embraced it and showed us
videos and planned his stage sets. It was all part of the package, all part of the plan that his creations
another angle. He did it with
should lead to one big party. his music and his unapolo-
getic romantic choices. He
He was a visionary when it came to marketing. He envisioned a music industry in which artists, not took it out and swung it
record labels, reap the greater financial rewards. He wanted to market directly to fans so he set up a music around for all to see, playing
it like a virtuoso. He came
club as one of the first Internet stores. He was always looking to blaze new marketing avenues, whether from a generation that was
giving away a CD with your concert ticket or selling three albums in one package exclusively at Target. finally free to see Blackness
differently than the way we
He did it all the marketing, the visuals and especially the music. He wrote and sang the songs, were raised up to perceive it.
arranged them, played all the instruments masterfully, produced the records and, best of all, dazzled Ralph Remington, Twin Cities
onstage. Thats why Prince was the most complete rock star ever. He deserved a singular name. theater leader and writer
If there were another word to describe Prince, it would be homeboy. Prince sang me through my
He was one of us. Proudly so. He was a fan of the Vikings, Timberwolves and Lynx. He read Sid Hart- darkest day of loneliness
and made a fat kid from St.
mans column. He stayed here. He built Paisley Park and a McMansion in Chanhassen. He went to see Paul dance like a madman
in spite of his shame. He
local bands in clubs, sat in with local groups, recruited local players for his own royal court.
gave me hope of love and
For a person who put Minneapolis on the map, he had the perfect two names Prince and courage of wearing size 54
waist orange-and-tan striped
Nelson. One sounded special, the other so Minnesotan.
bell bottoms and a leather-
However, the Purple One wasnt always Minnesota Nice. At least not to me. fringed vest. He meant the
Youve probably heard about our awkward dance throughout the years. It was my job to praise him world to me and I never tried
to meet him. I never wanted
when he deserved it and to call him out when his stuff smelled. He didnt always tolerate my opinion. to lose the love and respect I
had for him. He allowed me
Im not talking about the playful Prince soaking me with his squirt-gun guitar during the Purple
to feel free and now he is free.
Rain Tour. That was the jokester in Prince. He really was a funny guy. Do you remember on Bryant Louie Anderson, comedian
Gumbels final day on The Today Show? Prince sauntered in front of the cameras dressed like the
He believed in those whom
mirror image of Gumbel in a tie and conservative suit, owlish glasses and closely cropped hair. Every- his music touched. To watch
one broke out laughing. him perform was, as he
encouraged, To see the
Im talking about the Prince who kicked me out of his Glam Slam nightclub and banned me from dawn. There was a newness
a coolness that seemed to
Paisley Park concerts for a while. The one who burned my review of his Gold Experience album on
exude from his every pore.
Arsenio Halls talk show.
Sheila E.
In the end, however, Prince came to realize we had a relationship built on respect and admiration.
That was obvious when we had what he considered a rapprochement at a listening party for his Eman- I was on [his label] Paisley Park
for seven years. During that
cipation album 20 years ago. When none of the invitees asked him a question, he said: Jon Bream, you time, I adopted him. He was the
most beautiful spirit I ever met.
always have questions for me.
Mavis Staples,
Right now, I have only one question: Why are you gone so soon? JON BREAM, Star Tribune music critic soul and gospel great