I'd be remiss indeed if I didn't respectfully eulogize one Prince Rogers Nelson on these humble pages. Thanks to the sudden shock of his passing, I confess to feeling my age, and then some. I mean, Prince was second only to Michael Jackson, in terms of being the earliest MTV / music video mega-superstar. And what's more, PRN was the cutting edge of my generation of musical peers which incudes the likes of Kofi Baker, Jason Bonham, Zak Starkey, etc.
Although I never met PRN, I still won't hesitate to acknowledge the influence he had over me. Initially, I did little more than pay sneering lip-service to The Enigmatic One. His work was firmly couched in the pop genre, despite his earliest credentials of playng R&B, and then an apprenticeship in blues-rock, before going all-out pop. It's tempting to claim he was the Jimi Hendrix of the MTV generation, but that would actually be factually inaccurate. Whilst PRN was a genius musician, composer, and bandleader in his own right, he simply didn't innovate quite the same way Jimi did, by redefining his instrument as he went along, plus all the other traits.
No, PRN's greatest strength was his redefinition of mainstream pop to better fit the video age - good hooks within a great audio-visual presentation. Couple that with his skills as both composer and songwriter, and it becomes clear that PRN was more Steve Winwood or perhaps Todd Rundgren, than a Jimi-in-waiting. Putting it another way, Jimi worked from / on the foundation of modern music, whilst Prince claimed the structure on top as his personal turf, quickly taking the bugalow super-mega-condo {think Trump Tower}, and never looked back.
In time, I learned to appreciate PRN's skills and gifts, enough so that I began to seriously study his craft, rather than disnissing the lot just 'cos it was pop. Hell, I eventually wound up playing "Little Red Corvette," Let's Go Crazy," and yes, even "Purple Rain," more than a few times during the peak of my salad days. The lesson learned was that crowds dig good catchy songs of any stripe to death, despite any misgivings I might have as a performer of same. For me, the bonus after the lesson came with my discovery that PRN's tunes could readily accommodate my vaunted "Pro-Fusion Blazz" modus operandi, without losing one iota of musical integrity.
That's a circumstance that doesn't casually stroll by every day, Boys and Girls; I am thankful indeed that I was paying full atention when "that" window unexpectedly opened up. I've been all the richer for PRN's influence, and probably always will, simple as that.
A tip of me lid to ya, Mate; go carefully as you RIP.
More anon.
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