BORN,
Prince Rogers Nelson in Minneapolis, Minnesota. My fondness for
Prince started when I heard his first hit “I Want To Be Your Lover”
(1979) in Casey Kasem's American Top 40 radio show. Right there, I
wanted to visualize the intriguing singer (no google or YouTube that
time), who kinda shares my tiny elfin height! No sooner, I got hooked
to his work—a shrewd interface of funk, rock, R&B, soul, hip
hop, disco, psychedelia, jazz, and pop. That fascination was coaxed
by his outrageous yet colorful costumes and seminal funky fashion
sense—which I always find mystifying in rock stars like David Bowie
(Ziggy Stardust), Alice Cooper, Boy George, Kiss, even Jimmy Page's
concert outfits. I love colorful clothes as you can see, LOL!
Seriously though, Mr Nelson is the quintessential no-bullshit artist.
In addition his flamboyant stage presence and wide vocal range
(falsetto to baritone and rapid, seemingly effortless shifts), Prince
was renowned as a multi-instrumentalist. He was considered a guitar
virtuoso and a master of drums, percussion, bass, keyboards, and
synthesizer. The precise number of instruments he was capable of
playing remains obscure. On his debut album, he was credited with
having played 27 instruments!
Funny,
that there was a time when—as I was reading my little kids “The
Little Prince” I told them The Prince can also sing and dance and
went on to play and lipsync “Kiss” to their delight. Oh well,
Prince! A true Artist! I love musicians who give it all what they got
until the limits of physicality give way. He passed away in the
elevator of his studio in Chanhassen, few minutes after 10 AM today,
April 21st, 2016. A week ago, the singer was hospitalized after his
private plane made an emergency landing after a show in Moline,
Illinois. Varying reports said he was suffering dehydration and was
getting over the flu. He was released after three hours and flew to
Minneapolis, where he was recovering at home.
Today
Doves are Crying for Prince. I am sure wherever he is, his show
continues. So long, Little Big Dude!
No comments:
Post a Comment