As I am writing this, we have no idea what took the life of Prince Rogers Nelson, but we know it was far too soon. (Yes, his name was really Prince.) He played every instrument he touched like a virtuoso, and was writing songs worth recording by time he was 16. Grammy winner, Oscar winner, fan winner, and one of the top selling artists of all time, but he is gone. And it hurts.
The singer was found dead at his Paisley Park estate in Chanhassen, Minnesota. No official word yet on the cause of death, but an flu style illness had him cancelling shows last week in Atlanta and making a rumored emergency visit to a hospital in Moline while flying home.
“It is with profound sadness that I am confirming that the legendary, iconic performer, Prince Rogers Nelson, has died at his Paisley Park residence this morning at the age of 57,” said his publicist Yvette Noel-Schure.
I heard the news from a co-worker while in my office working on emails and such, and my first grief instinct was to see him again. My mouse pointed to YouTube and I was able to find what I believe was one of his most amazing performances, and certainly his biggest audience, rumored to be 140 million.
(Click HERE for the full NFL VIDEO of SuperBowl XLI Halftime show of Prince. It’s totally worth the click!)
https://youtu.be/7NN3gsSf-Ys
In 2006, Bears fans thought we had a real chance to repeat the SuperBowl Shuffle, and after the 92 yard touchdown by Devin Hester in the first 14 seconds of the game, things were looking good. But Peyton Manning would not be denied. Final score of the game was 29–17. But what I remember most was that halftime show of Prince.
Just over a year prior, I had seen him perform live in Champaign for the first time. Prince was sweet and funny on stage, almost a childlike ham, but the sound of his instrument and voice was breathtaking. Watching him on TV in HD during the big game with not so purple rain whipping him around the stage during was almost the perfect stage special effect. Prince fought to make that show the best halftime show EVER, and myself along with many other critics say he won that battle.
If you don’t already love Prince music and wonder what the hub bub is about, I encourage you to try it again. His level of rhythm was so advanced, it doesn’t always connect on the first try. Familiarity of sound makes it taste good in your brain. Hence the reason “LET’S GO CRAZY” just works for us all. We know it by heart. My strange theory on Prince was that we all needed to catch up to his time warp, which was about 3 years. He was showing us the way before we were ready.
So open that record up and let it breath a bit (like a fine wine). That’s right, vinyl, CD or cassette, or mp3 is what you need to purchase to listen to him to today. In 2015 he took all of his music from the streams away. He was a pioneer in artistic freedom and men rocking high heeled boots.
RIP Prince. I miss you terribly already.
