Thursday, April 21, 2016

The Death of Prince
















The Death of Prince
by Live Music Head

In 1984,
when the film Purple Rain first came to the big screen,
I was in the cinema with the rest of 'em.
Yes, of course I was.
And I bought the soundtrack on vinyl.
Played it a lot, too.
Yet, despite how I may have enjoyed the film
and the soundtrack
and that Prince has since become known as
a musical genius,
I never considered myself a very large fan.
Only a little one.
Never saw him in concert, for instance.
However, the news of his passing this afternoon
was nonetheless completely shocking.
Almost as shocking as David Bowie’s was in January.
As many know, 
Toronto was a favourite city of Prince.
It is my home town.
And I remember hearing way back when
how he swung by the Cameron House
(an old hangout of mine)
and played their piano.
How cool is that?
And then there's the Torontonian he married
and the residence they kept on the Bridle Path.
In November 2014,
rumour had it that Prince would play a surprise gig
at Massey Hall
and a long line-up formed outside it's doors.
But it didn't happen.
When he did make an appearance
at Toronto’s Sony Centre last month,
I didn’t go.
But I did see the news last week
about the flu-like symptoms Prince was experiencing
that caused an emergency landing of his aircraft in Illinois,
and the cancellation of a couple of shows.
I didn't think all that much about it then.
Now a few days later, he's dead.
And I recall the memory of an old friend;
an old friend who's no longer a friend actually,
and for very good reason…
but a reason that has nothing to do with Prince himself,
other than I think he gave her a big head.
You see,
this former friend worked for Prince
back in the early 1990s.
And she would often call me from Minneapolis to tell me stories.
I would laugh when she told me these stories,
because she would only ever refer to her boss as
"him" or "he".
And she would never allow me to refer to “him” as
"His Purpleness".
Well, at least not on the phone.
Funny that I would indulge in such gossip then,
a behaviour I don’t find interesting in the least, really.
But that was then.
I suspect any minute now
updated reports will begin surfacing,
if they haven’t already,
with details of exactly what caused his death.
And an outpouring of emotion all over the internet
from friends and fans alike.
Having got his start in the 1970s,
Prince’s talent elevated him to superduper stardom
over the decades.
And he’s made huge impact on a lot of people.
He will never be forgotten.
The song of his I always liked the most:
Little Red Corvette.