Prince: The Person And The Artist

In memory of Prince.
1958-2016

We are in a typical working-mom SUV driving toward Middle School and that's when we are introduced. The oldies station puts on Kiss. My mom with wide eyes and excitement poring out of all of her: "Oh My GOD! Yes! Turn it up!" The rest of the ride is spent with the windows down, her singing at the top of her voice, and me taking in the lyrics, the music, and my mother's transformation from a 40 something single mom with bills and daughters to care for to a 20-year-old full of life and hope. That is how I was introduced to Prince. After I got home from school that day, I look up some of his other songs to see if they are just as good as the one I heard on the radio. They are and some are even better. On that day, I became a fan. 

What a lot of people like about Prince is, obviously, his music and talent as a musician and with writing lyrics. He was also handsome and knew how to dance and give a real show. What I like about him on top of all of that was his personality, or at least what he presented in interviews. He was always polite and respectful to the hosts, and, surprisingly, he was soft-spoken and quiet. He was calm and level-headed and always came across as being genuine in what he said. I never heard of him getting into trouble with the law or doing anything stupid. Basically, he was a good guy who was in it for the music. In the video below, we see him in an interview with Larry King exhibiting what I just described.

Here, Watchmojo gives an excellent description of what his music is and a brief history of his career.

Prince was the #1 artist of the 80's with When Doves Cry and Batdance being his top hits on the top 100 songs of that era. His top 10 songs were as follows...

When Doves Cry

1. When Doves Cry (1984)
2. The Most Beautiful Girl in the World (1994)
3. Batdance (1989)
4. Kiss (1986)
5. Purple Rain (1984)
6. Cream (1991)
7. 1999 (1983)
8. Thieves in the Temple (1990)
9. Let's Go Crazy (1984)
10. Let It Go (1994)

Purple Rain

He has two albums on Rolling Stone's Top 100 Albums of All Time with his top album at #76 and his runner up at #93. His top 10 albums are...

1. Purple Rain (1984) *#76 Top Album

2. Sign 'O' The Times (1987) *#93 Top Album

3. Batman(1989)

4. Lovesexy (1988)

5. 1999 (1982)

6. Around the World in a Day (1985)

7. Parade (1986)

8. Diamonds & Pears (1991)

9. [Love Symbol] (1992)

10. Graffiti Bridge (1990)

We can remember this amazing artist through his music. Who he was as a person is in it. The music he composed reflects his spirit and his lyrics reflects his beliefs and views. After all, that his how he told Oprah he wanted to be remembered.

I do not own any pictures or videos. My decade research is from here, my top album research is from here, and my top artist research is from here.