Everyone remembers the first time they saw Prince in concert. Or, if you’re incredibly lucky, the second, third, or fourth time. The man was magic- always. There was never the same presentation twice. The last time The Todd and I caught him in concert, it was at Madison Square Garden in NYC, and he started the intro to “If I Was Your Boyfriend” while talking about Robert Redford and Barbra Streisand in “The Way We Were.” And it all made sense, somehow. I was lucky enough to interview Prince at the very beginning of my career–during his Hit and Run Tour. This is a man, mind you, that could fill any 20,000 seat stadium in the world, but he played the tiny 2,000 seat Warfield Theatre in San Francisco. His management told us that we were NOT to look at Prince during the interview. Then, we hear the tip-tapping of his high-heeled boots, and the Man himself walked in wearing nothing but those boots and a pair of black underwear. I still remember trying to figure out where to point my mic, since I wasn’t allowed to look at him. But the interview was…amazing.
Another performance was at the halftime show during Superbowl XLI during the only time in history it’s rained during the Superbowl. Prince was wearing 6 inch heels, playing 6 different electric instruments in a downpour so fierce he was wading through puddles on the stage. And he was magic. You can see the video here, it’s amazing.
Prince passed away today at the age of 57. He was found in his Minnesota home. He’d been battling an unknown illness and was even hospitalized for a time. Because he was so fiercely private, we may never know what caused his passing.
Of everything he’ll be remembered for- the unimaginable volume of music he’s created, I’ll still love him best for Purple Rain. Sing with me. You know you want to. RIP, Prince. Thank you for the music.