Today, music has suffered another great loss. Prince has been found dead, very unexpectedly, at his house and studio complex, “Paisley Park”. He was 57.
He was rushed into hospital on Tuesday, after his plane was forced to make an emergency landing. At first, it was reported he suffered light injuries, but later, it was explained he was just suffering from flu symptoms. A day later, he performed and seemed to be doing ok, which is why this news is something, no one saw coming.
Prince has been known to be eccentric. He tried to avoid doing interviews throughout his career, which wrapped him in a veil of mystery. Very little was known about his personal life, with the exception of the emotions that would be described in his music, like the love for his former wife which he sang about in “The Most Beautiful Girl In The World” and he used the heartbeat of the child they lost in one his later songs. Just to name a few examples of songs, that were known to contain personal information about him.
He also made no secret of his troubled start in life with his parent, in particular his father, which was also used for the movie “Purple Rain”.
But when he could, he would avoid sharing too much info. Therefore, he was one of the few musicians, who truly managed to make it about his music mostly.
He was rare in many other things too. He combined various genres of music, effortlessly. He mixed cultures and genders. He was truly a genius and luckily, recognized as such throughout his lifetime.
I have heard his inspiration in many songs by others. In Justin Timberlake songs, Timbaland, Bruno Mars and there’s even one song by Taylor Dane, “Unstoppable”, that also reminds me of Prince. His influence on music today, has been great, to say the least.
I thought he had reached a great position as an artist in most recent years. He could play anywhere, last moment, which he did, and no matter where, he would sell out. He chose to do many smaller venues and was even doing a series of very intimate performances, just being on stage with a piano.
He seemed more relaxed, open. During his latest performances, he would usually share stories, of which only a few made it onto the Internet. It was just a very different Prince from when he was younger.
I feel, as do many others, that it wasn’t time for us to miss him, but for whatever reason, it was his time to go. It’s just such a great loss to music.
