Which of Prince's idols did you get into because they inspired Prince? I only checked out Santana, Jimi Hendrix, George Clinton and Joni Mitchell after I got into Prince in 1981 and subsequently read about who inspired him.

I bought the album "Blue" from Joni Mitchell, after watching the 1983 Prince-concert.

The one with "A Case Of You"..

I also bought some James Brown compilation cd's.

And Jimi Hendrix as well..

I already had music by Santana,

but, the list goes on and on, I guess.. haha..

.

[Edited 3/23/12 15:19pm]

I went to see P-Funk in concert. I probably would've never gone if it wasnt for the Prince connection, though I knew some of their songs and really liked them. Some guy looked at me (a lone, white chick at the front ) and asked if I knew who they were. One of the guitarists was great, he dove into the pit. I definitely hear (and see) how they could've influenced him.

I never got into Joni Mitchell and have not listened yet (believe it or not) to Sly and the Family Stone.

Santana

Sly Stone.

And when i did, i realised that he has the most influence on Prince above all else. Watching Sly on stage, in interviews and listening to the records, Prince took an unbelievable amount from him. Even my lady, a Prince enthusiast, but not a music buff like myself, noted the similarities in an instant.

Anyway, so glad he got me to Sly because he's the precurser to Prince and my now 2nd fave entertainer.

cocteau twins and P funk

None. I was exposed to the music of James Brown, Chaka, Parliament, Sly, & Bootsy as a child. I listened to their music prior to Prince. I loved all of it then, and still love it now as an adult.

i find many of his influences are similar to michael jackson's, whom i also love, such as sly & the family stone, james brown, marvin gaye and stevie wonder. digging jimi henrix at the moment, and gonna get me some santana and led zepplin next. i can't think of any more besides maybe rick james, miles davis, curtis mayfield, earth wind & fire, run-dmc, his stage pressence is similar to david bowie in a way, i think he also secretly digs alicia keys and beyonce (i don't blame him, so do i)

Joni Mitchell - When I was younger I kind of wrote her off as a "boring folkie". When I read

that he liked "Court And Spark" I went and checked it out. Totally dug it and it made me seek out more of her music.

Gustav Mahler - He named checked him in the "Good Love" song so I was curious. I also heard Maxwell and Meshell say they liked Gustav too.

Those are pretty much the only two.

I love a lot of Joni Mitchell songs and if it wasn´t for Prince I probably wouldn´t even know who she is to this day because I was too young when she was popular.

I also like Carlos Santana a lot and heard Prince mentioning him a lot in interviews and play his songs but I already liked Santana without the Prince connection due to Santana samples used in HipHop.

Same with George Clinton and Parliament/Funkadelic. Liked them without the Prince connection and I really started liking George´s music during a phase when I didn´t like Prince anymore (the late 88, early 1989 to 1990 phase...when George was practically saved by Prince who paid his bills). Interestingly, I kind of liked George Clinton´s mid 80s music even though most people hate it. That´s because I didn´t really know his back catalogue when I was a teenager and I simply liked what I heard back then. Must be a similar situation for those younger Prince fans who like his past 1992 output so much and can´t understand why older fans dislike it. If you get into the newer stuff first, without being biased or spoiled, you listen and feel with a more neutral ear I guess.

Oh, and of course some of Larry Graham´s material and Sly Stone...though I must admit he also helped me learn to dislike those songs by playing them to death.

The Ohio Players....I just love , love , love their music. But honestly, I can´t really remember whether it was Prince who hipped me to them, or a friend from Dayton/Ohio , or whether I just bought one of their albums while in America in 1996. I have no idea. But he definitely made me even more interested in them.

MadamGoodnight said:

None. I was exposed to the music of James Brown, Chaka, Parliament, Sly, & Bootsy as a child.

Azz said:

MadamGoodnight said:

None. I was exposed to the music of James Brown, Chaka, Parliament, Sly, & Bootsy as a child.

???

Joni Mitchell "Miles of Aisles" is a MUST HAVE...

Live double album ... fanfuckingtastic!!

check it out!!!