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Thread started 08/22/14 9:04am

thebanishedone

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Jimmy Jam on Prince the multi instrumentalist

Jimmy Jam <

The thing that was cool about it was I remember that class

was going to put a band together to play at this school play. I told them I would play drums and Prince said, “I’ll play guitar.” I looked at him because I didn’t know he could play guitar. I thought he only played keyboards. He said, “Yeah, I play the guitar too.”

So we get into our first rehearsal and Prince plugged his guitar

in and he was unbelievable. He played “Make Me Smile” by Chicago, and the song had a guitar solo. And, if you played the guitar, it was like the go-to guitar solo. It was a great way of showing someone that you could really play the guitar. Prince ripped the solo note-for-note, and I was like, “Oh, my God!” I had no idea he was that good. I said to myself, “This is the baddest dude I’ve ever seen.” We took a break from the rehearsal. I went to the bathroom, and I heard someone playing the drums and they’re tearing them up. I was thinking it was the music teacher Mr. Hamilton. Mr. Hamilton was really good. So I walked out, and it was Prince sitting at the drums. We were twelve or thirteen at this time. If I remember correctly, Prince got his record deal when he was fifteen. We did the whole gig, and I remember a few years afterward someone told me that Prince played all the instruments on his demo. I told them I bet he did because I saw him do it before.

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Reply #1 posted 08/22/14 9:30am

hopefularrange
r

Hey man! Thanks for posting! smile

thebanishedone said:

If I remember correctly, Prince got his record deal when he was fifteen.


He isn't remembering correctly. Prince turned 19 the year he signed his deal (1977).

Also (as we discussed in a previous thread), I've been a lifelong Chicago fan. I've never heard any version of "Make Me Smile" - be it album, single or live - which contains a guitar solo. I believe Jimmy must be remembering a different song.

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Reply #2 posted 08/22/14 9:32am

EyeHatechu

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DAMN...My Princey was good back in the day...and he still is now.
This Could Be Us But U Be Playin...
You Can Call It The Unexpected Or U Can Call It WOW
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Reply #3 posted 08/22/14 11:11am

luv4u

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cool

canada

Ohh purple joy oh purple bliss oh purple rapture!
REAL MUSIC by REAL MUSICIANS - Prince
"I kind of wish there was a reason for Prince to make the site crash more" ~~ Ben
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Reply #4 posted 08/22/14 11:25am

luv2tha99s

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hopefularranger said:

Hey man! Thanks for posting! smile

thebanishedone said:

If I remember correctly, Prince got his record deal when he was fifteen.


He isn't remembering correctly. Prince turned 19 the year he signed his deal (1977).

Also (as we discussed in a previous thread), I've been a lifelong Chicago fan. I've never heard any version of "Make Me Smile" - be it album, single or live - which contains a guitar solo. I believe Jimmy must be remembering a different song.

Listening to it now, and it does have a kick-ass guitar solo at the 2:45 mark. Pretty impressive if P played it note for note.

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Reply #5 posted 08/22/14 11:47am

hopefularrange
r

luv2tha99s said:

hopefularranger said:

Hey man! Thanks for posting! smile


He isn't remembering correctly. Prince turned 19 the year he signed his deal (1977).

Also (as we discussed in a previous thread), I've been a lifelong Chicago fan. I've never heard any version of "Make Me Smile" - be it album, single or live - which contains a guitar solo. I believe Jimmy must be remembering a different song.

Listening to it now, and it does have a kick-ass guitar solo at the 2:45 mark. Pretty impressive if P played it note for note.


My bad! You are correct! I'm getting old!

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Reply #6 posted 08/22/14 12:21pm

thebanishedone

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hopefularranger said:

Hey man! Thanks for posting! smile



thebanishedone said:


If I remember correctly, Prince got his record deal when he was fifteen.


He isn't remembering correctly. Prince turned 19 the year he signed his deal (1977).

Also (as we discussed in a previous thread), I've been a lifelong Chicago fan. I've never heard any version of "Make Me Smile" - be it album, single or live - which contains a guitar solo. I believe Jimmy must be remembering a different song.


You are welcome smile
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Reply #7 posted 08/22/14 2:06pm

chriss

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Reply #8 posted 08/22/14 3:30pm

funksterr

http://www.waxpoetics.com/features/articles/jimmy-jam-interview

I like the whole article, especially the detailed description, from Jam's perspective of how Prince formed The Time. It's the same story but from a totally different angle.

[Edited 8/22/14 15:36pm]

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Reply #9 posted 08/22/14 4:05pm

1contessa

Yes, God definitely blessed Prince with musical talent, and also made him handsome to boot! wink

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Reply #10 posted 08/22/14 7:16pm

thebanishedone

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The reason i posted is because some orgers like to question his ability on various instruments.

I take Jimmy Jams word over some of the org people.

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Reply #11 posted 08/22/14 8:41pm

funksterr

thebanishedone said:

The reason i posted is because some orgers like to question his ability on various instruments.

I take Jimmy Jams word over some of the org people.

I've never heard anyone say that Prince was not a highly talented musician. Of course he can play the hell out of a number of instruments. But is he a highly talented composer? That's where I get confused. You hear some of his PR era through SOTT era stuff and say of course he's a great composer, but then you hear his 1989-2014 material and say of course not.

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Reply #12 posted 08/22/14 9:14pm

williamb610

'Around the World in a Day' is reminiscent of that Chicago song at the beginning. I get song ideas based off of other songs, too. I imagine that is what was up with Prince and this song.

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Reply #13 posted 08/23/14 8:40am

Funklov

There is a guitar solo in Make Me Smile but i recall somewhere reading that the song that your guitar skills were based in Prince's highschool was 25 or 6 to 4 also by Chicago. The song is more well known for its guitar solo and more likely to be the song Jam is being confused with. However Jam has said before that he was a big Chicago fan in highschool so maybe he remembered accurately.
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