Prince has had so many eras, marked by different musical styles, fashions, genres, names, etc.

I got into him in the 80s, but I was always very interested in what things were like in the 70s/early 80s, when he was just coming out. Things seemed so raw, so exciting then. His look was so different, race issues were big, and disco was becoming a cultural phenomenon.

I've heard about those famous afterparties, late nights at his pad in Minneapolis where his bodyguards would pick ladies from the crowd to join in the fun (whatever that turned out to be).

So, Prince veterans, school us on what it was like at the beginning of the revolution!

I remember Prince meeting up with "Right On" magazine in the "I Wanna Be Your Lover" era. The reported said Prince was wearing shorts and boots. Prince talked wild stuff even back then about what it would be like to breed a dog and cat. I also remember seeing a picture that year, of Prince holding hands with Patrice Rushen.

Prince also opened for Rick James on his "Fire It Up" tour which began a rivalry that lasted for years.

I remember when "Dirty Mind" was released. I snuck into my uncle's bedroom and found either a "Playboy" or "Penthouse" magazine. The magazine was doing a review of the new album. They quoted Prince as saying "At noon, everyone should blow their horn and have sex". He then said "Welcome to the eighties".

I remember "Right On" also doing a review of the "Dirty Mind" tour in Chicago. The commented that Prince played all the instruments on his albums and commented that Prince, as well as his backup band, were all under age 25. They predicted that Prince would become a major star and would be around for many years. They were right.

There was also an issue of "Right On" with an article called "Inside Prince's Bedroom". It had a picture of Prince laying on the bed with a box fan in the background. Also that year they reported Prince as saying that girls would come to his door, press the intercom, and ask him to come out. When Prince said no, the girls would want to know if he was sitting around in his underwear.

I also remember reading the review in "Right On" about the "Controversy" album. The reported said that this was the first time he had heard Prince's voice, other than his falsetto. He said it was very weird and it "made the hairs stand up on the back of his neck". He also quoted Prince as saying that he was so happy with his backup band that he was thinking of letting them play on his next album....if you notice on the cover of the next album "1999"..."and the Revolution" is spelled backwards. The reporter also mentioned that Prince's face was still burning from being booed off the stage as the Rolling Stones opening act earlier that year. Also during the "Controversy" era, I remember seeing a picture of Prince, from one of his concerts, in an outfit that had lights in it.

When "1999" was released, I remember reading countless reviews of the concerts from "Right On" magazine. They mentioned several times about Prince getting into a bathtub during "International Lover". "Right On" also reported several times of the bitterness that Rick James was spewing because of Vanity 6 that year. Rick said Prince stole the idea from him and his girls could actually sing and Prince's couldn't. I also remember Rick being quoted as saying "Vanity gives Prince pussy and Prince gives her a record".

"Right On" magazine was THE source of good info on Prince back in the day. When "Little Red Corvette" crossed over, "Rolling Stone" also started covering Prince.

vainandy said:

OMG! I was going to use the headshot of that pic for my avatar, but settled on this one instead. A similar one appeared on the cover of the '81 issue (New Wave Special) of Right On! I have a toe' up issue from 1982 with the article, "Prince: 'And You May Quote Me!" One of the quotes goes: "My dad is Black and Italian. My mom is a mixture of a bunch of things. I don't consider myself part of any race. I'm just a human, I suppose."

Anyways, you are so right about RO being the source for Prince info, so was Black Beat.

Right On! rocked!

[Edited 11/15/04 17:33pm]
[Edited 11/15/04 17:34pm]

Now I'm all nostalgic....

I've got the 1984 magazine "The Year of the Prince." There's stuff in it straight out of Right On! magazine including a 1979 interview with Cynthia Horner! She writes:

"I was amazed at the talents this eighteen-year-old genius possesses.... Sunglasses temporarily hide his resemblance to one of the Sylvers, [wtf?] but outside in the bright sunlight, your [sic] struck by his handsome looks, his wistful, longing expression, and his glorious head of hair. Surprisingly, this strong masculine figure is really short--no more than about 5'2" probably." It goes on.

I forgot this magazine included stuff like this.

Well, Detroit radio (only the black stations) were all into the new young man. You heard "Soft and Wet" on the radio quite frequently. And all the girls were really into that big 'fro (although it wasn't well known that he was only about 5'2"). He really started to get a LOT of airplay here (still on black radio only) with the "Prince" album, but then there were the beginnings of the "is he GAY???" rumblings because he had the long hair and the high voice and the high heels (I guess this had been "o.k." as long as he had the 'fro and the leather jacket). And then came the early 80's and "Dirty Mind". Whoo, boy. We didn't know WHAT to think, but we liked this RUDE BOY!! I think Prince made his first stops in Detroit at this point--and he almost always got a GREAT crowd response. I always regret that I never went to these early concerts. But at this point, Electrifying Mojo was at his peak on the radio, and you got to hear Prince and George Clinton and other funk stars for HOURS at a time (Midnight Funk Association, anyone?). Great memories.

Cynthia Horner was a bad girl. Prince even includes her in the thanks section of the "Dirty Mind".

You are right about "Black Beat". I used to read that magazine also. Another good one was "Rock and Soul". I always found "Right On" to be the best.

NuPwr319 said:

Me too! I really regret that I didn't get to see him during his bikini & leg warmers days. This was his style when he played at the Ritz, but I don't know why I didn't go. (My mom probably wouldn't have let me. Or, I was probably "under age.")

vainandy said:

There you go! I new I was missing one. I posted a 1985 cover ("Minneapolis Update Prince") a while back.
[Edited 11/15/04 18:21pm]

It was the same way down here. My first exposure to Prince was "I Wanna Be Your Lover" on white radio during the disco era. Then I saw him on "American Bandstand". After disco "died", I started listening almost exclusively to black radio.

Same as Detroit, here in Mississippi, Prince was only played on black radio and was never heard of by the majority of white people until "Little Red Corvette". It seems to be the opposite nowadays but Prince's biggest fans down here were black males. Black females liked him but the males really loved him because his music was so hard. Whenever guys would name their favorite groups at the time such as Rick James, Zapp, Cameo, Lakeside, etc....Prince was always included in the list...most of the time at the top. I remember when he first did "Little Red Corvette" on "Solid Gold". The following Monday morning this white guy said "Did y'all see that faggott on "Solid Gold" Saturday night? What the hell was that?". Black guys were ready to kick some ass. The same guy that said it was ALL INTO "Purple Rain" the next year.

Does anyone remember the magazine that consisted only of lyrics to popular songs at the time? They had a rock, soul, and country section in the magazine. I remember seeing the lyrics to "Uptown" and "Controversy" in the soul section of that magazine.

vainandy said:

That was probably a magazine called...

**********


...Song Hits that dates back to the '30s.

tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...rmusic.htm

[quote]theAudience said:[quote]

vainandy said:

Yeah, that's the one but I had NO idea that it dated back that far. Thanks The Audience.

Man....Right On had a centerfold pic of prince with the fro before I even heard the music. Cynthia was good a picking out upcoming talent back in the day....I was actually sold on the pic and then my cousin played soft and wet for me and that did it.

Ahh, yes, the "Soft and Wet"/Right On! days. Was that really almost 30 years ago?

I have this video of Cynthia Horner on tv talking about meeting Prince for the first time and her impressions of him, it was kinda interesting. But that woman has the most boring, monotonous voice I've ever heard, sheesh

SquarePeg said:

hehehe, might be no wonder he kept messin with her head back then...

Supernova said:

Ughhhhh! Yes, that was 30 years ago. That's about how long we've been married to him.

Miguel

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

U know what, you're probably right, because I'm sure it was easy to do

Rhondab said:

Ha! I had that sucka framed and mounted

Yeah, so what I'm a geek.

UptownDeb said:[quote]

vainandy said:

Teehee I remember that issue.

There was also an issue of "Right On" with an article called "Inside Prince's Bedroom". It had a picture of Prince laying on the bed with a box fan in the background. Also that year they reported Prince as saying that girls would come to his door, press the intercom, and ask him to come out. When Prince said no, the girls would want to know if he was sitting around in his underwear.

I remember this article..

My earliest recollection is watching Prince in his Trench coat and bikini at the Family Dog in Denver... I think the price of the ticket was $6.00.

UptownDeb said:

Oh me too...me too!!!

NuPwr319 said:

YEAH MOJO PUT PRINCE ON THE MAP! PRINCE GAVE MOJO PROPS AT THE MUSICOLOGY TOUR AT THE PALACE. I FIRST SAW PRINCE IN CONCERT AT THE JOE FOR THE CONTROVERSY TOUR. MY FRIEND HAS PRINCE INTERVIEW WITH MOJO ON TAPE! YOU GUYS ARE BRINGING BACK A LOT OF MEMORIES WITH RIGHT ON AND BLACK BEAT. EVERY MONTH MY FRIEND AND I WAS A THE CORNER STORE FAITHFULLY BUYING OUR MAGS I STILL HAVE MY PHOTO ALBUMS FILLED WITH THE PICTURES FROM RIGHT ON AND BLACK BEAT. GUESS WHAT NUPWR319 I STILL HAVE MY WHAMMY CLOTH FROM THE MIDNIGHT FUNK ASSOCIATION

debbiedean2 said:

Oh, no you didn't say the WHAMMY cloth!!

As for that Mojo interview--I had left the Prince concert that night and dropped my friends off when I flicked the radio over to WGPR and almost drove off the road when I realized he was ACTUALLY TALKING to Prince on the phone.