Jimi Hendrix
James Brown
Parliament / Funkadelic
Sly Stone
The Beatles
Led Zeppelin
and so on ...

make me wanna leave this fantastic Prince-site

Come on ... Prince made some fantastic albums, maybe some more than the gods above, with a great impact during the 80’s ...
but he ain’t a pioneer like the ones mentioned above!

you forgot MC Hammer!

abierman said:

Vanilla Ice too?

The 80's were HIS!In the 60's all these others had to share that 'title' with others...How many of 'em still are around,and how many who are still around make great records?
Now the 60's are known for the brilliant (and shitty)music that was made.
Who was the one that made pop music in the 80's still interesting??
Sure ther were more than Prince,but no one made more interesting albums at that time from begin 'till end 80's.
So the way I figure:Yes the man had just as big as an impact on music history as the rest of them!..

Here's what it is: Most of the artist above are a generation (or more) before Prince.

Prince (like the above mentioned artists) has a sound all his own. Only now are we starting to see his influence over other artists or his "historical impact". I could go on and on naming the people he has influenced and you can hear it in their sound. The fact is that it is too early to tell what kind of historical impact Prince will have.
[Edited 12/13/04 14:49pm]

Oh, u forgot Bob Marley and
Elvis Presley



All these people have played a part in the evolution of music. Without any of them music wouldnt be where it is today. Stop comparing. They all served their time and have done their duty in the great scale of things.

Prince is awesome like the rest, but he aint the Greatest that ever lived.

andykeen said:

Absolutely - as if there's some ultimate "greatness" that can be established...who gets to decide and based on what? ...what exactly do you mean by "great" or "influence" or "impact"? To whom? On what? When? Who made the most money? Who lived the longest? Who made the most records? Who won the most awards? Who sold the most? Who do I like the most? Who played the best guitar? What do you mean by best...an so and so and so.

Go ahead be critical (that means thoughtful and analytical by-the-way not necessarily negative...) but declare the standards by which you are measuring so that there can be meaningful debate (if that's what you want...)???

[Edited 12/13/04 16:03pm]

If we are talking about the 1980s, I personally would rate Prince as the best star of that decade but the general public will probably look back and rate the 1980s like this:

1. Michael Jackson
2. Madonna
3. Prince

Michael Jackson's "Thriller" is an album that will probably never be outsold in any decade. His hugeness with that one album has been enough to last him a lifetime.

As for Madonna, not only was she huge in 1984, but she later went on to have other major pop hits in later years.

As for Prince, the pop world remembers him mainly for the "Purple Rain" era and the "Purple Rain" era only. He had other pop hits after that but nothing came anywhere near "Purple Rain". The R&B world will look back on the 1980s and probably rate him as the second most major artist (sorry, but "Thriller" took over both sides). "Dirty Mind", "Controversy", and "1999" made him a huge star in 1980s R&B that probably only Michael Jackson could top but, of course, when people look back on history, unfortunately, they only look back mainly on the pop side.
[Edited 12/13/04 20:59pm]

As for musical impact in the 20th Century, I think Prince will make it to the top 20 but I don't think he will top every artist from every decade.

I was just irritated by another toppic : Prince vs Jimi

Seems to me that some fans just try to put Prince above every musical giant that ever lived ...
Okay, Prince may be one of the giants ... But please, give the real pioneers the respect they deserve ...

Prince ought to be thankfull to JB / Parliament - Funkadelic / Sly Stone / Jimi ... and in my opinion he is!
You ought to be thankfull too!

I surely advice all the Prince-fans to discover the great back-catalogue of those giants.

vainandy said:

Watching the news the other day, this crossed my mind, yes, I have a warped imagination, I can't help it...anyway, here goes...

When Michael Jackson goes to jail or exile, and yes it is (my opinion) that he is going to jail or exile...and umm...the "real deal" with him is out there for all to see...will folks try to get their money back, or just have old fashioned bonfires? If so either way, how will that effect the mega iconic status that he has enjoyed for the last two decades? Also, how does or even should, that effect Prince and even Madonna's status in music history?

And don't forget the 90's all stars--- MILLI VANILI.

ThataintFunky said:

I understand your frustration but please remember there are a number of people who post on this site that weren't even born until the mid to late 80's or even early 90's. And thus, these older acts don't register in the music pioneer catagory for them.

.
[Edited 12/15/04 5:35am]

Lord have mercy! It's another Number 23!

Whether Michael is guilty or not, or goes to jail or not, will have no affect on my opinion of him as an artist. A music lover could care less.

Ifsixwuz9 said:

Thank you!!!

Yes I recognize the brillance of Jimi, Sly, James, etc. but for me (considering
I was born in 85) Prince is my legend and musical hero. I don't compare
him to his mentors though because I realize that he looked up to them.

But I can sympathize because now when I here youngins scream about
how revolutionary Ursha, Justin Timberwolf, or Alicia Keys is and then laugh at
Prince I want to slap them like

"WHo do you think inspired them fool!! Michel Jackson, Prince, Lisa Lisa, Madonna!!!"

vainandy said:

I can respect that answer, cause I'm sure if it were Prince I'd feel the same way. Unfortunately, we music lovers, aren't in the majority.

That's true.