I thought his dad helped him write a couple songs (like The Ladder)

DreamyPopRoyalty said:

Check this out has some stuff which i did not know! - very very interesting
http://prince.org/msg/7/247247

Volitan said:

He had a hot and cold relationship with his dad. Seems to have treated him well, took care of him when he could as an adult. I recall him having patched up the relationship at the time of his RS interview in 85 but was not talking to him at the time of the Oprah interview.

DreamyPopRoyalty said:

Not sure where my post went but check this out..very interesting!
http://prince.org/msg/7/247247

sosgemini said:[quote]

mozfonky said:

Truth be told, neither of us were there and as outsiders we'd always have a sort of Rashamon effect looking at it. From the sources I've read he had it hard and bad. He supposedly learned to play piano by being locked in a room with one for long periods of time as some sort of punishment. Much of the discipline he has I think comes from the strictness with which he was raised. Even Bernadette Anderson would bring him to tears as a teen for missing school. The statements he has made, some in his songs (which may be fictional) and some in interviews (which may also be fictional) give me the impression that things weren't right. Of course the Papa song was about child abuse and implies he took some. But most interestingly are the small things he has said about society and people in interviews. How he used to just sit out in front of "Mcdonald's and smell stuff" and how money made it "easier to forgive" and how he had to have all that money otherwise all "these people wouldn't be around". Paranoid and distrustful statements like that as well as the anecdotes from others have been around for years and years all you have to do is read the bios.

I'd also reiterate that most of the great rockers had really hard pasts before they made it. Elvis of course had an impoverished childhood and an ex-con for a father, welfare, poor housing which made him and his family really standoffish with everyone. Bruce Springsteen had a father who used to brood over his life and Bruce used to see this and realize that he didn't want to end up mean and miserable. One of his schoolmates called him "schizophrenic". Marvin Gaye was also called Schizophrenic and was abused as a child by his cross dressing father(Marvin was also a cross dresser) and was probably one of the more tortured artists I have read about. Of course our man Prince has always been schizoid and antisocial falling right in line with the rest of the classic rebels and outsiders in Rock history.

Interesting thread this... Mozfonky, thanks for your input into it - you have some very interesting insights, thank you for your honesty.

The only thing that I have to add is that I get the impression (although I don't have any facts, so forgive me if I'm wrong) that no-one lasts in his inner-sanctum (so to speak) for very long: band members, women, friends, aides and wives seem to come and go and there have been numerous accounts of Prince falling out with people for the silliest of reasons and he'll just cut them out of his life. All of this leads me to believe that Prince has issues with becoming and remaining close to people, which would make sense with the 'abandonment theory'. It seems that the only constant in his life is music, maybe this is his emotional crutch - a way of escaping or enabling to make sense of life?

Hmmm... food for thought.

Ooh - PS - I didn't know that Marvin Gaye was a cross-dresser! You learn something every day don'tyah!?

In a strange way, I think that Prince's childhood troubles helped make him into the gifted man and artist that he is today. I also agree that he knows that whatever he loses in life, his music will never leave him.

wlcm2thdwn said:

That's so sweet.

"Your music will never leave you, Prince"

mozfonky said:

I truly believe that the reason Prince ended up in Andre's mom's basement was because she let them do whatever the they felt like doing there.
There were rules at his dad's house and there were rules at his mom's house. Prince didn't like having to obey his parents. He didn't obey them and he got the boot. It ain't the first time that has happened to anyone. And some people actually become rational adults later in life and see that their parents were right to do it.

How about that interview where his cousin was talking about hearing him argue with his mother and him saying shit like "oh be quiet, ma." ?
When I was growing up. kids got slapped in the mouth for talking to their parents that way.

He was not some poor little lonely abandoned boy. I am not buying that.

I think it is sad when your parents have to choose their spouse over you and it is definitely not right to abandon a child at a young age, no matter what they did. An ideal parent will always be there for their child.
Kids cannot reason and also are incapable of the responsibilities in life at that age. It is sad when Prince said that he filled his tummy with the vapors outside McDonalds' or cried for two hours and begging his dad to take him back home.
I do know this has some psychological damage on Prince's relationships with people in general... It is sad. You can hear this sadness in his songs.

I know Prince has forgiven his parents and moved on, which is the first step in healing... hopefully the future will hold much happiness for him.
[Edited 9/29/07 19:53pm]

pplrain said:

Hey, that's pretty sad... that whole phonebooth thing... when I read it, I was half going to pieces.
It was just one of those sad moments in his life, but I don't think it did any permanent damage. He did forgive & forget both of his parents and that's all that really counts in the end.

MrsGoodnight said:

You are correct, he doesn't seem to stay with people very long. He seems to use people and discard them when done. It's not like he doesn't have the clout to replace whoever he wants.
And Gaye's crossdressing is something that could be better documented, for some reason it's not.

alwayslate said:

I'd like to read the cousin's interview, tell me where I can find it. I'm sure that when Prince was growing up, kids still got slapped in the mouth for talking like that. that would be 30-40 years ago now.With no solid father figure around though, that's what's bound to happen. Anyway, by most accounts, Prince was a very well behaved child and in a strange way, he'w still very well behaved and conservative to this day. He's an interesting guy, that's why we're talking about him.

DreamyPopRoyalty said:

Sweet and maybe factual, heard George Michael Say the same thing "he knew what ever happend in his life his music would not leave him.. he said he knew this from when he was 8 years old?? do you thing prince has the same feeling?"

everythang is everythang

what will be

will be

his mom and pops weren't perfect

they have moved on from this world

prince seems 2 have taken the

high road and has created diamonds

out of dust




God's childmarcheson

sosgemini said:

-----
According to Eric and Alan Leeds P's family did not really have time for him when he was growing up and Alan said only his mom and half-brother Omar were hanging around sometimes at PPark.
Even P's sister Tyka has said that are not a close family.

mozfonky said:

I'm not saying he was a demon-seed or anything like that by no means. But his parents (dad in particular) had very strict and specific rules about things (according to folks who knew them). Lots of people come from strict households. Lots of people have hot/cold relationships with their parents (especially as teenagers). But to say Prince was "abandoned" is insane. He wasn't abandoned. That's is just ridiculous. And he was not 12 years old.

I wish I could remember where I saw that cousin say that... I wanna say it was on the bonus DVD on that Purple Rain 20th Anniversary joint. Charles I think is his name. But it really could have been some old TV tabloid show or something.

mozfonky said:

You have some interesting deep thoughts...sounds like you been around. I like to read your insights. I do not propose to know a thing about anyone else's personal thoughts, however I am inspired by what I believe Prince had to deal with and how he pulled through. If it is not true that he had hard times, good for him (would not want him hurt),,,If he did have these obstacles, it inspires me. He is a role model either way the story goes.

Volitan said:

Prince's father received writing credits on several of the songs released by Prince over the years.

It is quite possible that Prince gifted credits:

Computer Blue
Father's Song
Around The World In A Day
The Ladder
Christopher Tracy's Parade
Under The Cherry Moon
Scandalous

ToraToraDreams said:

thank you.. cause i know somewhere in the archives.. the whole story was.. his mom got a new man.. and (paraphrasing) .. whatever went down.. Prince ran away from it/and home..

sumtymes said:

Everythang is Everythang, back atcha...

And wherever that high road goes, I'll be sure to follow.

This may seem way beyond a personal opinion...A crazy is amongst us, seems to be the credentials I wear, however....I believe that Prince's spirit has been looking for someone, long before he was born here in 1958....Prince's music is audible...yet his spirit is screaming through the ages...

Prince has been dealt a lot of rough cards, and he's done the very best with his hand...I pray he finds her, and then all of the misery can feel better with a friend that can share those tears with him.

sumtymes said:

my mother abondoned me - or so it felt at 16 so, with no contact thru all my childrns births for 12 years, i left home then and set out on my own.

but now at nearly 40 i can see she is the child and not me. She hasnt grown and has her naivity that caused her to faulter as a mother. Now as a mother i endeavour not to make those mistakes however difficult the journey is.

As u say, you take the experience and turn it around to a positive thing in your life. the rocky road is set before us to make us stronger more developed individuals and we pass this on to our families, who in turn will have to grow for thenselves.

.
[Edited 10/16/07 1:11am]

Back in the 6o's and 70's when Prince came up, it wasn't unusual for 12 or 13 year old to be self-sufficient for the most part. Kids were expected to fend for themselves and be more responsable at a much younger age than they are today.
He certainly wasn't the only child whose parents went through a divorce, that made him feel abandoned.
There is no evidence, that Prince was in fact abandoned by his parents. He just didn't like his step-father ( which is normal for a child that age) and didn't really obey the rules in his father's home. That's why he moved from home to home. I think, that at Bernadette's house he did find the freedom, he couldn't get at his parents home. But his parents were aware, that he lived there and still supported him financially and made sure he was taken care of.
Bernadette wasn't a stranger to Prince's family. I'm pretty sure, they had some type of agreement.
Back then, it wasn't uncommon to make the up-bringing of a child a team-effort, that included friends, neighbors and extended family.
Back then , it was common to spank kids and it wasn't called child abuse.
Times have changed and I can understand that Prince's up-bringing seems somewhat cruel and unusual to youngsters today, but back in those days his up-bringing was considered the norm, especially for families who weren't financially stable.
Whatever Prince went through in his childhood, many other kids had to go through as well.