I mean I know his parents divorce but why one parent didn't get custody and raise him? Because sound like from most stories he practically grew up with Andre Cymone's family. Surely it wasn't because P was so wild neither parent could handle him???

I think that Sh** just happens. At home things can suck really bad. My teen years were spent at four different friends houses. Wasn't that I was hard to handle (but my dad use to literally beat me when he would find a hidden Prince cassette) life just sucked at home. No freedom to grow into me...Thank God for the Prince music. Truthfully, it helped me make it through some very tough years.

Are u serious beat you because of finding a hidden Prince cassette... Did he think the risky songs was bad for ya or something else?

parents can be such assholes. my moms finally accepted me for who i am. dad still not so much.

purplemookiebut said:

parents can be such assholes. my moms finally accepted me for who i am. dad still not so much.

who i am

Which is what?

wishuhvn said:

I think that Sh** just happens. At home things can suck really bad. My teen years were spent at four different friends houses. Wasn't that I was hard to handle (but my dad use to literally beat me when he would find a hidden Prince casse life just sucked at home. No freedom to grow into me...Thank God for the Prince music. Truthfully, it helped me make it tte)through some very tough years.

exactly what it was like 4 me.....whitout prince it was so much harder.

Man, sorry 2 hear about that. But at least u came out of it, just like Princey did, right?

Well, some parents don't know how to be parents. Bernadette and Mattie were friends and Berna would always let her know how Prince was doing, so things were fine that way, I guess. but I know he hurted on why his parents just 'let him go' like that. Seemingly not to even care. But it was prolly an easier way on the parents that way. She basically chose her new husband over her son, and John kicked him out after catching him in bed with a female. That's a GOOD thing, right? I can see if he was with a freaking dude...

But hey, I don't know the situation personally, so I genuinely can't say. That's just my thinking on the matter.

A lot of families can be very troubled to the point where nearly grown children have to move out and stay with "extended family." It doesn't mean that someone is or was a "wild child." Sometimes you have "wild" parents. I should know...that happened to me...

wishuhvn said:

I think that Sh** just happens. At home things can suck really bad. My teen years were spent at four different friends houses. Wasn't that I was hard to handle (but my dad use to literally beat me when he would find a hidden Prince cassette) life just sucked at home. No freedom to grow into me...Thank God for the Prince music. Truthfully, it helped me make it through some very tough years.

Sorry it was like that for you- I bounced around too- Sometimes parents really drop the ball- When I grew up I realized I hadn't done anything wrong, some parent's just don't know how to parent. My husbands mother tore up all his Prince posters and destroyed his tapes/ she thought Prince was the devil- isn't that silly?

Francis7 said:

wishuhvn said:

I think that Sh** just happens. At home things can suck really bad. My teen years were spent at four different friends houses. Wasn't that I was hard to handle (but my dad use to literally beat me when he would find a hidden Prince cassette) life just sucked at home. No freedom to grow into me...Thank God for the Prince music. Truthfully, it helped me make it through some very tough years.

Sorry it was like that for you- I bounced around too- Sometimes parents really drop the ball- When I grew up I realized I hadn't done anything wrong, some parent's just don't know how to parent. My husbands mother tore up all his Prince posters and destroyed his tapes/ she thought Prince was the devil- isn't that silly?

R u freaking serious? That's crazy.

And I thought parents "cleaning out the house" (of Prince things left behind) was bad

ecstasy said:

Man, sorry 2 hear about that. But at least u came out of it, just like Princey did, right?

Well, some parents don't know how to be parents. Bernadette and Mattie were friends and Berna would always let her know how Prince was doing, so things were fine that way, I guess. but I know he hurted on why his parents just 'let him go' like that. Seemingly not to even care. But it was prolly an easier way on the parents that way. She basically chose her new husband over her son, and John kicked him out after catching him in bed with a female. That's a GOOD thing, right? I can see if he was with a freaking dude...

But hey, I don't know the situation personally, so I genuinely can't say. That's just my thinking on the matter.

"She basically chose her new husband over her son,"

I'm thinking...Wow, u gave birth to a Superstar and u choose some ole Negro over him!

Even if it was just a normal child, I wouldn't kick them to the curb, but jamn!

I wonder did she get back in his life when he became famous?

Astasheiks said:

ecstasy said:

Man, sorry 2 hear about that. But at least u came out of it, just like Princey did, right?

Well, some parents don't know how to be parents. Bernadette and Mattie were friends and Berna would always let her know how Prince was doing, so things were fine that way, I guess. but I know he hurted on why his parents just 'let him go' like that. Seemingly not to even care. But it was prolly an easier way on the parents that way. She basically chose her new husband over her son, and John kicked him out after catching him in bed with a female. That's a GOOD thing, right? I can see if he was with a freaking dude...

But hey, I don't know the situation personally, so I genuinely can't say. That's just my thinking on the matter.

"She basically chose her new husband over her son,"

I'm thinking...Wow, u gave birth to a Superstar and u choose some ole Negro over him!

Even if it was just a normal child, I wouldn't kick them to the curb, but jamn!

I wonder did she get back in his life when he became famous?

u know what I mean?

I know that she came to one of his Purple Rain shows to see him play, and he sent her, I think, some flowers and a thank you card. Something of that nature. I think this was when he was in LA, but that I definitely don't know for sure. I'll have to check the ole' handy-dandy Prince books

"Half of the staff of their brain is on vacation
Mama, are U listening?"

-Controversy

Him and his mother weren't on good talking terms, I'm guessing until he was informed that his mother was at that Purple Rain show. Just a guess. Also somewhat confirmed on the 1980 interview in Amsterdam, but of course, he said that in 80, not the following years throughout

[Edited 1/21/11 18:11pm]

wishuhvn said:

I think that Sh** just happens. At home things can suck really bad. My teen years were spent at four different friends houses. Wasn't that I was hard to handle (but my dad use to literally beat me when he would find a hidden Prince cassette) life just sucked at home. No freedom to grow into me...Thank God for the Prince music. Truthfully, it helped me make it through some very tough years.

thats sad that you were beaten

but when i read this i busted out laughing...sorry

.....

PicklesMcMillan said:

wishuhvn said:

I think that Sh** just happens. At home things can suck really bad. My teen years were spent at four different friends houses. Wasn't that I was hard to handle (but my dad use to literally beat me when he would find a hidden Prince cassette) life just sucked at home. No freedom to grow into me...Thank God for the Prince music. Truthfully, it helped me make it through some very tough years.

thats sad that you were beaten

but when i read this i busted out laughing...sorry

.....

It might seem funny on the surface... But when you are a kid or teen and beaten by religious zealot parents, it isn't funny at all... I wasn't beaten over Prince cassettes... But I was whipped or punched in the mouth for bullshit...blamed on religion...that had nothing whatsoever that had anything to do with religion. That shit ain't funny!

purplethunder3121 said:

PicklesMcMillan said:

thats sad that you were beaten

but when i read this i busted out laughing...sorry

.....

It might seem funny on the surface... But when you are a kid or teen and beaten by religious zealot parents, it isn't funny at all... I wasn't beaten over Prince cassettes... But I was whipped or punched in the mouth for bullshit...blamed on religion...that had nothing whatsoever that had anything to do with religion. That shit ain't funny!

I think he or she meant it was humorously silly how petty the parent got mad for a hidden Prince cassette.

ecstasy said:

purplethunder3121 said:

It might seem funny on the surface... But when you are a kid or teen and beaten by religious zealot parents, it isn't funny at all... I wasn't beaten over Prince cassettes... But I was whipped or punched in the mouth for bullshit...blamed on religion...that had nothing whatsoever that had anything to do with religion. That shit ain't funny!

I think he or she meant it was humorously silly how petty the parent got mad for a hidden Prince cassette.

^^^ I agree with you about the humor and pettiness over the Prince cassette...but the fact that the poster had to go to different places to get away from the family abuse spoke to me... A Prince tape has nothing to do with what was really going on...

wishuhvn said:

I think that Sh** just happens. At home things can suck really bad. My teen years were spent at four different friends houses. Wasn't that I was hard to handle (but my dad use to literally beat me when he would find a hidden Prince cassette) life just sucked at home. No freedom to grow into me...Thank God for the Prince music. Truthfully, it helped me make it through some very tough years.

Sorry that your home life sucked ass--been there done it! Glad that Prince's music has helped you heal--it has helped me through some rough times also.

ecstasy said:

Astasheiks said:

"She basically chose her new husband over her son,"

I'm thinking...Wow, u gave birth to a Superstar and u choose some ole Negro over him!

Even if it was just a normal child, I wouldn't kick them to the curb, but jamn!

I wonder did she get back in his life when he became famous?

u know what I mean?

I know that she came to one of his Purple Rain shows to see him play, and he sent her, I think, some flowers and a thank you card. Something of that nature. I think this was when he was in LA, but that I definitely don't know for sure. I'll have to check the ole' handy-dandy Prince books

"Half of the staff of their brain is on vacation
Mama, are U listening?"

-Controversy

Him and his mother weren't on good talking terms, I'm guessing until he was informed that his mother was at that Purple Rain show. Just a guess. Also somewhat confirmed on the 1980 interview in Amsterdam, but of course, he said that in 80, not the following years throughout

[Edited 1/21/11 18:11pm]

Interesting...

ecstasy said:

Astasheiks said:

"She basically chose her new husband over her son,"

I'm thinking...Wow, u gave birth to a Superstar and u choose some ole Negro over him!

Even if it was just a normal child, I wouldn't kick them to the curb, but jamn!

I wonder did she get back in his life when he became famous?

u know what I mean?

I know that she came to one of his Purple Rain shows to see him play, and he sent her, I think, some flowers and a thank you card. Something of that nature. I think this was when he was in LA, but that I definitely don't know for sure. I'll have to check the ole' handy-dandy Prince books

"Half of the staff of their brain is on vacation
Mama, are U listening?"

-Controversy

Him and his mother weren't on good talking terms, I'm guessing until he was informed that his mother was at that Purple Rain show. Just a guess. Also somewhat confirmed on the 1980 interview in Amsterdam, but of course, he said that in 80, not the following years throughout

[Edited 1/21/11 18:11pm]

Okay, here's what I searched up from D.M.S.R. concerning his mother attending one of the 5 Xmas shows in Minneapolis (not LA) during the 84' Purple Rain tour.

At the end of the opening show, his eyes welled up with tears in response to the ovation of the crowd. On the fourth night, with his mother in the audience, Prince told the crowd that this was the best Christmas he had ever had. He had a note delievered to his mother during the intermission, saying how glad he was that she was there and had arrived safely. Prince's father also attended one of the shows.

ecstasy said:

ecstasy said:

Okay, here's what I searched up from D.M.S.R. concerning his mother attending one of the 5 Xmas shows in Minneapolis (not LA) during the 84' Purple Rain tour.

At the end of the opening show, his eyes welled up with tears in response to the ovation of the crowd. On the fourth night, with his mother in the audience, Prince told the crowd that this was the best Christmas he had ever had. He had a note delievered to his mother during the intermission, saying how glad he was that she was there and had arrived safely. Prince's father also attended one of the shows.

^^^ Glad to hear (at least from available sources) that Prince seemed able to make his peace with his parents. I know I did. Makes all the difference in the world.

Maybe his father was a M.J. fan. BEATED!!!

OOOWW! I know I'm wrong.

Astasheiks said:

ecstasy said:

Man, sorry 2 hear about that. But at least u came out of it, just like Princey did, right?

Well, some parents don't know how to be parents. Bernadette and Mattie were friends and Berna would always let her know how Prince was doing, so things were fine that way, I guess. but I know he hurted on why his parents just 'let him go' like that. Seemingly not to even care. But it was prolly an easier way on the parents that way. She basically chose her new husband over her son, and John kicked him out after catching him in bed with a female. That's a GOOD thing, right? I can see if he was with a freaking dude...

But hey, I don't know the situation personally, so I genuinely can't say. That's just my thinking on the matter.

"She basically chose her new husband over her son,"

I'm thinking...Wow, u gave birth to a Superstar and u choose some ole Negro over him!

Even if it was just a normal child, I wouldn't kick them to the curb, but jamn!

I wonder did she get back in his life when he became famous?

Um Prince was not a superstar when she got her new husband. No one knew what Prince was to become, even Prince!

Unless I'm missing something and she married her new husband when Prince was an adult but I thought for sure Prince got his stepfather early so IF that is the case, she didn't choose her son over a "superstar"

purplethunder3121 said:

^^^ Glad to hear (at least from available sources) that Prince seemed able to make his peace with his parents. I know I did. Makes all the difference in the world.

That was 84! You know how time has passed between 1984 and the years they died?

Who knows what could have happened to their relationship

Avaspeaks said:

Astasheiks said:

"She basically chose her new husband over her son,"

I'm thinking...Wow, u gave birth to a Superstar and u choose some ole Negro over him!

Even if it was just a normal child, I wouldn't kick them to the curb, but jamn!

I wonder did she get back in his life when he became famous?

Um Prince was not a superstar when she got her new husband. No one knew what Prince was to become, even Prince!

Unless I'm missing something and she married her new husband when Prince was an adult but I thought for sure Prince got his stepfather early so IF that is the case, she didn't choose her son over a "superstar"

I just mention that he became a Superstar. The point I was making at the time he was young, Poster "Ecstasy" said she choose her 2nd husband over her child...

[Edited 1/23/11 21:03pm]

Prince, the Pauper

Piece together Prince's story from his own partial accounts, and you come up with sort of a musical Wild Child, an untamed loner who raised himself and taught himself how to survive among the wolves. Patch together the history told by the people close to him, and you get a version like this:

The first notes of the Minneapolis sound were heard in a big brick house in North Minneapolis, an aging, primarily black section of town that draws outsiders only to the Terrace Theater, a movie house designed to look like a suburban backyard patio, and the Riverview Supper Club, the nightspot a black act turns to after it has polished its performance on the local chitlin circuit. North Minneapolis is a poor area by local standards, but a family with not too much money can still afford the rent on a whole house. It was there that Bernadette Anderson, who was already raising six kids of her own by herself; decided to take in a doe-eyed kid named Prince, a pal of her youngest son, Andre.

The thirteen-year-old Prince had landed on the Anderson doorstep after having been passed from his stepfather and mother's home to his dad's apartment to his aunt's house. "I was constantly running from family to family," Prince has said. "It was nice on one hand, because I always had a new family, but I didn't like being shuffled around. I was bitter for a while, but I adjusted."

His father, John Nelson, was a musician himself -- a piano player in a jazz band by night, a worker at Honeywell, the electronics company, by day. Nelson is black and Italian; his ex-wife, says Prince of his mother, "is a mixture of a bunch of things." Onstage, the father was called Prince Rogers, and that is what he named his son, Prince Rogers Nelson.

John Nelson moved out of the family home when Prince was seven. But he left behind his piano, and it became the first instrument Prince learned to play. The songs he practiced were TV themes -- Batman and The Man From U.N.C.L.E. "My first drum set was a box full of newspapers," he has said, explaining how he came to play a whole range of instruments. "At thirteen, I went to live with my aunt. She didn't have room for a piano, so my father bought me an electric guitar, and I learned how to play." But the aunt wasn't keen on the noise, and she threw him out. It was then that Prince turned up at Andre's.

Hardly into their teens, Prince and Andre (who uses the surname Cymone) had already formed their first group. Prince recalled, "I got my first band. I wanted to hear more instruments, so I started Champagne, a twelve-piece band. Only four of us played. Eight were faking. Andre and I played saxophone. I also played piano. I wrote all the music. The songs were all instrumentals. No one ever sang. When I got into high school, I started to write lyrics. I'd write the really, really vulgar stuff."

Andre, on the other hand, claims the first band had Prince playing lead guitar, Andre himself on bass guitar, his sister Linda on keyboards and the Time's Morris Day on drums. The group was called Grand Central, later renamed Champagne. The musicians all wore suede-cloth suits with their zodiac signs sewn on the back (Prince, born on June 7th, 1960, had Gemini, the twins, on his). For a time, they were managed by Morris' mother, which didn't make Prince very happy. "She wasn't fast enough for Prince," says Mrs. Anderson. "He wanted her to get them a contract right away."

The band practiced in Andre's basement, where Prince had established a bedroom of his own. "It sounded like a lot of noise" says Bernadette Anderson. "But after the first couple of years, I realized the seriousness of it. They were good kids. Girls were crazy about them."

Andre -- whose father had played bass in the Prince Rogers Band -- says that although the family was poor, Prince "dug the atmosphere. It was freedom for him." There wasn't enough money to buy records, but there was a family friend -- a reclusive black millionaire, says one source -- who gave the kids the money to go to a local studio to record a few songs. The studio they picked was called Moon Sound

Across the street from McDonald's, Prince spies a smaller landmark.
He points to a vacant corner phone booth and remembers a teenage fight with a strict and unforgiving father.
"That's where I called my dad and begged him to take me back after he kicked me out," he begins softly.
"He said no, so I called my sister and asked her to ask him.
So she did, and afterward told me that all I had to do was call him back,
tell him I was sorry, and he's take me back.
So I did, and he still said no.
I sat crying at that phone booth for two hours.
That's the last time I cried."

OldFriends4Sale said:

Prince, the Pauper

Piece together Prince's story from his own partial accounts, and you come up with sort of a musical Wild Child, an untamed loner who raised himself and taught himself how to survive among the wolves. Patch together the history told by the people close to him, and you get a version like this:

The first notes of the Minneapolis sound were heard in a big brick house in North Minneapolis, an aging, primarily black section of town that draws outsiders only to the Terrace Theater, a movie house designed to look like a suburban backyard patio, and the Riverview Supper Club, the nightspot a black act turns to after it has polished its performance on the local chitlin circuit. North Minneapolis is a poor area by local standards, but a family with not too much money can still afford the rent on a whole house. It was there that Bernadette Anderson, who was already raising six kids of her own by herself; decided to take in a doe-eyed kid named Prince, a pal of her youngest son, Andre.

The thirteen-year-old Prince had landed on the Anderson doorstep after having been passed from his stepfather and mother's home to his dad's apartment to his aunt's house. "I was constantly running from family to family," Prince has said. "It was nice on one hand, because I always had a new family, but I didn't like being shuffled around. I was bitter for a while, but I adjusted."

His father, John Nelson, was a musician himself -- a piano player in a jazz band by night, a worker at Honeywell, the electronics company, by day. Nelson is black and Italian; his ex-wife, says Prince of his mother, "is a mixture of a bunch of things." Onstage, the father was called Prince Rogers, and that is what he named his son, Prince Rogers Nelson.

John Nelson moved out of the family home when Prince was seven. But he left behind his piano, and it became the first instrument Prince learned to play. The songs he practiced were TV themes -- Batman and The Man From U.N.C.L.E. "My first drum set was a box full of newspapers," he has said, explaining how he came to play a whole range of instruments. "At thirteen, I went to live with my aunt. She didn't have room for a piano, so my father bought me an electric guitar, and I learned how to play." But the aunt wasn't keen on the noise, and she threw him out. It was then that Prince turned up at Andre's.

Hardly into their teens, Prince and Andre (who uses the surname Cymone) had already formed their first group. Prince recalled, "I got my first band. I wanted to hear more instruments, so I started Champagne, a twelve-piece band. Only four of us played. Eight were faking. Andre and I played saxophone. I also played piano. I wrote all the music. The songs were all instrumentals. No one ever sang. When I got into high school, I started to write lyrics. I'd write the really, really vulgar stuff."

Andre, on the other hand, claims the first band had Prince playing lead guitar, Andre himself on bass guitar, his sister Linda on keyboards and the Time's Morris Day on drums. The group was called Grand Central, later renamed Champagne. The musicians all wore suede-cloth suits with their zodiac signs sewn on the back (Prince, born on June 7th, 1960, had Gemini, the twins, on his). For a time, they were managed by Morris' mother, which didn't make Prince very happy. "She wasn't fast enough for Prince," says Mrs. Anderson. "He wanted her to get them a contract right away."

The band practiced in Andre's basement, where Prince had established a bedroom of his own. "It sounded like a lot of noise" says Bernadette Anderson. "But after the first couple of years, I realized the seriousness of it. They were good kids. Girls were crazy about them."

Andre -- whose father had played bass in the Prince Rogers Band -- says that although the family was poor, Prince "dug the atmosphere. It was freedom for him." There wasn't enough money to buy records, but there was a family friend -- a reclusive black millionaire, says one source -- who gave the kids the money to go to a local studio to record a few songs. The studio they picked was called Moon Sound

OldFriends4Sale, Nice reading!

OldFriends4Sale said:

Across the street from McDonald's, Prince spies a smaller landmark.
He points to a vacant corner phone booth and remembers a teenage fight with a strict and unforgiving father.
"That's where I called my dad and begged him to take me back after he kicked me out," he begins softly.
"He said no, so I called my sister and asked her to ask him.
So she did, and afterward told me that all I had to do was call him back,
tell him I was sorry, and he's take me back.
So I did, and he still said no.
I sat crying at that phone booth for two hours.
That's the last time I cried."

Damn, thats cold!

OldFriends4Sale said:

Across the street from McDonald's, Prince spies a smaller landmark.
He points to a vacant corner phone booth and remembers a teenage fight with a strict and unforgiving father.
"That's where I called my dad and begged him to take me back after he kicked me out," he begins softly.
"He said no, so I called my sister and asked her to ask him.
So she did, and afterward told me that all I had to do was call him back,
tell him I was sorry, and he's take me back.
So I did, and he still said no.
I sat crying at that phone booth for two hours.
That's the last time I cried."

I cannot take reading stuff like that...brings me to tears. Prince didn't deserve that. Makes me love him more. Its stories like that why I can't be mad at him.. And when you've been there, it really hits home. Parents can be really mean, and they, more than anyone else, can make you close off your heart. Poor Prince, the man has had it so hard, no wonder why he keeps that stiff upper lip, he has to to protect himself... he has had so much heartbreak. Now, I'm depressed...poor Prince.