I know I didn't care one way or the other. I did think it was tacky ten years later when he was up on the stage for the "reunion" when first, he wasn't part of the original and second, he had theat stupid lollipop in his mouth. If he didn't give a fuck, he should have just stayed in his seat.

This idea that the article has that it "stopped" other artists from gushing about his genius is demonstrably wrong.

Here's a small list of artists I put together a while back who are on record calling Prince a genius or saying that they are huge fans.

Pay attention to not the quantity - but the range of different backgrounds and different types of music that these people make. Name one other artist who can name such a diverse group of people as being fans of his.

?uestlove. Q-Tip. 2Pac. Ozzy Osbourne. Mick Jagger. Pete Townshend. Pharrell Williams. Little Richard. Maceo Parker. George Clinton. James Brown. Whitney Houston. Elton John. Miles Davis. Alicia Keys. Eric Clapton. Janet Jackson. Andre 3000. Randy Newman. Billy Corgan. Red Hot Chilli Peppers. Brandon Boyd. Freddie Mercury. Timbaland. Herbie Hancock. Joni Mitchell. Bruce Springsteen. Dave Grohl. Nina Simone. Bob Dylan. R Kelly. Lenny Kravitz. Macy Gray. D’Angelo. TLC. Gwen Stefani. Tony Kanal. Cyndi Lauper. Puff Daddy. Steve Vai. Chaka Khan. Larry Graham. Will.I.Am. Michael Jackson. Duff McKagan. Trent Reznor. Slash. Michael Hutchence. Cee-Lo. Adam Levine. Stevie Wonder. Robin Thicke. Steven Tyler. Bono. Carlos Santana. Rihanna. Tricky. Kylie Minogue. Darren Hayes. Mariah Carey. Stevie Nicks. Ice Cube. Nas. The Jonas Brothers. Beyonce. Jay-Z. Boy George. Quincy Jones. Marilyn Manson. David Lee Roth. Juan Atkins. Rob Zombie. Ne-Yo. Daft Punk.

Militant said:

This idea that the article has that it "stopped" other artists from gushing about his genius is demonstrably wrong.

Here's a small list of artists I put together a while back who are on record calling Prince a genius or saying that they are huge fans.

Pay attention to not the quantity - but the range of different backgrounds and different types of music that these people make. Name one other artist who can name such a diverse group of people as being fans of his.

?uestlove. Q-Tip. 2Pac. Ozzy Osbourne. Mick Jagger. Pete Townshend. Pharrell Williams. Little Richard. Maceo Parker. George Clinton. James Brown. Whitney Houston. Elton John. Miles Davis. Alicia Keys. Eric Clapton. Janet Jackson. Andre 3000. Randy Newman. Billy Corgan. Red Hot Chilli Peppers. Brandon Boyd. Freddie Mercury. Timbaland. Herbie Hancock. Joni Mitchell. Bruce Springsteen. Dave Grohl. Nina Simone. Bob Dylan. R Kelly. Lenny Kravitz. Macy Gray. D’Angelo. TLC. Gwen Stefani. Tony Kanal. Cyndi Lauper. Puff Daddy. Steve Vai. Chaka Khan. Larry Graham. Will.I.Am. Michael Jackson. Duff McKagan. Trent Reznor. Slash. Michael Hutchence. Cee-Lo. Adam Levine. Stevie Wonder. Robin Thicke. Steven Tyler. Bono. Carlos Santana. Rihanna. Tricky. Kylie Minogue. Darren Hayes. Mariah Carey. Stevie Nicks. Ice Cube. Nas. The Jonas Brothers. Beyonce. Jay-Z. Boy George. Quincy Jones. Marilyn Manson. David Lee Roth. Juan Atkins. Rob Zombie. Ne-Yo. Daft Punk.

I think the article meant at that time, that year.

If Prince-as-bad-boy meant he blew off the We Are the World session, I was fine with that. Much better than what went for bad boy behavior back then: usually involving copious amounts of illicit drugs, which would have probably gone down fine with his critics. "We don't mind if you snort this boat load of coke, but just come sing this charity song."

ufoclub said:

The world did turn on him. I can confirm that everyone I knew in high school and their parents were talking shit about Prince after this bad press came out. And tons of people never got back into him and kept a negative feeling in their head about him being arrogant and selfish. Him keeping a low profile on his charity work (which was extensive in my opinion) didn't help. This was like him having a blowout A race. Sure he could replace the tire, but it killed the pop momentum he had going with mainstream folk.

*

I can't speak for the whole/entire world, but in my neck of the woods people were more concerned with how different Around the World in a Day, Parade, and Under the Cherry Moon were and not so concerned with his not appearing on "We Are the World". As such, the moment Sign "O" the Times was released he was a "star" again. So, not performing on "We Are the World" was merely confirmation to many that Prince was a jerk/dick, but after Purple Rain, as others have stated, his fame/popularlity was bound to decrease, especially since Prince never desired to chase the level of fame/popularity of MJ. So, it seems that the issue in this article/book is that Leeds and others are moreso pissed that Prince wasn't willing to be/become the "star" that they wanted him to be and was more concerned with being the person/artist that he wanted to be. Clearly, Prince didn't care about the reaction to not participating on "We Are the World," so if Prince didn't care about the reaction, what's the point of this section/excerpt other than to belittle Prince for not being what others wanted/want him to be?

1725topp said:

ufoclub said:

The world did turn on him. I can confirm that everyone I knew in high school and their parents were talking shit about Prince after this bad press came out. And tons of people never got back into him and kept a negative feeling in their head about him being arrogant and selfish. Him keeping a low profile on his charity work (which was extensive in my opinion) didn't help. This was like him having a blowout A race. Sure he could replace the tire, but it killed the pop momentum he had going with mainstream folk.

*

I can't speak for the whole/entire world, but in my neck of the woods people were more concerned with how different Around the World in a Day, Parade, and Under the Cherry Moon were and not so concerned with his not appearing on "We Are the World". As such, the moment Sign "O" the Times was released he was a "star" again. So, not performing on "We Are the World" was merely confirmation to many that Prince was a jerk/dick, but after Purple Rain, as others have stated, his fame/popularlity was bound to decrease, especially since Prince never desired to chase the level of fame/popularity of MJ. So, it seems that the issue in this article/book is that Leeds and others are moreso pissed that Prince wasn't willing to be/become the "star" that they wanted him to be and was more concerned with being the person/artist that he wanted to be. Clearly, Prince didn't care about the reaction to not participating on "We Are the World," so if Prince didn't care about the reaction, what's the point of this section/excerpt other than to belittle Prince for not being what others wanted/want him to be?

I think Prince did care, or else why would he have done a Rolling Stone interview to help his image, a quick music video and song for inclusion in USA for Africa, and then a lyrical defense in "Hello"? Also his lack of promo for Around the World in a Day followed the We Are the World incident. I think he was treading lightly on purpose, trying to avoid the backlash that comes after a popular peak from overexposure. But don't fool yourself for a minute into thinking he wasn't alway hoping get a big audience. He is always trying to do both: artistic cred and pop cred.

This article is simply going over what happened that year. I know in the school cafeteria in 1985, we were talking about this and we were hearing the radio DJ rant and reading the newspaper blurbs about the whole bodyguard thing. I still remember one of my friend's father talking about how much he hated Prince after this.

But we still liked him!

LeRoy said:

The SNL video:

http://www.dailymotion.co...n-mr-t_fun

this is hilarious

ufoclub said:

1725topp said:

*

I can't speak for the whole/entire world, but in my neck of the woods people were more concerned with how different Around the World in a Day, Parade, and Under the Cherry Moon were and not so concerned with his not appearing on "We Are the World". As such, the moment Sign "O" the Times was released he was a "star" again. So, not performing on "We Are the World" was merely confirmation to many that Prince was a jerk/dick, but after Purple Rain, as others have stated, his fame/popularlity was bound to decrease, especially since Prince never desired to chase the level of fame/popularity of MJ. So, it seems that the issue in this article/book is that Leeds and others are moreso pissed that Prince wasn't willing to be/become the "star" that they wanted him to be and was more concerned with being the person/artist that he wanted to be. Clearly, Prince didn't care about the reaction to not participating on "We Are the World," so if Prince didn't care about the reaction, what's the point of this section/excerpt other than to belittle Prince for not being what others wanted/want him to be?

I think Prince did care, or else why would he have done a Rolling Stone interview to help his image, a quick music video and song for inclusion in USA for Africa, and then a lyrical defense in "Hello"? Also his lack of promo for Around the World in a Day followed the We Are the World incident. I think he was treading lightly on purpose, trying to avoid the backlash that comes after a popular peak from overexposure. But don't fool yourself for a minute into thinking he wasn't alway hoping get a big audience. He is always trying to do both: artistic cred and pop cred.

This article is simply going over what happened that year. I know in the school cafeteria in 1985, we were talking about this and we were hearing the radio DJ rant and reading the newspaper blurbs about the whole bodyguard thing. I still remember one of my friend's father talking about how much he hated Prince after this.

But we still liked him!

*

I understand what you are saying, but I think there is a difference between Prince saying "Okay, it's a cool project and I'll lend a song" than Prince saying "Oh, my God, I'm so upset that people are pissed about me not doing 'We Are the World'". It just seems that Prince was seeming to say I'll participate on my terms and damn if anybody has issues with it. As for wanting "street cred" and "pop cred," again, based on his career, Prince has seemingly sought both on his own terms. So, I'm not saying that Prince didn't/doesn't want "street cred" or "pop cred," but based on what other people call erractic actions, he's seemed to pursue both on his terms. As for the Rolling Stone interview, while Prince has done fewer interviews that most "pop" artists, I don't know if the Rolling Stone interview told me much more about Prince than the interviews during the Dirty Mind promotion, and "Hello" is more of an "Eff y'all" than something to repair his image, and, while he is responding to the media, in general, he seems more specifically to be responding to Bob Geldof who raised the most hell about Prince not participating. So, "Hello" was not designed to calm the waters. If more people would have listened to the lyrics, they would have found him as defiant as ever.

*

Again, I just remember the people in my high school and city being more "put off" by Around the World in a Day, Parade, and Under the Cherry Moon, than his not performing on "We Are the World" or the bodyguard incident. I'm not saying that his not performing on "We Are the World" didn't impact his fame/popularity, but I'm saying that I don't think Prince cared and that Prince was never--or never intended to be--the type of artists that was going to sell 10 million albums consistently so people being angry about that issue would not register enough for Prince to engage in "damage control". A man who releases Around the World in a Day after Purple Rain, especially when the world is waiting for/demanding Purple Rain 2 does not seem like a person that interested in damage control.

*

So, I guess my issue with the excerpt is not that Leeds is just explaining what happened, but that he seems to be painting Prince as someone who was impacted by the backlash in a major way, and that just seems a bit revisionist to me, at least based on Prince's then and ongoing actions/decisions.

"The World Turned on Prince"??/

No they fucking didn't.

Maybe a few fairweather fans in the USA, but that's it.

What an exaggeration of events.

Militant said:

"The World Turned on Prince"??/

No they fucking didn't.

Maybe a few fairweather fans in the USA, but that's it.

What an exaggeration of events.

I agree. Whatever the case may be, sounds like Prince has managed to release records and sell out arenas after the Day That Will Live In Princely Infamy.

I liked Databank's comment on the Emancipation thread and it's something I've often pointed out. From a musicologist's perspective, Prince is an ideal composer to study for so many reasons, and from what we've seen with other composers of his stature, several of the qualms held by contemporaries will be blamed on changing tastes but the body of work hailed as a whole.

4 The Tears In Your Eyes is a pop gem, maybe the best Christian Rock Single of all times.
It's one of his best vocal deliveries ever.

We Are The World is a schmalzy, pompous anthem, horribly produced and mixed. Only Springsteen, Wonder and Charles try at the end to save the thing from a total wreck.

I am a guy who puts masterpieces on B sides (God) and I have to sing next to greasy Huey Lewis? No thanks.

Big Fat America is what it is, and always be (Godforbid).

Not a single media at the time to evoke the fact that the Purple Rain Tour included several benefit shows (handicapped kids come to mind), and had one in his hometown with thousand of people bringing food cans?

No, because no one, including Alan Leeds and the Bob George Crew, thought charity is something to publicize.

I say Fuck'em.

At the time it undoubtaby caused a backlash in the media. He was slagged off for not being a part of it. It gave the media a lot to play with, he never came over as a people person and to the media back then it was easy to point out the many ways Prince had dissapeared up his own arse. Once he offered up the song it could have been the end of it...

... Then he turned up for the live performance at that award show and proceeded not to sing. Which just made him look a tit. It was funny if you knew the joke, but funny for all the wrong reasons.

I know some media attached to the We Are the World song tried to blackball him, but I don't think the world turned on Prince, I mean that town in the mid west where he previed UTCM those cowboys and girls were loving him.

The press was just waiting for an event to start a backlash against . He was so BAD ASS 4 not doing it ! Eye still applaud him 4 not showing up & saying no to Quincy Jones!. Other artist right in that "We Are The World" room have done far worst then that. was right! "its just enough hunger here @ home"....

Plus was NOT going to gather in a room and sing a song written by MJ & Lionel Richie!

Also was & still is a unique artist, that is not of this earth. Most of those artist no one even talks about anymore...

Sheila E was his protege so he sent her instead.

Don't they know that when someone from Prince's camp shows up

that Uptown has entered the room?

I remember it very clearly.

Previous to the event, EVERYBODY was gushing over Prince. I remember all my schoolmates talking about how cool his hair was , and going on and on about the scene in PR where he gets up on the piano during the performance of Let's Go Crazy, etc.

The tour was the hottest ticket in town too. I mean, Prince was just on fire.


Then, that happenned. The reaction was swift, and overwhelming. The radios stopped gushing over him and starting running all sorts of crazy negative things about him. Kids at school started talking about rumors like:

1. Prince has AIDS

2. Prince worships satan (I'm not joking)

3. Prince claims to be God

and, so forth.

It was a very crazy time in the 80s.

Prince has had many peaks and valleys. But the peaks get lower, and the valleys get wider. I mean, here's a guy that went on to change his name to a symbol, then to suing his fans, then to alienating his enormous gay following within about a 15 year stretch.

The fact he can sell 50,000 albums now is a small miracle.

[Edited 10/25/14 20:03pm]

ufoclub said:

Here's what Saturday Night Live had to say about it at the time:

[img:$uid]http://img.phot.../img:$uid]

http://www.dailymotion.co...n-mr-t_fun

Does anyone remember the Bob Hope Special where he ran a fake news report on Prince?

Morgan Fairchild was the "news reporter."

And, I'm paraphrasing:

"Prince announced today that he was engaged......to himself. He asked for his reaction to the proposal, he responded, I was kind of hoping the ring would be larger...."

When Raspberry Beret came out after the WARW situation everyone was singing his purple praises

Everyone in school at the time were singing and playing the new Prince song on the radio

Raspberry Beret received Best Contemporary Video award for 1985 and Best Performance by Duo/Group 1985

I don't think he should have done "We Are The World" especially considering the reveal later of how little money actually went to the assistance of folks in Africa.

Prince's various other charities (to causes in the US) would later earn him a prize on VH1 and be spoken about by various sources (though nowhere near as loudly as the way the media turned on him in 85).

I also think, as a musician of his skill, he should not have participated in crap--We are the World is absolutely crap as a song.

Prince would go on later to produce his own crap--but, at least it was his crap to make.

OldFriends4Sale said:

Sheila E was his protege so he sent her instead.

Don't they know that when someone from Prince's camp shows up

that Uptown has entered the room?

yeah,I think he sent Sheila as a way to represent his camp.