Love In the Age of Prince

Loving and losing a Prince fan:

I asked, “So what’s your favorite Prince song?”

Looking up as though realizing she was being challenged, Lesley replied, “I love Prince’s music, but I suppose, at least for today, I’ll say my favorite is ‘How Come U Don’t Call Me Anymore?’ Do you know that one?”

“Of course I know,” I said, “it’s the B-side of ‘1999.’”

“Yeah, but do you know the Stephanie Mills version?” Now it was my turn to laugh, because obviously my Prince test was being put back on me.

“I never owned it, but I used to play it in a jukebox at a bar uptown.”

“I guess that’s good enough,” she replied. Jesus, I thought, not only was she fine as peach wine, but she knows about Prince B-sides and the people that covered them. Minutes later, when it was time for me to leave, I told her I’d be happy to interview her clients Downtown Science and would call her the following day.

Excellent essay, thank you. Someone posted an excerpt of this last week, I think, but I didn't read the whole thing. Now I did and it's a moving piece, with Prince as the backstory.