jjam said:

Militant said:

I never felt this at all. P's guitar style, as he said himself, was closer to Santana for the most part.

The only people who have brought up this comparison in conversation to me, are folks who don't know enough about black music, so they see a black man playing guitar well and automatically think of Hendrix.

If your music knowledge is more expansive, then you wouldn't do this. Hell, most of Prince's hits aren't even guitar driven songs. I struggle to see how anyone would automatically think of Hendrix when listening to 1999, Kiss, Diamonds & Pearls, TMBITW, SOTT, Raspberry Beret, When Doves Cry, Cream, Controversy, Gett Off......?

It's also hilarious that one of your examples of a Prince song that someone would struggle to identify any Hendrix influence in is When Doves Cry, considering the...well, Hendrixian intro in particular as well as the solo. Hell, he's even using one of Hendrix's trademark effects (the octaver).

I said guitar-driven songs. Read more carefully. Is WDC driven by the guitar? No.

Neversin said:

Put Carlos Santana's style and Eddie Hazel's style in a blender and you get Prince's rock guitar and not much Hendrix...

Neversin.

Agreed 100%.

The problem with the OP is way over states it. Sure Prince took some elements from Hendrix but he also took many others from others and made them his own.

Militant said:

jjam said:

I said guitar-driven songs. Read more carefully. Is WDC driven by the guitar? No.

Neversin said:

Put Carlos Santana's style and Eddie Hazel's style in a blender and you get Prince's rock guitar and not much Hendrix...

Neversin.

Agreed 100%.

Or LRC that is not driven by guitar! it was driven with s steering wheel

laytonian said:

. WTFH? So The Org is now a haven for click-bait trolling? . .

That's right. And just trolling Prince in general too.

I really wish there was an ignore poster option...I have a list of them who aren't worth the time of day

Actually, Militant, Kiss is very much a guitar driven song - the most memorable musical element is the James Brown-esque riff. Cream would be not much without the insistent chugging guitar part, and Controversy would sound pretty empty without the rhythm guitar part. And whilst When Doves Cry may not feature the guitar throughout, that's easily one of his most recognisable intros that everyone knows.

It's pretty clear that what made Prince's music unique primarily (as in before his utilising of the Linn drum machine) was his use of keyboards, in terms of mimicing typical horn line parts and the voicings. But to deny the guitar's huge role in many of his hits is shortsighted. I think he'd be pretty pissed off with this. But what do I know, I'm sure you have access to a crystal ball and can ask him about this

By the way, have you heard Bill Nelson's playing? If not, maybe get back to me when your music knowledge is more expansive.

Mumio said:

No, never once thought anything like this. Not ever.

But I'll tell you what, I am definitely embarrassed at some of the ridiculous bs that so-called fans are posting on the org lately about Prince.

haha

BobPaisleyPark said:

Prince had many influences, James Brown, Little Richard, Sly Stone, Stevie Wonder etc, etc but his devotion to Jimi Hendrix did make me cringe at times.

Trying to convince non Prince fans he was the most talented solo artist of all time was rather difficult when he was seen by many as a Hendrix rip off, a Jimi karaoke.

His dress sense, the way he played guitar, the bandanas, frilly ruffled shirts, tongue, facial expressions.

He just seemed to copy Jimi's style far too much IMHO, it's always embarrassed me for some reason.

Dancing like Brown, playing the piano like Little Richard, having a multi racial band like Sly or being a multi instrumentalist like Wonder never bothered me but his Hendrix fixation always troubled me.

With all his other influences it felt like he was paying tribute to them but with Jimi it felt different somehow, but not in a good way. Sorry, it's hard to describe, but his Hendrix infatuation never sat well with me.

Anyone else ever feel this way?

in the early days, at least in word if not in deed, he didn't give jimi any props at all, have you seen some of his interviews? He acted like Jimi wasn't an influence at all, and to be fair, his main guitar tone was, as he said, more a Santana influence. that said, i know how people have a funny way of saying one thing and doing another so no, i never bought the line that jimi wasn't an influence but it never bothered me because I loved them both and what's more, anyone who Prince liked just made me go see what he liked about them and that opened up a world of music to me.

the only thing that embarrassed me was his denial of Jimi's influence at all, that was an insult I thought. Not only wasn't it a blatant lie, it was very disrespectful of a guy who opened up doors and influenced many people, not just Prince. I actually notice not only the boas and so on of the PR era but many of the vocal mannerisms of Jimi too. However, P wasn't lying when he said that Santana was a bigger influence in his playing, I think that point was true at least for most of his career.

[Edited 8/6/17 14:55pm]

Neversin said:

Put Carlos Santana's style and Eddie Hazel's style in a blender and you get Prince's rock guitar and not much Hendrix...

Neversin.

Yes, it terms of presentation and showmanship Prince undoubtedly owed something to Jimi, but stylistically I’ve always heard Eddie in his playing.

No doubt he respected Jimi, but I’ve never felt that Prince was “infatuated” by him at all. Not sure why you’d be embarrassed by it in any case, Jimi’s influence is everywhere.

PeteSilas said:

Mumio said:

No, never once thought anything like this. Not ever.

But I'll tell you what, I am definitely embarrassed at some of the ridiculous bs that so-called fans are posting on the org lately about Prince.

haha

isn't eddie along with a whole generation of black guitarists jimi devotees? Ron Isley, some others? Funny thing is, Jimi wasn't much appreciated by some black folk at the time, I read that he came back to his High School here in Seattle and that the black kids didn't even know who he was, I think it was mentioned that he was booed too. Jimi was a freak, just like Prince, like Elvis and most of the best rockers, they don't easily fit into anyone's category.

fen said:

Neversin said:

Put Carlos Santana's style and Eddie Hazel's style in a blender and you get Prince's rock guitar and not much Hendrix...

Neversin.

Yes, it terms of presentation and showmanship Prince undoubtedly owed something to Jimi, but stylistically I’ve always heard Eddie in his playing.

No doubt he respected Jimi, but I’ve never felt that Prince was “infatuated” by him at all. Not sure why you’d be embarrassed by it in any case, Jimi’s influence is everywhere.

how can any of us forget that the signature songs of both men have "purple" in the titles, if P didn't want comparisons, he shouldn't have done those things. He could have called it anything, green rain, blue rain, charteuse rain

Never felt this way. I DID just listen to Lenny Kravitz's "Are you Gonna Go My Way?" for the first time in a long time today, and I did think that was weirdly derivative. Prince was always so firmly his own thing, it never felt like copying.

novabrkr said:

KoolEaze said:

Maybe not a "superfan" but he did mention Rundgren a couple of times.

By the way, one of Rundgren´s guitar looked a bit like a predecessor of Prince´s Symbol guitar.

When did he mention Rundgren?

I'm really curious to know. Todd's mentioned Prince several times in interviews, but I've never caught Prince mentioning Todd.

I've read a Prince interview or two where Todd's name came up.

I wouldn't say Prince overtly copped Hendrix to the exclusion of everyone else - everybody cops and cribs from everybody - but to deny the similarities is naive at best and defensive rationalization at worst. Greatest thing about Prince was that he blended so much of it into a singular, uniqe stew of influences that it came out on the other side being completely orginal again, which is what all great artists do.

I listen to Prince and I hear it ALL - Sly, James, EWF, PFunk, Jimi, MJ, Bowie, Carlos, Beatles, Zappa, Stones, Marvin, Ohio Players, Elton, Zeppelin, Miles, Joni, Dylan, T. Rex, Talking Heads, Buckethead, Sam Cooke, Little Richard, Otis...even a little Peter Gabriel and Pink Floyd from time to time. Prince was like a chef that borrowed certain recipes but usually cooked something spectacularly original in flavor.

Listening to him, it's like they somehow packed all the shit I like into a tiny little 5'2" tall high heeled dynamo of concentrated, pure, raw talent; like a tappas restaurant where everything is tasty but it's all different and you never what you're gonna get. But "Dreamer"...yeah...I like it well enough but man...anyone who hears it just goes "Hendrix" and that was one of the few times I found the work to derivative.

Lastly, being compared to Hendrix is nothiing to be "embarrassed" about so I think the OP chose thier wording poorly. I wouldn't call Prince a "Hendrix Clone" by any fucking stretch whatsoever but the comparisons are there are and rather obvious.

rogifan said:

herb4 said:

Essentially "Voodo Chile (SlightReturn)." "Dreamer" was the only ime I was like "ok, that's a bit much".

Doesn’t bother me. Obviously Hendrix was an influence. Like every heavy metal band was influenced by Zepplin or Sabbath. I don’t think Dreamer was a rip-off Voodo Chile but that’s just my opinion.

I said "cover" not "rip off'. I personally think it was an homage and a tribute. It was so obvious it had to be. Prince had ears and he knew Jimi's music.

Pete Silas, yes. Eddie loved Jimi.

And Mintchip, I agree. Prince did a great job of combining all his influences and sounding unique as opposed to being directly imitative.

Jughead now that was embarrassing!

jjam said:

It's pretty clear that what made Prince's music unique primarily (as in before his utilising of the Linn drum machine) was his use of keyboards, in terms of mimicing typical horn line parts and the voicings.

Interesting. I totally disagree. I think what primarily made Prince's music unique was the way he layered sounds in a way that often made something that sounded basically simple and repititous into a full blown composition with tons of nuance. I point specifically to the 1999 album that I can STILL here new sounds on even though the basic fundamentals of the tracks are fairl simple.

Unless you're referring to the way that Prince was able to achieve this effect by using sequencing and keyboards, in which case I apologize and agree. I always loved what I call his "mad scientist" style jams like "Judas Smile" and "Return of the Bump Squad" where headphones tell the entire story.

PeteSilas said:

how can any of us forget that the signature songs of both men have "purple" in the titles?

We didn't.

Mintchip said:

Never felt this way. I DID just listen to Lenny Kravitz's "Are you Gonna Go My Way?" for the first time in a long time today, and I did think that was weirdly derivative. Prince was always so firmly his own thing, it never felt like copying.

Lenny was a pure rip off, I never liked him, he's lucky he never got sued.

out of curiosity, where do you hear sam cooke, i always thought it was interesting that he obviously knew about him as the line in UTCM suggests but never saw much influence, especially in those days.

herb4 said:

novabrkr said:

When did he mention Rundgren?

I'm really curious to know. Todd's mentioned Prince several times in interviews, but I've never caught Prince mentioning Todd.

I've read a Prince interview or two where Todd's name came up.

I wouldn't say Prince overtly copped Hendrix to the exclusion of everyone else - everybody cops and cribs from everybody - but to deny the similarities is naive at best and defensive rationalization at worst. Greatest thing about Prince was that he blended so much of it into a singular, uniqe stew of influences that it came out on the other side being completely orginal again, which is what all great artists do.

I listen to Prince and I hear it ALL - Sly, James, EWF, PFunk, Jimi, MJ, Bowie, Carlos, Beatles, Zappa, Stones, Marvin, Ohio Players, Elton, Zeppelin, Miles, Joni, Dylan, T. Rex, Talking Heads, Buckethead, Sam Cooke, Little Richard, Otis...even a little Peter Gabriel and Pink Floyd from time to time. Prince was like a chef that borrowed certain recipes but usually cooked something spectacularly original in flavor.

Listening to him, it's like they somehow packed all the shit I like into a tiny little 5'2" tall high heeled dynamo of concentrated, pure, raw talent; like a tappas restaurant where everything is tasty but it's all different and you never what you're gonna get. But "Dreamer"...yeah...I like it well enough but man...anyone who hears it just goes "Hendrix" and that was one of the few times I found the work to derivative.

Lastly, being compared to Hendrix is nothiing to be "embarrassed" about so I think the OP chose thier wording poorly. I wouldn't call Prince a "Hendrix Clone" by any fucking stretch whatsoever but the comparisons are there are and rather obvious.

The first time I ever heard a noticeable Hendrix influence in Prince's music was on the instrumental part at the end of 'I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man' on the Sign O' The Times album. Other than that, the 'Purple' reference ('Purple Haze'), their love of hats and the similarities in the textiles used in some of their outfits, I see all this more as an inspiration taken from the seventies as a whole rather than a deliberate imitation of someone's style in particular.

On a side note, perhaps the song 'Moonbeam Levels' was a reference to the 'moonbeams' mentioned in Jimi's Little Wings:

"Well, she's walking through the clouds,
With a circus mind that's running wild,
Butterflies and Zebras,
And Moonbeams and fairy tales.
That's all she ever thinks about.
Riding with the wind."

But as others have said, I think there is a much stronger influence from Carlos Santana in his music in general.

PeteSilas said:

out of curiosity, where do you hear sam cooke, i always thought it was interesting that he obviously knew about him as the line in UTCM suggests but never saw much influence, especially in those days.

herb4 said:

I've read a Prince interview or two where Todd's name came up.

I wouldn't say Prince overtly copped Hendrix to the exclusion of everyone else - everybody cops and cribs from everybody - but to deny the similarities is naive at best and defensive rationalization at worst. Greatest thing about Prince was that he blended so much of it into a singular, uniqe stew of influences that it came out on the other side being completely orginal again, which is what all great artists do.

I listen to Prince and I hear it ALL - Sly, James, EWF, PFunk, Jimi, MJ, Bowie, Carlos, Beatles, Zappa, Stones, Marvin, Ohio Players, Elton, Zeppelin, Miles, Joni, Dylan, T. Rex, Talking Heads, Buckethead, Sam Cooke, Little Richard, Otis...even a little Peter Gabriel and Pink Floyd from time to time. Prince was like a chef that borrowed certain recipes but usually cooked something spectacularly original in flavor.

Listening to him, it's like they somehow packed all the shit I like into a tiny little 5'2" tall high heeled dynamo of concentrated, pure, raw talent; like a tappas restaurant where everything is tasty but it's all different and you never what you're gonna get. But "Dreamer"...yeah...I like it well enough but man...anyone who hears it just goes "Hendrix" and that was one of the few times I found the work to derivative.

Lastly, being compared to Hendrix is nothiing to be "embarrassed" about so I think the OP chose thier wording poorly. I wouldn't call Prince a "Hendrix Clone" by any fucking stretch whatsoever but the comparisons are there are and rather obvious.

The ballads mostly and some of the lighter breezier pop songs. "Summertime" comes immediately to mind in terms of song structure anyway.

Purplebflogirl said:

I don't think he was overly devoted to Jimi.. I am a fan of Jim's music also but in reality wasn't P more talented?

Definitely. Plus Prince had the longevity.

sag10 said:

Wtf? Prince was his own person.

Who said he wasn't? We're discussing the range of influences.

Jimi Hendrix in particular.

[Edited 8/6/17 18:07pm]

OnlyNDaUsa said:

Prince did have some similar aspect of style as Hendrix but most of it is in the mind of one that doesn't really know both of their catalogs...most of it is in their minds....

LOL. Not really. The similarites are blatantly there.

Purplebflogirl said:

I don't think he was overly devoted to Jimi.. I am a fan of Jim's music also but in reality wasn't P more talented? He played many instruments,wrote,produced etc

more ambitious certainly, he wasn't gifted in every area he tried and yet he still managed to be great in most of them. Jimi gets shortchanged because all people think of is him and his guitar playing, his songwriting was great, his revolutionary use of the studio was great, he was a great showman. Not a great singer, outside of that, he belongs in the top ten list of anyone in rock history.

herb4 said:

PeteSilas said:

out of curiosity, where do you hear sam cooke, i always thought it was interesting that he obviously knew about him as the line in UTCM suggests but never saw much influence, especially in those days.

The ballads mostly and some of the lighter breezier pop songs. "Summertime" comes immediately to mind in terms of song structure anyway.

i guess your're right, i just thought of the Ohhh-ooh-woo-ooh-ooh in the most beatiful girl in the world, that's pure sam he sang in his falsetto so i never thought of it like that.