violetcrush said:

jfenster said:

but didnt his leap start on the purple rain album?

Maybe, but it was a gentle quieter leap mixed in with all of the many provocative and sexual songs. He was still young, foul-mouthed and doing his rock star thing. He wasn't doing the "preacher" thing in his songs or at his shows. He did during LoveSexy, but that was also part of the theatrics of the show - first half performing all of his yummy smutty songs (Head, Sister, Erotic City, Bob George...ahhh sigh) to the second half peforming the more spiritual songs (The Cross, I Wish U Heaven, Lovesexy, etc). So, the crowd got the best of both worlds AND that amazing solo piano medley too!!

i hardly think that was a quiet leap....all but 2 songs were

violetcrush said:

The only thing we have to be careful of with "Love Thy Will Be Done" is that the lyrics, while added to by Prince, came from a book of poems/lyrics written by Martika. The writing credit is to both Prince and Martika. Regardless, the lyrics resonated with Prince and were important to him at the time, so he added to them and wrote the music. It is an exceptionaly beautiful song.

.....He played it all out for us in his songs.... So, I think he was always thinking about, and then writing songs about his struggle between the spiritual and the secular.

Cheers for that reminder - and yes LTWBD is an exceptional and moving song imho. As you say Prince layed his struggle all out for all to see in his lyrics - I think the struggle was real - it certainly was evident in lyrics right through his work over the decades.

jfenster said:

violetcrush said:

Maybe, but it was a gentle quieter leap mixed in with all of the many provocative and sexual songs. He was still young, foul-mouthed and doing his rock star thing. He wasn't doing the "preacher" thing in his songs or at his shows. He did during LoveSexy, but that was also part of the theatrics of the show - first half performing all of his yummy smutty songs (Head, Sister, Erotic City, Bob George...ahhh sigh) to the second half peforming the more spiritual songs (The Cross, I Wish U Heaven, Lovesexy, etc). So, the crowd got the best of both worlds AND that amazing solo piano medley too!!

i hardly think that was a quiet leap....all but 2 songs were

All but two songs were...what?? Not sure what you mean. I'm saying it was a "quiet leap", because he was still being "Prince" - the sexy, foul-mouthed, provocative rock star that we came to know and love. He was not changing his lyrics to "duck" instead of "fuck" or refusing to perform Head. He was not preaching - and by that I mean speaking - to his audiences about the specifics of his faith, except to say "come on, can you all sing that?? "God is love, love is God, girls and boys love God above..."

*

He was still gyrating to, and thrusting on the ground to his more sexual songs - like the many thrusts he did in skin tight pants when peforming Electric Man in the middle of The ? of U - holy crap I could watch that over and over

*

Then, we get songs like Sexy MF, Pheromone, The Continental, and I would be remiss to leave out Violet The Organ Grinder... YASSSS!! And I won't even get into the Come album

*

So, nah, his spiritual/religious stuff in the 80's and early 90's was tame compared to the heavy JW period.

[Edited 9/30/19 14:14pm]

mk456 said:

violetcrush said:

The only thing we have to be careful of with "Love Thy Will Be Done" is that the lyrics, while added to by Prince, came from a book of poems/lyrics written by Martika. The writing credit is to both Prince and Martika. Regardless, the lyrics resonated with Prince and were important to him at the time, so he added to them and wrote the music. It is an exceptionaly beautiful song.

.....He played it all out for us in his songs.... So, I think he was always thinking about, and then writing songs about his struggle between the spiritual and the secular.

Cheers for that reminder - and yes LTWBD is an exceptional and moving song imho. As you say Prince layed his struggle all out for all to see in his lyrics - I think the struggle was real - it certainly was evident in lyrics right through his work over the decades.

violetcrush said:

Did we listen to the same Prince in the 80''s and early 90's??? His music was far from "causing death" to his fans.

I never said that. I said he possibly saw it that way later on, and noted examples why. And I meant spiritual death (ie: singing about "Head" is encouraging someone to be closer to God, which was his push from 2000 onward).

jfenster said:

but didnt his leap start on the purple rain album?

How so? He touched on religion as far as back "Controversy" when he was quoting the Lord's prayer in it, plus naming a song "Annie Christian" is equally provocative.

OperatingThetan said:

An interesting and provocative article. What I will add, as a former Jehovah's Witness, is that the majority of Prince's lyrics and statements regarding the faith were subject to his own interpretation.

Thanks for reading. I love your username, by the way. Always have.

And yeah, I never took Prince's preaching as direct truth of the JW faith. Anything that Prince experiences is certainly redistributed through his own unique filter once it hits our ears. But no matter, he has dogmatic and browbeating about it for quite a while.

OperatingThetan said:

An interesting and provocative article. What I will add, as a former Jehovah's Witness, is that the majority of Prince's lyrics and statements regarding the faith were subject to his own interpretation. What he presented was in actuality his own personal hybrid, that differs from official JW doctrines, particularly in his tendency to blend JW beliefs with more Eastern spiritual concepts, many of which (the third eye, energy fields, the Akashic Records, chakra points, etc.) would be unacceptable for a regular, 'rank and file' JW to espouse. In addition, Prince linked his faith to interpretations of politics, history and government, that are generally strongly discouraged among Jehovah's Witnesses who are politically neutral. While Larry Graham spoke of his faith and engaged Prince in Bible Studies, as is typical of any Jehovah's Witness to any interested person (the perogative of the Jehovah's Witness is to witness), the beliefs Prince came away with were very much his own blend and were possibly 'tolerated' due to his fame and stature. Larry witnessing to Prince was not exceptional at all. He merely did as he was trained in terms of the studies themselves and followed the tenets of a faith he clearly has a strong conviction in. Jehovah's Witness Elders and study conductors are unpaid and all donations go directly to the Watchtower Society, so Larry's only possible financial motive would be the boost to his musical and touring career, which did not require the need for Bible studies or a spiritual relationship. Chaka Khan also released an album and toured with Prince in the same year with no religious connotations whatsoever. * [Edited 9/30/19 13:09pm] [Edited 9/30/19 13:10pm]

Thanks for your insight...

TrivialPursuit said:

violetcrush said:

Did we listen to the same Prince in the 80''s and early 90's??? His music was far from "causing death" to his fans.

I never said that. I said he possibly saw it that way later on, and noted examples why. And I meant spiritual death (ie: singing about "Head" is encouraging someone to be closer to God, which was his push from 2000 onward).

Sorry, I was actually responding to Purplefam99's post. My reply #51 was to her/him.

[Edited 9/30/19 14:49pm]

PeggyO said:

If I may jump in, I wonder if one of the photos Herb4 is referring to is cover photo for the book, "I Would Die 4 u" by Toure.

I also noted the 'flatness' of his eyes in some of the 2015 American Music Award photos.

Well, that book came out in 2013, so the photo is before that. I don't think he looked quite as flat in that photo. It seemed that he still had a perm in his hair, and he had been growing that afro since late 2011 or early 2012. So the photo was taken 2011 at the latest, I believe. Unless I'm just off on those dates, but I don't think I am.

You know what it is about that photo? It's just too damn close! haha It's like that shot in Under The Cherry Moon. That Bela Lugosi angle ain't good for anyone.

If we're quoting lyrics, Still Would Stand All Time immediately comes to mind. He used God/Love interchangably in his work. Change some of the Loves to God and you have one of his most preachy songs long before he ever talked to Larry Graham. You can also see how JW doctine would appeal to him in the future.

It's just around the corner, it's just around the block
This love that I've been waiting for, a Love solid as rock
A Love that reaffirms that we are not alone
A Love so bright inside you it glows
And night and day would run together, and all things would be fine
Still would stand all hate around us
Still would stand all time
Still would stand all time

It's not a thousand years away, it's not that far my brother
When men will fight injustice instead of one another
Its not that far if we all say yes and only try
Then Heaven on Earth we will find

(all time)
(still, still would stand all time)

No one man will be ruler, therefore God must rule us all
Dishonesty, anger, fear, jealousy and greed will fall
God can save us all

Oh, God, God, oh God if you would just please give us a sign
(Still would stand all time)
Heaven (heaven on Earth)

we all want to find (we all want to find it)
Still (still) would stand all time

We aren't alone people (we're not alone)
Tell me can you see the light (can you see the light)
If you just open your eyes (still would stand all time)
So much you will know, so much you will show
Love, Love, Love

Its not that far away if we all say yes and give it a try
(Got to give it...a try...yes!) still would stand all time (I say still)

(So many times) So many times, I thought I could not make it
Life was closing in, I just knew, I just knew I couldn't take it
That's when God opened it's arms, and if you dont go in child
Still would stand all time (still would stand all time)
You better run to the light, leave your past behind
All things will be fine
Still would stand all time

[Edited 9/30/19 14:55pm]

violetcrush said:

TrivialPursuit said:

I never said that. I said he possibly saw it that way later on, and noted examples why. And I meant spiritual death (ie: singing about "Head" is encouraging someone to be closer to God, which was his push from 2000 onward).

Sorry, I was actually responding to Purplefam99's post. My reply #51 was to her/him.

Still makes for a good part of the conversation. haha

TrivialPursuit said:

PeggyO said:

If I may jump in, I wonder if one of the photos Herb4 is referring to is cover photo for the book, "I Would Die 4 u" by Toure.

I also noted the 'flatness' of his eyes in some of the 2015 American Music Award photos.

Well, that book came out in 2013, so the photo is before that. I don't think he looked quite as flat in that photo. It seemed that he still had a perm in his hair, and he had been growing that afro since late 2011 or early 2012. So the photo was taken 2011 at the latest, I believe. Unless I'm just off on those dates, but I don't think I am.

You know what it is about that photo? It's just too damn close! haha It's like that shot in Under The Cherry Moon. That Bela Lugosi angle ain't good for anyone.

barnswallow said:

In the New York Times' the 'Prince Investigation Files' (April 20, 2018), it speaks of the 'suitcase contents' (p. 130, #46) in the Mirror Room (somewhere in PP). One item was a book: 'Genesis Giants 6' by Stephen Quayle. I started an on-line search of the book but I didn't want to open the links since they seemed to be sites with a level of kookiness that I prefer to avoid. The only link I opened was the 'Amazon books' one, which didn't provide much insight. Was this a book he read? Maybe it was just a book that someone (an acquaintance? a fan?) passed to him, and he tossed into his suitcase. Does anyone know anything about it? Would a JW read such a book? Would that sort of topic be off-limits?

P.S. I've been enjoying Trivial Pursuit's essay. Thanks for posting! I haven't encountered 'One Song' yet... I'll look for it.

I believe it is a JW doctrine/story. Here is a link to the simplified story:

*

https://www.jw.org/en/publications/books/bible-stories/1/giants-in-the-earth/

*

Here is the beginning:

*

Giants in the Earth

PeggyO said:

TrivialPursuit said:

Well, that book came out in 2013, so the photo is before that. I don't think he looked quite as flat in that photo. It seemed that he still had a perm in his hair, and he had been growing that afro since late 2011 or early 2012. So the photo was taken 2011 at the latest, I believe. Unless I'm just off on those dates, but I don't think I am.

You know what it is about that photo? It's just too damn close! haha It's like that shot in Under The Cherry Moon. That Bela Lugosi angle ain't good for anyone.

Ha ha. "Bella" looks very alive and well here.

I still think there was a 'flatness' in that cover photo that may not be related to 'being too close'. I have some ideas but don't wish to de-rail further.

Strive said:

If we're quoting lyrics, Still Would Stand All Time immediately comes to mind. He used God/Love interchangably in his work. Change some of the Loves to God and you have one of his most preachy songs long before he ever talked to Larry Graham. You can also see how JW doctine would appeal to him in the future.

It's just around the corner, it's just around the block
This love that I've been waiting for, a Love solid as rock
A Love that reaffirms that we are not alone
A Love so bright inside you it glows
And night and day would run together, and all things would be fine
Still would stand all hate around us
Still would stand all time
Still would stand all time

It's not a thousand years away, it's not that far my brother
When men will fight injustice instead of one another
Its not that far if we all say yes and only try
Then Heaven on Earth we will find

(all time)
(still, still would stand all time)

No one man will be ruler, therefore God must rule us all
Dishonesty, anger, fear, jealousy and greed will fall
God can save us all

Oh, God, God, oh God if you would just please give us a sign
(Still would stand all time)
Heaven (heaven on Earth)

we all want to find (we all want to find it)
Still (still) would stand all time

We aren't alone people (we're not alone)
Tell me can you see the light (can you see the light)
If you just open your eyes (still would stand all time)
So much you will know, so much you will show
Love, Love, Love

Its not that far away if we all say yes and give it a try
(Got to give it...a try...yes!) still would stand all time (I say still)

(So many times) So many times, I thought I could not make it
Life was closing in, I just knew, I just knew I couldn't take it
That's when God opened it's arms, and if you dont go in child
Still would stand all time (still would stand all time)
You better run to the light, leave your past behind
All things will be fine
Still would stand all time

[Edited 9/30/19 14:55pm]

Well....while he did move this song in a spiritual direction for GB, when he sang this during his very poplular '88 aftershow at Paard Von Troje and also at his Hamburg aftershow, he sang it as a man waiting for a woman who would become his greatest love.

*

"If you're out there baby, give me a sign...I don't care the color of your hair...." He was singing that time would stand still if/when he met the right woman.

*

So, it appears that this song was converted from being about a potential female love interest to a song about God's love to fit the GB film

PeggyO said:

TrivialPursuit said:

Well, that book came out in 2013, so the photo is before that. I don't think he looked quite as flat in that photo. It seemed that he still had a perm in his hair, and he had been growing that afro since late 2011 or early 2012. So the photo was taken 2011 at the latest, I believe. Unless I'm just off on those dates, but I don't think I am.

You know what it is about that photo? It's just too damn close! haha It's like that shot in Under The Cherry Moon. That Bela Lugosi angle ain't good for anyone.

I think you are correct on the Toure book photo. It seems to be from the 2010 - early 2011 time period. It's a bit too close, I agree. I do like his eyes in that shot though - very piercing.

violetcrush said:

Well....while he did move this song in a spiritual direction for GB, when he sang this during his very poplular '88 aftershow at Paard Von Troje and also at his Hamburg aftershow, he sang it as a man waiting for a woman who would become his greatest love.

*

"If you're out there baby, give me a sign...I don't care the color of your hair...." He was singing that time would stand still if/when he met the right woman.

*

So, it appears that this song was converted from being about a potential female love interest to a song about God's love to fit the GB film

Well, flip side, he did the same thing to The One but in reverse

GW: Have any lyrics of yours acquired new meaning to you with the passage of time?

0{+> : Yes, my current single, "The One." That went from a love song to a song about respect for the Creator -- God. The lyrics' meaning changed for me after reading the New World translation of the Bible [the Jehovah's Witness translation]. It has to be the New World translation because that's the original one; later translations have been tampered with in order to protect the guilty. There's a Garden-of-Eden feel to "The One." It's about following the highest ideal, and about living up to the goals of the apex, the Creator, "the One."

https://sites.google.com/site/themusicinterviewarchive/prince/prince-1998-guitar-world-interview

PeggyO said:

Ha ha. "Bella" looks very alive and well here.

I still think there was a 'flatness' in that cover photo that may not be related to 'being too close'. I have some ideas but don't wish to de-rail further.

Bela knew how to do a close up. Prince definitely didn't. haha

Verbose!
When is the article ever gonna get to the point! I stopped reading because I got bored.
[Edited 9/30/19 16:28pm]

Strive said:

violetcrush said:

Well, flip side, he did the same thing to The One but in reverse

GW: Have any lyrics of yours acquired new meaning to you with the passage of time?

0{+> : Yes, my current single, "The One." That went from a love song to a song about respect for the Creator -- God. The lyrics' meaning changed for me after reading the New World translation of the Bible [the Jehovah's Witness translation]. It has to be the New World translation because that's the original one; later translations have been tampered with in order to protect the guilty. There's a Garden-of-Eden feel to "The One." It's about following the highest ideal, and about living up to the goals of the apex, the Creator, "the One."

https://sites.google.com/site/themusicinterviewarchive/prince/prince-1998-guitar-world-interview

Ha, good find! But I think with The One it's the same conversion - first written for a female subject then converted to God as the subject. Although, in the original context of The One he was singing about himself in terms of how wonderful it is to be loved by him:

*

But if you're lookin' for a man that'll
Sweep you off your tired, weary feet
Pay your bills, buy you pretty dresses
And take you anywhere you wanna eat
Make love to you every night of the week
Oh, don't think it over, girl

Look no further
I am the one
Oh yes I am

Vannormal said:

-

I'm only interested in 13.000 words of bashing Prince's religious era.

-

Should i say, lol ?

-

What;s your point? How did the author "bash Prince"?

herb4 said:

I think Vannormal was not referring to the OP’s piece, but joking and saying he or she is only interested in reading words that bash that JW time period.

violetcrush said:

Ha, good find! But I think with The One it's the same conversion - first written for a female subject then converted to God as the subject. Although, in the original context of The One he was singing about himself in terms of how wonderful it is to be loved by him:

I don't know. I think Still Would Stand was written about God then attributed to a woman like how The One was originally written for (if you believe her) Mayte while later being credited to "respect for the Creator" (which I don't even personally understand how he can get to that idea but, whatever, he said it)


But I guess there is a history of him also conflating love with women and the idea that God is sending them as a physical manifestation of his love to cure his woes.

Elephants & Flowers, The Grand Progression, Rock Hard In A Funky Place, the whole Muse/Manuela thing on The Rainbow Children. I'm sure there's more but I can't think of them at the moment.

[Edited 9/30/19 17:42pm]

violetcrush said:

OperatingThetan said:

An interesting and provocative article. What I will add, as a former Jehovah's Witness, is that the majority of Prince's lyrics and statements regarding the faith were subject to his own interpretation. What he presented was in actuality his own personal hybrid, that differs from official JW doctrines, particularly in his tendency to blend JW beliefs with more Eastern spiritual concepts, many of which (the third eye, energy fields, the Akashic Records, chakra points, etc.) would be unacceptable for a regular, 'rank and file' JW to espouse. In addition, Prince linked his faith to interpretations of politics, history and government, that are generally strongly discouraged among Jehovah's Witnesses who are politically neutral. While Larry Graham spoke of his faith and engaged Prince in Bible Studies, as is typical of any Jehovah's Witness to any interested person (the perogative of the Jehovah's Witness is to witness), the beliefs Prince came away with were very much his own blend and were possibly 'tolerated' due to his fame and stature. Larry witnessing to Prince was not exceptional at all. He merely did as he was trained in terms of the studies themselves and followed the tenets of a faith he clearly has a strong conviction in. Jehovah's Witness Elders and study conductors are unpaid and all donations go directly to the Watchtower Society, so Larry's only possible financial motive would be the boost to his musical and touring career, which did not require the need for Bible studies or a spiritual relationship. Chaka Khan also released an album and toured with Prince in the same year with no religious connotations whatsoever. * [Edited 9/30/19 13:09pm] [Edited 9/30/19 13:10pm]

Thank you for the information. I had mentioned Prince incorporating the Eastern spiritual aspects (Third Eye, etc) into his music in later years, which was an indication to me that he was moving away from the more strict JW following. I agree with, and have said the same on other threads, that the JW gave Prince much more "leeway" with his practices and public presentation of the JW faith.

*

I never thought that Larry was receiving any type of financial gain by witnessing to Prince and bringing him in to the JW faith, but my thought was always that he arrived during a very vulnerable time for Prince - just after he had lost his Son, and Prince may have been more easily influenced with regard to learning and joining the JW faith.

*

Wondering if you can shed more light on the belief that JW discourage friendship or close relations with those who are not members? If that is the case it may also speak to how and why Larry moved to MN and quickly became a best friend to Prince.

There was always some element of Eastern teachings in Prince's music, prior to becoming a JW atarting around 1980 with Uptown from Dirty Mind, while he was a JW, and after. He's kind of always blended his ideologies and beliefs, pulling from various places. With Uptown, it's like he kind of touched on it, but just barely. In 1981, with the Controversy release, he began delving into it a little more, I think.

Strive said:

I guess it’s possible that Still Would Stand was always about God, but it’s surprising that he made it about a woman when he sang it during the ‘88 after shows. I think he just morphed it into God being the subject.

I think Grand Progression was strictly about him finding “heaven on Earth” when being held by his woman “darling it seems I have found the grand progression whenever I’m in your arms...”. And Rock Hard in a Funky Place is just his play on words for rocking hard playing funky music or the more sinister idea of “something else” being “rock hard” in some funky place. I believe Elephants and Flowers was a poem written by Ingrid Chavez.

mELdOURADOsELVAGEM said:

Verbose! When is the article ever gonna get to the point! I stopped reading because I got bored.

Bless your heart. You came here because I called your ass out in another thread, and now you wanna try and do it here, to me! You tried.

TrivialPursuit said:

Yup yup, u right about my thread, it bombed.

BUT BACK ON TOPIC..

The article, like I said, ur writing style had way too many points that didn't lead anywhere. It's like the writer was just trying to add all sorts of facts to show off their knowledge.

Can u sum up what the author was trying to say besides religion?

Not to mention, all that religious stuff or views that Prince had previous to becoming JW shifted and he no longer believed in some of that other stuff. So his previous religious viewpoint was no longer relevant. Sure, it may have shaped him to what he was pre JW but after JW, it transformed him again.

Listen to Beautiful, Loved, and Blessed. He's taking about his being baptized into the JW's.


When you found me I was just a piece of clay
I was formless, you gave me a new name
With the breath of life I now live abundantly
All I needed was the potter's hand
And the blood on Calvary
But too much power
Can sometimes turn to shame
Too much desire
Sometimes makes you feel the same
But forgiveness is how you win the game
I begged for truth, now I know the truth
And that is when you came and said I was

Forgiveness is how u win the game...
I think when u get baptized u accepting Jesus and u are forgiven ur sins.

Reading the rest of the lyrics, he thought his fame was a hindrance to him.


I could truly say with all the fame and glory
I was just a piece of clay in need of the potter's hand
'Cause when you whispered in my ear
The words I so now understand, oh


Even though he had fame, he was still just a simple person, a spiritual person who needed guidance. And when he received that understanding, that's what changed him and compelled him to act differently and regret the bad that he did previously.

mELdOURADOsELVAGEM said:

TrivialPursuit said:

Bless your heart. You came here because I called your ass out in another thread, and now you wanna try and do it here, to me! You tried.

The article, like I said, ur writing style had way too many points that didn't lead anywhere. It's like the writer was just trying to add all sorts of facts to show off their knowledge. .... Sure, it may have shaped him to what he was pre JW but after JW, it transformed him again. Listen to Beautiful, Loved, and Blessed. He's taking about his being baptized into the JW's.

[b]When you found me I was just a piece of clay I was formless, you gave me a new name With the breath of life I now live abundantly All I needed was the potter's hand And the blood on Calvary But too much power Can sometimes turn to shame Too much desire Sometimes makes you feel the same But forgiveness is how you win the game I begged for truth, now I know the truth And that is when you came and said I was[/b] Forgiveness is how u win the game...

he thought his fame was a hindrance to him. I could truly say with all the fame and glory I was just a piece of clay in need of the potter's hand 'Cause when you whispered in my ear The words I so now understand, oh Even though he had fame, he was still just a simple person, a spiritual person who needed guidance. And when he received that understanding, that's what changed him and compelled him to act differently and regret the bad that he did previously.

I think this is an interesting/useful point mELdOURADOsELVAGEM. Although its obviously a genuine attempt to track Prince's spiritual progression and the meaning of the song and had many references - the article imho was unavoidably a reflection of the OPs personal interpretation and lacked overall cohesion - that said such cohesiveness is a hard ask and I commend the OP Trivial Pursuit for writing it am glad he wrote it as it shines a light on the song and led to this interesting thread.

<p>

I and another poster gave the view that the lyrics of One song speak for themselves - the potential issue of the OPs and 'any' of our personal interpretations is that they may or may not be what Prince actually meant. I guess the only person qualified to give additional interpretation would be Prince himself though it seems as violet crush said that he 'laid it all out in his songs" That said an article is a way that the overall spiritual progression of Prince could in theory be pieced together. (It occurs to me and 'this is just speculation' that if Prince was looking down on this thread he might perhaps encourage us to focus on our own spiritual paths - only he fully knows his).

<p>

The wonderful song Beautiful Loved and Blessed is also part of the overall story. This analogy of being molded like a piece of clay I have heard this used elsewhere - for example monks training to purify their behaviour via spiritual paractice. The analogy being that the initially difficult daily practices are akin to clay being molded and going through the difficult heat of an oven to emerge as a pot that is stronger and more durable and has purpose rather that a piece of putty clay that can be stretched any which way but does not yet serve a good purpose.

Peace.

[Edited 10/1/19 3:03am]

violetcrush said:

You or someone had stated he was deep into JW with Larry prior to his Son’s death, however, Prince and Larry discussed how they met in ‘98-‘99 interviews and they stated they met while Prince was on the JOTY tour. Prince invited Larry to play at one of his after shows - I think in TN.

.

The person to "blame" is Lee Harris, a fan who mentioned Larry Graham being in the vicinity of a Prince concert on L4OA, which caused the two to meet.