Probably like so many others, you strive for something you don't yet understand all the consequences that will come with it. I think he wanted to make all the music he wanted to, in a studio he owned so that could happen practically around the clock. Also, he wanted the world to hear his music, trying to put out positive messages to try to change attitudes about many things.

I truly don't think he was all that concerned with the actual $ all his productivity brought. If he was that concerned with the money aspect, perhaps he might have had a will, or had a Revocable Trust document drawn up. Just my opinion...........

GOLD.

Not sure if I've ever heard him speak directly but the song Cause & Effect addresses it in some manner.

If had the chance to do it all again

I wouldn't change a thing, except my next of kin
There's something on the tip of my tongue
-got a taste for sin
If you stamp your passport full of regret
You have nothing to remember but a lot to forget
Leave no enemies, leave no debt

If I could talk to myself back then right now
I'd say 'son you might wanna, stick around
Something amazing is about to go down'
If I could leave myself just 1 little note
One that husbands and fathers wrote
It say 'you need to be a superstar or grow up,
But not both'

I'm sure Prince recognized the negative elements of fame...but I also get the sense that he greatly appreciated fame because it allowed him to create his own world and focus solely on music. IMO it was also a very wise decision to stay in Minnesota, as it helped him stay true to himself (In his own unique Prince way)

I think Prince knows the plus and negative side. he did complain to Dez during 1999 tour they can't do the stuff like they did before such as hanging out and stuff and the isolation but at the same time the music is what help keep him focus and just went with the flow. He was very prepared for fame since day one as he was very fierce protective with his privacy until the end which it I am afraid not always help him when he needed help.

TheEnglishGent said:

Not sure if I've ever heard him speak directly but the song Cause & Effect addresses it in some manner.

If had the chance to do it all again

I wouldn't change a thing, except my next of kin
There's something on the tip of my tongue
-got a taste for sin
If you stamp your passport full of regret
You have nothing to remember but a lot to forget
Leave no enemies, leave no debt

If I could talk to myself back then right now
I'd say 'son you might wanna, stick around
Something amazing is about to go down'
If I could leave myself just 1 little note
One that husbands and fathers wrote
It say 'you need to be a superstar or grow up,
But not both'

LADIES N GENTLEMEN!!!

He also spoke/sung about it at one of the Indigo aftershows in London. I think it might even be on the Indigo Nights disc.

Talked about how things have changed and he can't even go outside no more. How he used to go to the shops for his Mom to get cigarettes and tampons. How the ladies react differently to him now etc. But inside he's still the same, something else changed.

[Edited 1/13/20 12:15pm]

I think I read somewhere that Wendy said Prince was immediately comfortable with fame...had been practicing for some time.

Though, during his long career, it waxed and waned and that may have caused some anxiety.

None of us regular folks can afford 'yes' men, though, and that is to our benefit in the long run.

I don't think it ever bothered him to the extent it did other celebrities, especially towards the end of his life. I imagine a lot of that is down to the fact that he stayed in his hometown and didn't live full time in Los Angeles. He kept a lot of who he was and didn't feel the need to change or contort himself into something he wasn't which surely helped as well.

Sung about it in songs like 'Don't Play Me' and 'My Name Is Prince'

I think some of ATWIAD dealt with fame.

He appeared to like being a celebrity. Even before he was a star, he was treated special. There are also a lot of stories where he went and did things like a normal person, and he found balance by living in Minneapolis. His private life got insular and sad sounding to me, but then he also had the ability to find an Andy Allo and he could go to a club, sit in the corner and satisfy himself to some degree. Very few stars have that ability or find the balance they need to function. If he wanted more common person life, he seemed able to go pump gas or stop into the record store, and do things relatively under the radar. It seems like he built the life he wanted.

There's a Musicology acoustic number (Prince and the Band) where he says "whatever u can't do alone, it aint worth the fame"

I believe his music answers that question explicity.

[Edited 1/15/20 20:33pm]

I was listening to AOA today for the first time in a while. BREAKDOWN was breaking me down, such a glimpse into the man's soul. I can to the org to be in the community while feeling this close to him and found this post. So yeah - he sure did speak about it..

Listen to me closely as the story unfolds
This could be the saddest story even been told
I used to want the house with the biggest pool
Reminiscing now I just feel like a fool

[Chorus]
Keep breaking me down, down, down
Keep breaking me down, down, down
Keep breaking me down, down, down
Keep breaking me down, down, down

[Verse 2]
I used to throw the party every New Year's Eve
First one intoxicated, last one to leave
Waking up in places that you would never believe
Give me back the time, you can keep the memories

[Chorus]
Keep breaking me down, down, down
Keep breaking me down, down, down
Keep breaking me down, down, down
Keep breaking me down, down, down

Rest in peace, my friend, you're broken down no longer and free

sulls said:

Sung about it in songs like 'Don't Play Me' and 'My Name Is Prince'

This is the first one that came to mind when I saw the thread title...

Don't play me
I'm over 30 & I don't smoke weed
I put my ass away & music I've played
aint the type of stereo U're tryin to feed
Don't play me
Don't play me
I use proper English & I'm straight
I'm in the news again for paying dues my friend
And not the type of ganda U prop in my way
Don't play me

Don't play me
I've been to the mountain top & it aint what U say
Don't play me

Don't play me
I'm the wrong color & I play guitar
My only competition is me in the past
And time & time if time existed movin ever so fast
Don't play me

U couldn't play enough of me now
2 make me feel like a star
Don't play me I already do in my car
Don't play me

Don't be mad at me
The curtain puller in the game
Maybe how U call us Niggers aint the same
It's all good when u know the only fame
Is the light that comes from God & the joy U get 2 say His name
Don't play me

Don't play me
I've seen to the mountain top & it aint what U say
Don't play me

I already got laid

[Edited 1/17/20 16:24pm]

sulls said:

lavendardrummachine said:

I think some of ATWIAD dealt with fame.

He appeared to like being a celebrity. Even before he was a star, he was treated special. There are also a lot of stories where he went and did things like a normal person, and he found balance by living in Minneapolis. His private life got insular and sad sounding to me, but then he also had the ability to find an Andy Allo and he could go to a club, sit in the corner and satisfy himself to some degree. Very few stars have that ability or find the balance they need to function. If he wanted more common person life, he seemed able to go pump gas or stop into the record store, and do things relatively under the radar. It seems like he built the life he wanted.

Nah, I think it may seem like he had the life he wanted on the surface, but I think he was lonely, especially toward the end of his life. Going to clubs and sitting in a roped off section alone is quite sad to me. I don't think he often had geniune experiences with people - as in, just being "down to earth" without the pretense or being guarded. I think he did love the fame and the adoration of a crowd, so keeping up the mystical "facade" was necessary. He seemed to lose any semblance of a regular personal life once Purple Rain hit.

funny thing we all thought of a marticular song for this thread... well the song that came to me right away would be "Rich Friends"

In it he says

"Money cant buy happiness, but it'll pay for the search"

So right there is the answer to your question

[Edited 1/25/20 4:00am]

Steelclawz said:

funny thing we all thought of a marticular song for this thread... well the song that came to me right away would be "Rich Friends"

In it he says

"Money cant buy happiness, but it'll pay for the search"

So right there is the answer to your question

[Edited 1/25/20 4:00am]

That's a good one. He had many songs that seemed to express the high price he paid for the fame. No doubt, based on songs like Reflection and Breakdown, by his later years he really understood some of the important things he lost along the way.

Fame or anything associated with fame is ever worth the price.

twisted sister---the price

rush---limelight

Big White Mansion

And on the topic of songs where he told us about his view of fame, "Dream Factory" always comes to mind for me.

Hollyrock ain't all it seems (Lordy)

Don't get too serious, it's just a dream

Don't forget your fiends, they're all you've got (Lordy)

Listen to the story of a man I am not

Party all night, hanging out

In the streets more than I be at home

I take a pill to wipe away my doubts

But a pill can't cure my being alone

Vodka and 7 straight to my braibn

Put me under false impressions, hide all my pain

Somebody help me, I'm losing control

This is what it's like in the Dream Facory, oh!

Seahorsie said:

violetcrush said:

Seahorsie said:

must i get on my knees and crawl.... must i have no image at all

jfenster said:

must i get on my knees and crawl.... must i have no image at all

The lyrics are actually..."Must I become naked? No image at all?
Shall I remain upright? Or get down and crawl?"

*

I think The Question of U was a love song to a particular woman and not about his fame being worth the price - unless the "you" in the song is meant to be fame itself, and not referring to a person.

*

He usually played the song before/after Venus De Milo, Honest Man, or UTCM, and during the Nude tour he sang it with Electric Man while humping the stage as if he's having sex So, I think that song is tied to a relationship.