Been some weird topics here lately so, in attempt to ground us a little, thought I'd throw this out and do something a little positive. I'll try to keep the OP short and elaborate more if the thread starts moving.

What made Prince stand out from the 1000's of other artists you certainly listened to?

For ME?

What Prince offered me that no other musician really did was the genuine sense of EVERYTHING being able to coexist. All styles, all races, all genders and all woven into this weird blender. In my teens, I liked some rock, some metal, some punk, some new wave, some disco, some funk...more than a little pop since I listened to the radio a lot and of course MTV, which gave us a little bit of everything. My friends usually seemed more...narrow in their tastes. The record stores and radio stations were trying to teach me that all music was DIFFERENT and, to some lesser extent, that you were supposed to like ONE THING.

Maybe I'm being harsh since the stores and the radio were probably only doing that to make things easier to find. So fair enough. Never mind that.

But I'd never really heard one singular band or artist that married and combined all these different styles together so well. For example, when I bought 1999 and heard "Lady Cab Driver" for the first time...it was funk, disco, pop and had some really clever production and THEN...out of fucking nowhere...Prince drops this face melting guitar solo on my ass. How do you categorize this? Pop, R&B, Rock, Funk, New Wave?

This trend continued forever with me and I always admired artists that could blend genres that weren't supposed to mix, who cut them up into numerous ingredients and made a stew out of it that tasted wholly original. Prince led me to other artists too who had done the same things for previous generations.

What say you, prince.org members?

We're all (still) here for a reason so something stood out that grabbed you from the start.

TL/DR: Well so much for keeping it short I guess. I tried.

"The dude wore high heels.

Then i saw him do a split.

Then that scream!

Huh? He plays all intruments and writes the music, too?

Wait, he had albums BEFORE 1999???

...i'm all in..."

For me , at the start, it was the variety of music he could make that drew me in. The rest came shortly after,ie performer etc

For me it was the Controversy album. It was so eclectic. Written, Arranged, Composed and Performed by one man!! This was before MTV, etc. Never saw him perform on American Bandstand. Then the 1999 album was released along with the videos on heavy rotation on MTV and one look into those eyes and he had me! His charisma onscreen was amazing! Then seeing the Purple Rain movie and I was gone, baby, gone!

Yeah, but other artists did that stuff too, surrounding the "doing everything" posts. Peter Gabriel comes to immediately to mind. Frank Zappa. Stevie Wonder. Maybe not at such a young age though which obviously separates him there. When I heard the 1999 album and learned it was executed almost entirely by one person, overdub by overdub and one track at a time it was hard to believe.

Not shitting on any of your posts at all, mind, just trying to look at the thing that really separated Prince from the rest. Thanks for the feedback and interest in the thread though. I have more that I'll touch on when I get some more time.

You guys are great.

The elasticity of his voice; Prince had so many voices, and used them often to perfection. It's why people often talk about his 'guiding' vocals, as you can TELL when he delivered top-notch vocals or of he was just filling in blanks for someone else to pour their soul into.

But the way he used his voice as an instrument (God, Girl, Heaven, Solo) are often where his voices went beyond. Looooove this songs.

And so many voices for different moods, different styles. Dayum, I miss that voice.


And then, the way he shed styles for new albums; it was always fun to see him adapt a style to a new release, giving almost every one a certain 'feel'. Unique.

onlyforaminute said:

Here we go then: When I properly paid attention, Prince was singing about ideas that were at the very heart of me, at the time. Mid to late teens, all the insecurities and revelations about self going on all the time, and there was this man, a million miles away from who I was, expressing these ideas in words I would never have found, and he struck a nerve. Add to that that he was doing in with such fantastic music, with such fantastic style, with such fantastic bravado, and I was hooked. And, from then, I never stopped wanting to hear what he was going to say next, and was always excited about how he was going to say it. There were times, of course there were times, when I wasn't sure he had my ear anymore, that the direct line from his music to my attitudes had wavered or weakened, but, fundamentally, I found a voice that expressed theirselves about the world in a way I could only dream of being able to do so. That's what Prince offered me.

A constant stream of music to keep my satisfied!

Range. He did SO much, and to a consistently excellent degree. So much variety in the music, always evolving, always trying new sounds and exploring different genres.

What ever frequency my energy operates on..........Prince hit on the head musically.

I was hooked 10 seconds into Soft & Wet in 1978.

One other thing he did, that hit me with MTV and the 1999 album, was to really challenge traditional ideas of masculinity, gender and sexuality. I didn't really realize I was bi back then but in retrospect his expressions of sexuality were speaking to me somewhere.

He kind of made all things seem possible to exist under one roof, be it Uptown or Paisley Park. All races, genders, freaks, geeks, hipsters and punks.

Kinda bummed me out later on when his message became more exclusionary and rigid, supposedly due to an understanding of God and The Truth, but I still liked the music.

herb4 said:

One other thing he did, that hit me with MTV and the 1999 album, was to really challenge traditional ideas of masculinity, gender and sexuality. I didn't really realize I was bi back then but in retrospect his expressions of sexuality were speaking to me somewhere.

He kind of made all things seem possible to exist under one roof, be it Uptown or Paisley Park. All races, genders, freaks, geeks, hipsters and punks.

Kinda bummed me out later on when his message became more exclusionary and rigid, supposedly due to an understanding of God and The Truth, but I still liked the music.

This was one of the aspects that drew me to him, too. The fluidity was fiercely brave - I know Bolan and Bowie and Frankenfurter had been there first - but Prince was of my time.

I was a kid in the 80's when I got into Prince. As a child of the 80's/90's, I also loved Michael Jackson.

However, it was Prince offered me all the theatricality, mystery, magic, and imagery of Michael Jackson, yet went deeper on almost every front. Prince offered me ever expanding musical universes, sounds, styles. He offered more grown up thinking, more sex, more spirtituality, more musicianship, more guitar, more funkiness, and a more visceral experience than any musician before or since.

[Edited 9/13/20 12:18pm]

[Edited 9/13/20 12:20pm]

Margot said:

I came to Prince when I was a little older than most (it seems). I was strictly Rock, then took a foray into Country (had a Southern, sexy boyfriend), loved the harmonies etc.

I think my maturity helped me realize Prince's virtuosity and versaltility. I could 'relax' when I watched him as he was so in the flow, so capable, never sang off-key, could improvise, not lose his footing,

and dance, my God. There is a great example in Berlin 2002 where he is teaching the mostly white,

mostly rhythm-deficient crowd how to clap (2&4) and dance. He did a perfect dance rendition. He was in touch with "something"

And then there is the magnetism and sexiness. What is that? An animal magnetism that inflamed both sexes. I really think many of his harder-core fans are a bit in love.

He was also quite deep spiritually and emotionally, always seeking. I loved he was reading "The Seat of the Soul" by Gary Zukav in 1997.

For me it was the simple fact that he could do all of it on his own if he chose to do so! And no matter what took place on record, what was presented to the public or what took place on stage - I know for a fact that Prince was directing everything in front or behind the scenes - nothing was done without his seal of approval!

[Edited 9/14/20 10:23am]

Passion...F*CKING PASSION, like no body else! In both the music and his singing...

SimonCharles said:

herb4 said:

One other thing he did, that hit me with MTV and the 1999 album, was to really challenge traditional ideas of masculinity, gender and sexuality. I didn't really realize I was bi back then but in retrospect his expressions of sexuality were speaking to me somewhere.

He kind of made all things seem possible to exist under one roof, be it Uptown or Paisley Park. All races, genders, freaks, geeks, hipsters and punks.

Kinda bummed me out later on when his message became more exclusionary and rigid, supposedly due to an understanding of God and The Truth, but I still liked the music.

This was one of the aspects that drew me to him, too. The fluidity was fiercely brave - I know Bolan and Bowie and Frankenfurter had been there first - but Prince was of my time.

Same.

I was aware of other gender bending acts before him (Bowie, The New York Dolls, Marc Bolan) but they were a little before my time. I got turned on to Bowie with MTV around the same time as Prince but David certainly wasn't as FUNKY and the stuff they played of his (Ashes to Ashes was big) didn't grab me as much from a musical standpoint. Other acts on MTV fucked around with gender stuff (Culture CLub, Eurythmics, Adam Ant) but I didn't think their music was as good.

Plus, Prince was MINE. MY discovery. No one else was talking about him, really that heavily into it and it seemed like I had stumbled upon my OWN icon at the just the right time. Seperate from my parent's (very cool) record collection, separate from what my other friends dug and were into (Led Zep, Ozzy, Rush). Like something out of the Breakfast Club almost where I'd unearthed an identity of my own of sorts. RIght place right time. All the "he's gay" blowback and all that shit. Didn't care.

Of course Purple Rain came out and the world caught up to me in a big hurry but I think everyone remembers how cool it felt to have your own personal music hero(s) that no one else was wise to. If that makes sense. It was always fun to have the populace validate stuff that you were into on the ground level (Love and Rockets, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, REM, Faith No More, The Waterboys, Public Enemy, The Cure, Nine Inch Nails to name a few). Made you feel like you had good taste all along or something and had The Right Kind of Ears; validated somehow once they started selling records.

IN fact, a lot of times it was SO MUCH COOLER to be the only one that knew about________<<<Insert Band. Once they got popular and you almost felt like they were being taken from you in a weird and strange sort of way.

You brought up Bolan and I swear I turned my entire school onto Electric Warrior and The Slider my freshman year, back when you would high speed dub blank cassettes from friends and share stuff. SO thanks for that memory.

Not a damn thing. Nothing he did was original. He was amalgum of all his heroes.

What Prince offered me was a breat body of music in an exciting blend of all his influences.

He was the best total package, so why not gravitate to the best? Hardest worker, best lyrics, funky beats, expert stylist, best live performer, easy on the eyes, best at the splits, crazy costumes, most perfect beauty mark, good messages, mixed his own stuff, best semi-bio performance on film, promoted women in music, an innovator, and finally.....he owned his masters. (A rebel that would not bow to pressure.) There is lots more, but I gotta go to work tomorrow.

Yeah, I know he had his faults too, like all of us, but W O W.

Lyrics about relationships.

He made himself vulnerable.

I heard "Adore" and was like, 'OMG! This is incredible. I want to learn more.'

Then went to a mom and pop store and bought small club.

I heard Just My Imagination and was forever hooked!

At first, it was how impressed I was and still am that he Produced, Arranged, and Composed his projects. Afterwards, he inspired me to strive to be what I wanted to be beyond what others thought, and I'll forever appreciate him for that.

skywalker said:

I was a kid in the 80's when I got into Prince. As a child of the 80's/90's, I also loved Michael Jackson.

However, it was Prince offered me all the theatricality, mystery, magic, and imagery of Michael Jackson, yet went deeper on almost every front. Prince offered me ever expanding musical universes, sounds, styles. He offered more grown up thinking, more sex, more spirtituality, more musicianship, more guitar, more funkiness, and a more visceral experience than any musician before or since.

Likewise. I was a MJ fan before Prince back in the 70s and 80s. MJ was such an incredible entertainer...I played Off the Wall to DEATH, same with Triumph, and then Thriller was the pinnacle.

I really liked 1999. Then of course Purple Rain was briiliant.

But it was actually Around the World in a Day was when Prince seperated himself from MJ and other 80s artists for me. So soon after PR, and at the time being a 15 year old kid, wasn't quite sure of the material, but enjoyed witnessing the range and depth of Prince's talent. NO one sounded like him and he took chances as only a true artist would. I really started seeing him as a true artist...not just a pop star. Obviously the material grew on me as well. My fave band was and will always be the Beatles, and Prince started approaching their brilliance.

By the time of the double whammy of Parade and SOTT...and all the side projects...it was like MJ who? I never got into Bad or the others after that. But of course I followed Prince for the most part for the rest of his life...and now after his death I am more into him now than ever.

Prince came along when I was over 30, so my enjoyment of his music was different than when I went through my Beatles phase. But there was no comparison. Any Prince album was greater than any Fab Four (including Revolver or The White Album). It was like going from a carousel to a roller coaster.
I especially loved when I heard a song (while at work in my office) and didn't immediately recognize it as Prince. I must have shown my delight because someone asked me if I'd shocked myself

The loss is too great. No one will ever do what he did. It's all computerized and homogenized, put together for disposal "singers" who are all show, no go.

I was familiar with Prince from having heard IWBYL, Sexy Dancer, Uptown, Controversy, and Do Me Baby on the radio. But then 1999 came out and pushed my interest to the next level. I was 16 and for the first time, I actually designated cash to buy that album rather than just recording what I could get from the radio (as we used to do back in the day).

.

It turned rabid when a girl I knew (and adored) put me on to Dirty Mind. That was instantly my favorite album, and probably still is. From that point on, usually the first $$ I spent from a check would be for more Prince music. Chasing B-sides in the 80's was one of my favorite sports.

.

What got me? To state it simply, no matter where else you looked, there was no one else like him. No sound, no lyrics, nothing. Then you mixed in "all songs composed, arranged, performed and produced by Prince", and that was it.

.

There's no denying that back then, he was looked at as somewhat strange, even in the music world where strange is the norm. Bikini briefs, leg warmers, and heels... that's out there. But as a young man, I always felt like an outsider in the groups that I ran in. So maybe that was something that I picked up on.

.

Whatever the case, whatever was coming out of that man's mind, I wanted to hear it. STILL DO!