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Thread started 10/11/21 1:48pm

Graycap23

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Billy Gibbons literally said he thought Prince just "held" a guitar

What kind of nonsense is this? He didn't know until Prince solo on the HOF performance that Prince was a REAL guitarist.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqnl-O4zYU4&lc=UgwRjfRAPr8SR6FNeL94AaABAg.9RRNzpupBq49SodJwIhhMb

FOOLS multiply when WISE Men & Women are silent.
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Reply #1 posted 10/11/21 2:12pm

SoulAlive

lol,some of those rock guys had no clue about Prince's guitar skills.The R&R Hall of Fame performance changed alot of minds.

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Reply #2 posted 10/11/21 2:21pm

jazzz

.
there were also people that thought that Charlie Parker just held a saxophone and made some funny dance while doing so...
.
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Reply #3 posted 10/11/21 2:27pm

purplethunder3
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rolleyes

"Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything." --Plato

https://youtu.be/CVwv9LZMah0
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Reply #4 posted 10/11/21 3:58pm

GustavoRibas

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Lots of people didnt know. In fact, in the pop/rock world it´s not hard to see people who are singers that occasionally ´hold´ a guitar. Madonna did that recently, for example.

.

And I think it´s Prince´s ´fault´, because he once said "I always wanted to be thought of as a guitar player, but you have a hit and you know what happens". But, when he was at his peak, he was too much focused in dancing and being a pop star. He even gave When doves cry solo to Wendy!

.

On the other hand, Prince appered playing Purple Rain and Let´s go crazy solos everywhere. Dont know how some people didnt think he could play.

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Reply #5 posted 10/11/21 6:45pm

26ten

I love that subtle cool shit he did with a guitar. A lot of rock purists, and maybe just purists in general, totally miss the point.

I know later on P was like "okay it's time to show my skills" but I sort of wish he hadn't used the guitar as a main songwriting tool in a lot of his more guitar oriented stuff (think Chaos and Disorder/Lotus Flower/Planet Earth). It always seemed so much more outside the box and cool when added to other sort of more primary sounds (Lady Cab Driver for example on that crazy solo break).
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Reply #6 posted 10/11/21 7:59pm

26ten

Also -

Prince fucking annihilates Billy Gibbons on guitar

and it's not even close

Like, light years.

So suck that ZZ Top.

Guys started out as a scam version of the Zombies anyway haha (seriously)
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Reply #7 posted 10/11/21 8:30pm

Graycap23

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26ten said:

Also - Prince fucking annihilates Billy Gibbons on guitar and it's not even close Like, light years. So suck that ZZ Top. Guys started out as a scam version of the Zombies anyway haha (seriously)

yep

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Reply #8 posted 10/12/21 12:00am

TheEnglishGent

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GustavoRibas said:

Lots of people didnt know. In fact, in the pop/rock world it´s not hard to see people who are singers that occasionally ´hold´ a guitar. Madonna did that recently, for example.

.

And I think it´s Prince´s ´fault´, because he once said "I always wanted to be thought of as a guitar player, but you have a hit and you know what happens". But, when he was at his peak, he was too much focused in dancing and being a pop star. He even gave When doves cry solo to Wendy!

.

On the other hand, Prince appered playing Purple Rain and Let´s go crazy solos everywhere. Dont know how some people didnt think he could play.

Don't want to make you feel old but that 'recent' usage by Madonna was on the Drowned World tour in 2001!

Just to add to this. She wasn’t merely holding it, even then. She did actually play a couple of chords. Hardly a virtuoso and I wouldn’t call her a guitarist but she did play it.

[Edited 10/12/21 0:02am]

RIP sad
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Reply #9 posted 10/12/21 1:56am

NoSwan

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26ten said:

Also - Prince fucking annihilates Billy Gibbons on guitar and it's not even close Like, light years. So suck that ZZ Top. Guys started out as a scam version of the Zombies anyway haha (seriously)

Yeah, I completely agree.

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Reply #10 posted 10/12/21 4:38am

thedawnofanewe
ra

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Who’s Billy Gibbons? Lmao!!!
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Reply #11 posted 10/12/21 5:04am

TheEnglishGent

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thedawnofanewera said:

Who’s Billy Gibbons? Lmao!!!


Guitarist and lead singer from ZZ Top. H's had a pretty long and successful career.

RIP sad
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Reply #12 posted 10/12/21 5:25am

savagedreams

its cracks me the f*#k up that some of you cant believe that not everyone followed prince the same way you fan(atic)s do. I know this will be hard for some of you to swallow, but there are people out there that dont know or care about Prince and his music. its not the end of the world. I hardly see as an insult from Billy either. but of course, most of you people will.

[Edited 10/12/21 5:29am]

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Reply #13 posted 10/12/21 6:14am

TheBigBang

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savagedreams said:

its cracks me the f*#k up that some of you cant believe that not everyone followed prince the same way you fan(atic)s do. I know this will be hard for some of you to swallow, but there are people out there that dont know or care about Prince and his music. its not the end of the world. I hardly see as an insult from Billy either. but of course, most of you people will.

[Edited 10/12/21 5:29am]


In all fairness, it's a stretch to believe that anyone that was part of the pop scene, especially in the era of Purple Rain, which ZZ Top was smack dab in the middle of, didn't know Prince could play guitar. You mean to tell me they weren't at the AMA's in '85? Chalk it up to drugs, maybe, that Gibbons was in a fog all through the 80's and 90's?

I don't buy it personally, and I'm not a fan(atic).

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Reply #14 posted 10/12/21 3:35pm

eyewishuheaven

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Prince didn't exactly do himself any favours in this capacity. Hear me out.

In his films, when miming playing guitar, he didn't go for anywhere close to accuracy - he did stuff that looked weird and cool. In Purple Rain, check out his picking hand during the down/up/down/up portion of Let's Go Crazy. That's not playing guitar. And there's all manner of instances like that in his films and videos.

So, I could see a non-fan making that mistake.

PRINCE: the only man who could wear high heels and makeup and STILL steal your woman!
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Reply #15 posted 10/12/21 4:28pm

KoolEaze

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He speaks very fondly of Prince, like he usually does.

The "held a guitar" part didn´t even sound like a diss, he just said that he´d often seen him with a guitar, holding it, but had no idea just HOW good he was as a guitarist, and then he goes on to say that they met and talked about guitar playing.

The whole video is very positive with regards to Prince and his guitar playing skills.

" I´d rather be a stank ass hoe because I´m not stupid. Oh my goodness! I got more drugs! I´m always funny dude...I´m hilarious! Are we gonna smoke?"
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Reply #16 posted 10/12/21 4:30pm

Graycap23

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savagedreams said:

its cracks me the f*#k up that some of you cant believe that not everyone followed prince the same way you fan(atic)s do. I know this will be hard for some of you to swallow, but there are people out there that dont know or care about Prince and his music. its not the end of the world. I hardly see as an insult from Billy either. but of course, most of you people will.

[Edited 10/12/21 5:29am]

lol....nonsense.

FOOLS multiply when WISE Men & Women are silent.
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Reply #17 posted 10/12/21 5:45pm

GustavoRibas

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TheEnglishGent said:

GustavoRibas said:

Lots of people didnt know. In fact, in the pop/rock world it´s not hard to see people who are singers that occasionally ´hold´ a guitar. Madonna did that recently, for example.

.

And I think it´s Prince´s ´fault´, because he once said "I always wanted to be thought of as a guitar player, but you have a hit and you know what happens". But, when he was at his peak, he was too much focused in dancing and being a pop star. He even gave When doves cry solo to Wendy!

.

On the other hand, Prince appered playing Purple Rain and Let´s go crazy solos everywhere. Dont know how some people didnt think he could play.

Don't want to make you feel old but that 'recent' usage by Madonna was on the Drowned World tour in 2001!

Just to add to this. She wasn’t merely holding it, even then. She did actually play a couple of chords. Hardly a virtuoso and I wouldn’t call her a guitarist but she did play it.

[Edited 10/12/21 0:02am]

.

Hahaha, time flies! But, of course, ´holding´ a guitar would mean playing some chords. I cant believe somebody would pretend to play. But there is a difference between those who only play some chords and those who can play it. A guy that can play guitar and I didnt know is Christopher Cross. Very good player. I had the same surprise Gibbons had about Prince.

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Reply #18 posted 10/13/21 3:59am

ThatWhiteDude

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26ten said:

Also - Prince fucking annihilates Billy Gibbons on guitar and it's not even close Like, light years. So suck that ZZ Top. Guys started out as a scam version of the Zombies anyway haha (seriously)

absolutely. the nerve of some people.

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Reply #19 posted 10/13/21 5:58am

savagedreams

TheBigBang said:

savagedreams said:

its cracks me the f*#k up that some of you cant believe that not everyone followed prince the same way you fan(atic)s do. I know this will be hard for some of you to swallow, but there are people out there that dont know or care about Prince and his music. its not the end of the world. I hardly see as an insult from Billy either. but of course, most of you people will.

[Edited 10/12/21 5:29am]


In all fairness, it's a stretch to believe that anyone that was part of the pop scene, especially in the era of Purple Rain, which ZZ Top was smack dab in the middle of, didn't know Prince could play guitar. You mean to tell me they weren't at the AMA's in '85? Chalk it up to drugs, maybe, that Gibbons was in a fog all through the 80's and 90's?

I don't buy it personally, and I'm not a fan(atic).

.

so based on this line of logic, youre telling me, any and every band/artist/musician youve ever seen even the slightest bit of in your lifetime you know exactly snd completely what they are capable of? ok... good to know

[Edited 10/13/21 5:58am]

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Reply #20 posted 10/13/21 7:06am

Se7en

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I've always wondered this about a few other artists (Bruce Springsteen comes to mind), where you never really see just him solo on guitar. He seems to be using the guitar as a prop, and if he is plugged in then he's definitely not in the foreground!

Prince though . . . so awesome on guitar! Nevermind not being the most "technically-perfect" guitarist, the way he played looked effortless and sounded amazing.

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Reply #21 posted 10/13/21 8:11am

nayroo2002

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So!

There it is!

Prince could never replicate the intro to WDC again after it was commited to tape.

"Whatever skin we're in
we all need 2 b friends"
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Reply #22 posted 10/13/21 9:19am

Graycap23

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KoolEaze said:

He speaks very fondly of Prince, like he usually does.

The "held a guitar" part didn´t even sound like a diss, he just said that he´d often seen him with a guitar, holding it, but had no idea just HOW good he was as a guitarist, and then he goes on to say that they met and talked about guitar playing.

The whole video is very positive with regards to Prince and his guitar playing skills.

It was 100% a diss.

FOOLS multiply when WISE Men & Women are silent.
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Reply #23 posted 10/13/21 10:59am

Milty2

KoolEaze said:

He speaks very fondly of Prince, like he usually does.

The "held a guitar" part didn´t even sound like a diss, he just said that he´d often seen him with a guitar, holding it, but had no idea just HOW good he was as a guitarist, and then he goes on to say that they met and talked about guitar playing.

The whole video is very positive with regards to Prince and his guitar playing skills.

Exactly and I agree. It's not a diss at all. He's very complimentary but just wasn't aware of his guitar skills to which he admits to. Everyone just wants to scandalise this shit over and over.

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Reply #24 posted 10/13/21 11:23am

Graycap23

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KoolEaze said:

He speaks very fondly of Prince, like he usually does.

The "held a guitar" part didn´t even sound like a diss, he just said that he´d often seen him with a guitar, holding it, but had no idea just HOW good he was as a guitarist, and then he goes on to say that they met and talked about guitar playing.

The whole video is very positive with regards to Prince and his guitar playing skills.

I guess he didn't know Denzel did drama either.

FOOLS multiply when WISE Men & Women are silent.
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Reply #25 posted 10/13/21 2:23pm

steakfinger

26ten said:

Also - Prince fucking annihilates Billy Gibbons on guitar and it's not even close Like, light years. So suck that ZZ Top. Guys started out as a scam version of the Zombies anyway haha (seriously)

Except Jimi Hendrix (who jammed with Billy Gibbons), though Billy was amazing. Which was true. Billy is old now and his hands don't move like they once did, but Billy was a badass. Listen to Blue Jean Blues. ZZ Top were the real deal on their first couple of records. The shit from the 80s is not what I'm talking about.

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Reply #26 posted 10/13/21 3:48pm

dustoff

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Milty2 said:

KoolEaze said:

He speaks very fondly of Prince, like he usually does.

The "held a guitar" part didn´t even sound like a diss, he just said that he´d often seen him with a guitar, holding it, but had no idea just HOW good he was as a guitarist, and then he goes on to say that they met and talked about guitar playing.

The whole video is very positive with regards to Prince and his guitar playing skills.

Exactly and I agree. It's not a diss at all. He's very complimentary but just wasn't aware of his guitar skills to which he admits to. Everyone just wants to scandalise this shit over and over.



Yep. To say nothing of the fact that Billy Gibbons has been on record multiple times talking about what a great guitar player Prince was, and about how well they got along when they met.

"When Doves Cry' is it for me, really," Gibbons told Ultimate Prince of how his fandom for Prince began. "That opening guitar figure is killer. That passage solidified our admiration for Prince as a truly gifted soloist on the six-string — something that was overlooked 'til the sound of that first fill hit the airwaves."

I'm not the world's biggest ZZ Top fan, but all the grievance and affrontery expressed in this thread is stupid.

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Reply #27 posted 10/13/21 6:49pm

WhisperingDand
elions

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eyewishuheaven said:

Prince didn't exactly do himself any favours in this capacity. Hear me out.

In his films, when miming playing guitar, he didn't go for anywhere close to accuracy - he did stuff that looked weird and cool. In Purple Rain, check out his picking hand during the down/up/down/up portion of Let's Go Crazy. That's not playing guitar. And there's all manner of instances like that in his films and videos.

So, I could see a non-fan making that mistake.


^ This, absolutely.

There was a fantastic thread on this subject a little while back. It was interesting how many org'ers didn't even ever notice or care.

Most Prince media has probably the worst guitar miming in history, his rock peers likely did think he was miming Milli Vanilli style with how he didn't even try to get it close to remotely accurate or realistic in his music videos/movies. Borderline Sean Penn guitar in Sweet & Lowdown:
https://youtu.be/bYxVbXzQToI?t=39


Probably yet another Prince intentional quirk, considering videos like "Kiss" where Wendy's emphasized wailing big open chords on an acoustic the entire video but there's not an acoustic guitar anywhere in the track or mix. His videos always had the contradiction with his stark drum machine/synth tracks yet acoustic instrumentialists everywhere.

[Edited 10/13/21 18:54pm]

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Reply #28 posted 10/13/21 9:35pm

thebanishedone

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Se7en said:

I've always wondered this about a few other artists (Bruce Springsteen comes to mind), where you never really see just him solo on guitar. He seems to be using the guitar as a prop, and if he is plugged in then he's definitely not in the foreground!

Prince though . . . so awesome on guitar! Nevermind not being the most "technically-perfect" guitarist, the way he played looked effortless and sounded amazing.


Bruce is actualy a really good rock guitar player check his solos on Prove It All Night live 1978,Because The Night 1978 live ,Kittys Back live 1975,1978,Cover Me live Paris 1985,Milano 1988,Lucky Town live plugged 1992
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Reply #29 posted 10/13/21 9:47pm

thebanishedone

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Se7en said:

I've always wondered this about a few other artists (Bruce Springsteen comes to mind), where you never really see just him solo on guitar. He seems to be using the guitar as a prop, and if he is plugged in then he's definitely not in the foreground!

Prince though . . . so awesome on guitar! Nevermind not being the most "technically-perfect" guitarist, the way he played looked effortless and sounded amazing.


Check out Bruce's guitar solo during the mid section of this song here https://m.youtube.com/wat...uQuxyuxb6U or check out 3 killer solos by Bruce here https://m.youtube.com/wat...fi2z-81fTQ
[Edited 10/13/21 21:49pm]
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