when people die ahead of their time some times their place in history is much more positive from the critics than if they lived longer and went through the ups and down an artists usually gets after 20 or 30 years of doing music.

jimi hendrix was one of the greatest guitarists of all time.
he defined and influenced most of the hard rock-metal guys
plus black guitarists like jesse,prince,mike hampton eddie hazel (funkadelic guys for the non-p funk fans) ernie isley
etc etc...

the fact he died way before his time assured his "exalted"
status in rock music.

so here's the question to y'all.

if prince had died prematurely say after 1999 what would his
place in music be?

remember this is before purple rain.

well hold up...i got a second related question.
would you as a prince fan feel the same way about him if
he died in 1982 and all of the following music he's done since then never happened!

(haha pretend that p-rain.parade,around the world,sign o the times,black
album,lovesexy...never happened etc etc never came to pass)

believe me i'm trying to come up with the answers to my questions.

help y'all!

youngca

I am willing to bet ANY amount that Prince has recorded an album tobe released after his death, i would be amazed if this was not the case.

I think he'd wind up like a Nick Drake or a Shuggie Otis (is Shuggie still alive? is he still recording?), and he might have been remembered initially as a marginally famous artist (moreso than Nick or Shuggie, obviously) but years later I'd imagine vault recordings would surface that would expose the extra layers of his talent that we all have gotten to experience in the past two decades.

That's my speculative answer-at-first-glance, anyway!

I only think that the critics are more positive towards hendrix,cobain etc is because they had less time to balls up also they will always be young in peoples minds.If prince had died after 1999 then he would have been talked about as a very promising artist and his image wouldnt be tainted by some of his later antics.But he also wouldnt be as famous as he is now obviously ,besides david bowie and the stones are thought of in a good light and when the die id imagine it will mostly there high points that will be remembered.If prince had of died in 1982 i doubt id be here now typing.

richierich said:

I agree with all.

On a side note, I just see why Cobain is looked upon as some demi-God by some.

Nirvana were a one-hit wonder.

youngca said:

No, I wouldn't feel the same way about him. I'd still definitely be a fan, because you've got three great albums (Dirty Mind, Controversy, 1999) and two impressive albums with definite gems (Prince, For You). But without the later stuff, I wouldn't be an obsessed fanatic like I am now. I think the volume of material contributes to my level of fanaticism. It's hard to get tired of someone's music when there are hundreds of songs to choose from.

That being said, imagine this: During the height of Purple Rain mania, Prince crashes the purple motorcycle and is killed. Now there's a rock 'n roll legend for you. He'd be as big as Elvis to this day.

Romance1600 said:

actually, they had several hits.

FunkMistress said:

Romance1600 said:
---
richierich said:
---
I only think that the critics are more positive towards hendrix,cobain etc is because they had less time to balls up also they will always be young in peoples minds.If prince had died after 1999 then he would have been talked about as a very promising artist and his image wouldnt be tainted by some of his later antics.But he also wouldnt be as famous as he is now obviously
---



I agree with all.

On a side note, I just see why Cobain is looked upon as some demi-God by some.

Nirvana were a one-hit wonder.
---



actually, they had several hits.
---
I do like nirvana myself but they were hyped out of all proportion after his death . From what i remember they were on a downslope and wernt the most popular band at time but his death brought alot of attention and since they have been regarded as one of the best bands ever.

I don't want to speculate too much about Nirvana, but I will say that as a writer and artist, Kurt Cobain was amazingly gifted. I would humor an argument saying he was a more interesting performer than he was a musician, but I can listen to "Bleach", "Nevermind" and "In Utero" all the way through and thoroughly enjoy myself without hitting the skip button once. Can't say that about many artists' work.

I think I would have been just as fanatical had he stopped after 1999, because it was 1999 and Controversy that really caused me to love him and his music. Purple Rain was great but it wasn't until Lovesexy that I truly loved his music again...
I don't even want to speak about his "d..." i will be devestated..

Interesting question! "1999" is my favorite Prince album, so I'm pretty sure I'd still be a fan, but perhaps not as full-fledged.

great questions !
1. if prince only got as far as 1999 he'd be remembered as a potential superstar ! due to his diverse work, i think.

2.i would not have been into him at all as i live in glasgow and no one really heard of prince until purple rain in, the uk, apart from a minority who lived in london and if they are honest no one in london had heard of him until 1999 !!!

my next point is quite interesting my fave prince album changes a lot lovesexy , s o t t , around t w i a d, gold.

but i have what i think is a good way to gauge your fave and it is this , quite simply the album you play the most is obviously your fave !
and i am tied on prince and dirty mind i cant seperate the two ! i have worn out vinyl and cassette recordings of these two , i cant say that of any other prince album i like many fans probably take purple rain for granted.

so think about me ! for a moment , if he only got to 1999 i probably wouldnt be into him at all ! and my fave's are pre 1999 !

Anxiety said:

good points chris. i think shuggie still lives.
nick drake's a great comparison!

chances are i wouldn't know shit about 'im, due to my age.

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

You would.

Moonbeam said:

noiwouldn't!

Poor Dansa, so young...lol.

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

youbettabelieveyouwould! I'dataughtya!

richierich said:

i think you're dead on richie-r. i'm guessing he'd be
considered like this" rememeber that weird,looking,
black gender bending guitarist/singer who did some
cool singles and albums...got some exposure on MTV
(hence' corvette.1999..etc) he was alright. but he never got
to superstardom!'

lennon died early and critics who lambasted his "radical
ways (not his music) suddenly put him into divinity!

john was great but he wouldn't even put up being hailed as
a GOD by hypocritical critics.

prince's early death would have affected me. because i'm glad he got the chance to do his thang for all the years he'd been doing it. good or bad (i know some people ain't
too happy with his 90's work) but i'm glad he's still around.
i would be a fan even if he died. like i am with jimi.

props to funk mistress. i dig your words.

youngca

Moonbeam said:

yeah,youprobablywould've!!!hehehehe...

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

You would have heard "1999" and "Little Red Corvette" for sure.

Moonbeam said:

yeah...and that's all.

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

Nah, you would have bought an album based on word of mouth.

I would be lost without Purple Rain.

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

sorry dansa...i forgot there are younger fans of p
like you. maybe i should rephrase my question for the younger prince peeps like you.

check this out:
what if prince died after SOTT? (which some people say was
/is his best album ever?

again i ain't wantin' my boy to go. losing marvin gaye was
tough. and he had a long career!

Moonbeam said:

o-tay, the way i think about it is this: if p actually did pass on around '82 and if i were still livin in iowa at this time (or better yet, around the time i started gettin into p about 8 years ago), i wouldn't hear anything about the cat. iowa's deadsville when it comes to prince.

You mean Prince is still alive?

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

But considering your current situation, you would hear the big singles at least.

In any case, I'm in the same boat, kinda. I'm 23 and didn't get into Prince until 1989/90, but the first album I bought was "1999," and I was a goner from that album on. If there had only been the earlier albums from which to choose, I know I would have eventually gotten them. Since "1999" is my favorite album ever, I would have REALLY wondered what Prince could have done had he stayed around.

If Prince had died in 1983 he would be a great legend.
He didn't make those awfull albums in the 90's ...
he didn't loose his mind in the new century.

He would be remembered for "Dirty Mind" and "1999" ...
and that's how I remember him.
And everybody will think off the things he could have done ... and trust me, things he has done don't live up to those expectations.

In my opinion 1982 was the top of Prince's carreer.
After that he was first falling very slowly, to take the giant fall in 1989.