Hello ya'll,
I just came back from lunch with my significant other and we kind of got into a tiff about Prince's rock god status. He says that unlike Led Zeppelin, Jimmy Hendricks, and the like, Prince will never have their status. Of course I disagree. I believe Prince has already reached that and moved beyond. I think what makes him a “rock god” is his originality, musicianship, longevity, genius, his ability to be prolific, and many other facts.

He also says that if Prince’s technology was taken away i.e. computers, synthesizers, etc. that he wouldn’t be able to fall back on anything. I know what you’re thinking that’s crazy. You could give him a triangle and he’d make a masterpiece. Anyway I’m trying to come back with reasons and good ones about why Prince will be considered one of the greats like Hendricks when he is gone. Help me out please. Thanks!

Only his true fans know for sure...everyone else
has forgotten about P. Just look at the Rolling Stone
list of the 100 greatest guitarist.
What's his fan base down to? 100,000?

Prince will never come close to being recognized in the same breath as Zeppelin and Hendrix. I am not saying that he is not worthy, but only his underground fanbase recognizes his guitar playing ability. To most of the world his talent is grossly over shadowed by

1) High girly voice
2) Purple Rain
3) Slave
4) Name Change
5) Very difficult to work with
6) Assless pants
7) Homo-erotic image

A damn shame.

2funkE said:

Am i the only person who doesn't see this 'Homo-erotic image'? I used to see a 'horny' image but cannot for the life in me see prince as 'gay' in any way.

Marrk said:

For real? What about all the lace and mincey dancing.

Cloudbuster said:

I just don't see it.i saw a black man who didn't give a fuck what people thought.The lyrics in 'Uptown' define him.

besides i'd grown up on artists that wore make-up and non-conventional clothing.Used to it.

I could see this happenning when he is dead and somebody else owns his catalogue. He has scoured his rep. Even though Hendrix is dead, Zeppelin is past, and the like is as well, they still have big company backing. Prince's talent as being a better musician in many more genres as well as rock is a moot point for now

Marrk said:

That's a fair answer. But I still think he catered to both heterosexual and homosexual audiences.

Marrk said:

you ain't alone. i've always seen him in the same light.

no

Cloudbuster said:

It was MAYBE questionable until LOVESEXY. I literally stopped in mytracks whenI first saw it.



"Oh this is really really gay!"

Prince = more pop than rock, more pop than soul and more pop than funk.

Zeppelin = more rock than blues

PFunkjazz said:

It's probably my favourite album cover of his. I think it's rather beautiful.

2funkE said:

In many ways,I agree with you.Prince is a musical genuis,no doubt,but too often,there were many "distractions" that always seemed to get in the way.The constant changing of girlfriends,the weird outfits,the make-up,posing nude on the cover of an album,the sex-god image,the 1985 bodyguard/We Are The World incident,the various other dramas of his career...in many cases,these things got more attention than the music.The name change in 1993 was an almost-fatal career move.Around that time,I would read an article,record review or an interview on Prince,and the writer would be discussing the name change moreso than the music!


These days,Prince seems to have totally dropped the "rock- star-sex-god-posturing act",but it may be too late (as far as the mainstream is concerned).I wish he could get the respect and recognition that somebody like Carlos Santana gets.

Cloudbuster said:

G-Strings, Stockings and high heeled boots, in my opinion placed him questionalble on the heterosexual roster
but a starter on the Bisexual team. Plus the "look" he often gives which is the sole domain of male non-hetero's.

Prince is a Funk God, which is far better than being a rock god.: headbang:

no

Pagey said:

2funkE said:

---

Prince will never come close to being recognized in the same breath as Zeppelin and Hendrix. I am not saying that he is not worthy, but only his underground fanbase recognizes his guitar playing ability. To most of the world his talent is grossly over shadowed by

1) High girly voice like a thousand other male R&B singers
2) Purple Rain what's wrong with Purple Rain?
3) Slave
4) Name Change
5) Very difficult to work with
6) Assless pants assless pants! that was a rockstar move if I ever did see one
7) Homo-erotic image like Marrk, I never saw this. Sexual, yes. Homosexual, no.

A damn shame.

---

Pagey said:

co-sign. funk god, sure...rock god, not quite.

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

as have i...never thought of him as gay in any way, shape or form..

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

I do hear that. Led Zeppelin and Jimi may have done their share of genre-bending, but there was no mistaking the fact that they were rock acts, first and foremost. They participated in the rock scene and played with other rock acts. Prince, on the other hand, has never attached himself to any musical scene, and most of his music can't really be classified as rock.

summerdawn said:

Oh come on,you guys

You can certainly see why people thought Prince was gay.Go back and watch his 1980 performance on "American Bandstand",or look at the cover of the 'Lovesexy' tourbook,or that infamous 1978 photo that pops up here from time to time (y'all know the picture I'm talking about...lol).As fans,we know that Prince really isn't gay,but it's not hard to see why other people would come to that conclusion.

DavidEye said:

true...people often mistake androgyny for bein 'gay', so that's where that stems out of...

DavidEye said:

Under The Cherry Moon? He was acting gay as a goose. I used to always think Prince was at least, bisexual.

stymie said:

Well, Tricky's character was pretty fuckin' gay. Christopher was mostly campy. But it always seemed to me that Tricky was so pissed about Mary, not because he liked Mary, but because he was terrified Christopher would be taken away from him. I mean, what straight guy drinks himself into a miserable stupor because his boy didn't meet him at the bar?

are some of you on crack...??

Prince, until 1993 was a Rock God. he was controversial, a superstar and most importantly everyone thought he was BRILLIANT. it's not a song, or album that makes a Rock God, it's the entire image. the X factor. Prince had it oozing out of him, wether or not you cared for the music he made.

After that he lost it big time. The Prince of now isn't a Rock God, he's a talented musician, a preacher and a cult hero.

NME said:

Well any umm "rock" fan is aware and respectful of "purple rain" (song and album), but since prince doesn't stick to one genre in particular, he never really had anymore mainstream "rock" songs/albums--as zeppelin and henrix did.
So, no, he'll never be on the same level as hendrix and zeppelin with "rock" fans. Doesn't matter if he's alive or dead, other than "purple rain" he never did any other mainstream "rock" album/song, that's not (and never has been) his main genre of music.
I just can't see people like your friend holding prince is such high esteem-ever. Now "purple rain" is another story

If prince is (or will be) seen as a "god" of anything it would be funk or R&B.