There was a nice story and picture about Prince making the Hall of Fame and of course the mugshot of Jacko on the front page of the Pioneer Press this morning. I guess it's kind of ironic how they always seem to be linked



Purple fame, purple fame
Minnesota's Prince of pop makes the Hall of Fame the first year he is eligible.
BY ALLISON KAPLAN and KAY HARVEY
Pioneer Press






Minnesota's purple pioneer is headed to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Prince is being inducted the first time he is eligible: 25 years after the release of his first album, "For You." He joins Bob Dylan, the only other Minnesotan in the Hall of Fame, who also was inducted in his first year of eligibility, 1988. Prince is part of a class of inductees that includes the late former Beatle George Harrison.

Thursday's announcement didn't surprise members of the local music scene, who recognized Prince's brilliance from the very first time he packed the house at First Avenue in Minneapolis.

"He completely changed rock 'n' roll," said Chris Osgood, artist services director of Springboard for the Arts in St. Paul and a musician whose band, the Suicide Commandos, has recorded at Paisley Park, Prince's Chanhassen studio. "From the very beginning, everyone was amazed."

Prince released "For You" in 1978. His breakthrough came in 1980 with the inventive "Dirty Mind." Three years later, "1999" launched him as a star. The next year, "Purple Rain," his biggest hit of all time, made him a superstar. "Sign o' the Times," released in 1987, often is considered his masterpiece for its display of musical range. are inducted. Five to seven performers usually are inducted each year. This year's class also includes Jackson Browne, Bob Seger, Traffic, ZZ Top and the Dells.

The induction ceremony is scheduled for March 15 in New

But the days leading up to "Purple Rain" are recalled with the most fondness in the Twin Cities. It was on stage at First Avenue where Prince first strummed the crying cords to the ballad and later filmed scenes for "Purple Rain," the movie.

"Those were great times," recalled First Avenue General Manager Steve McClellan. "Those early shows were some of the most exciting shows of the club."

A prolific writer, Prince's innovative mix of musical styles, his versatility on instruments and his sheer talent have earned comparisons to icons like Jimi Hendrix and even Pablo Picasso. He is considered a true artist — and not only because of the early 1990s period when he changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol and was dubbed by fans and journalists "The Artist Formerly Known as Prince." He began calling himself Prince again in 2000.

"He's a genius," said Chan Poling, singer/songwriter for the Suburbs, a local band that was trying to make its mark around the time Prince emerged as a star. "Prince took R&B and funk and gave it a new pop sensibility. He stands out, and that's who should be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame."

The Hall of Fame has already recognized two of Prince's biggest hits. "When Doves Cry" and "Little Red Corvette" were included in 1997's "500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll." The coat Prince wore in "Purple Rain" is also on display at the hall in Cleveland, Ohio.

Criteria for induction in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame include the influence and significance of the artist's contributions to the development and perpetuation of rock and roll, according to the Hall of Fame's Web site (www.rockhall.com).

The selection process begins with a committee made up of rock 'n' roll historians who nominate musicians in each performer category. Ballots then go to a voting body of about 1,000 rock experts around the world. Performers who get the most votes — and more than 50 percent of the vote —York City.

i have my teevee set to turn itself on every morning on fox 9...this morning i was awakened by one of the reporters chirpin, "prince is in the rock & roll hall of fame!" it was really surreal, cuz channel 9 doesn't talk about p that much anymore--when they still had that segment "the buzz" with robyn robinson on each newscast she'd always give little blurbs about 'im if anything was goin on.

here's another article about it in today's issue of the star tribune...check out the very last paragraph, ya'll. someone here got quoted.

Prince takes his place among rock royalty
Jon Bream, Star Tribune

Published November 21, 2003 PRIN21

It was no surprise: Prince was named to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Thursday. Equally unsurprising, the reclusive Minnesota rock star had nothing to say publicly about this momentous honor.

The shy kid from north Minneapolis has been one of the most innovative music makers, dazzling performers and enigmatic stars of the past 25 years. His induction was "automatic," said Bob Merlis, a member of the nominating committee.

"He's everything you want in a rock star: iconoclastic, great guitarist, great dancer, enigmatic, a rebel, everything -- and he makes great records," said Merlis, a Los Angeles publicist who worked with Prince at Warner Bros. Records for two decades.

Calls to Paisley Park, Prince's recording complex in Chanhassen, were not answered. At press time, his publicist, Ronnie Lippin of Los Angeles, said that she had not received a statement from him.

Others, however, had plenty to say about this crowning of Prince, 45, who will be inducted March 15 along with the late George Harrison, Traffic, Bob Seger, ZZ Top, the Dells and Jackson Browne. Harrison, who was inducted in '88 as a member of the Beatles, is being honored for his solo work.

Prince was the only artist selected in his first year of eligibility. (An artist is eligible 25 years after the release of his first album). John Mellencamp also was on the ballot for the first time, but wasn't selected by the 700 music-industry executives, musicians and critics who voted this year.

"It's not a surprise; he deserves it," said Twin Cities producer Bobby Z, Prince's drummer from 1978 to '88. "From the first day I met him in '75 or '76, I could see it immediately: He had a magical gift. One in a billion -- just oozing talent."

In 1976, Owen Husney quit his job running a Minneapolis advertising agency to become Prince's first manager and help him land a recording contract with Warner Bros.

Husney said Thursday that after the deal was signed, Prince told him: "I gotta do my own album. Maurice White [of Earth, Wind & Fire] is not producing. You go tell the chairman of Warner Bros. that I'm producing."

Prince was 18. Warner chairman Mo Ostin told Husney: "We might have to risk losing an album on this guy. But he's got record sense."

Prince proved it on his 1978 debut album, "For You," writing, arranging and producing all the songs and playing all the instruments. The record yielded a modest hit, the suggestive "Soft and Wet" -- a side of Prince that emerged full-blown in his provocative 1980 breakthrough album "Dirty Mind."

He found mainstream success in 1983 with the hits "Little Red Corvette" and "1999." His blockbuster was 1984's "Purple Rain," a semiautobiographical movie filmed in the Twin Cities that became an unexpected hit. The $7 million movie, with a first-time director and first-time star, grossed more than $65 million. Its soundtrack album sold more than 10 million copies, spent 24 weeks at No. 1 and earned Prince an Oscar and two Grammys.

He continued to have hits for another eight years. Then he started feuding with Warner Bros. about artistic freedom and the prolific pace at which he released albums. In 1995, he changed his name to a glyph (real name: Prince Roger Nelson) and lost respect and record sales. He returned to using Prince in 2001 and now releases albums on his own. His latest CD, "N.E.W.S.," is an all-instrumental disc.

He has sold more than 36 million albums in the United States. He has also written or produced hits for the Bangles, Chaka Khan, Sheena Easton and Sinéad O'Connor.

Prince joins Bob Dylan (class of '88) as the only other Minnesota resident in the Rock Hall of Fame, which is in Cleveland. Albert Lea-born Eddie Cochran was inducted posthumously in '87. Since 1986, 201 artists and industry figures have been enshrined.

The induction ceremony will be March 15 at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York. Said one fan on the Web site prince.org: "I hope he doesn't do or say anything too weird."

Jon Bream is at 612-673-1719 or popmusic@startribune.com.

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

I wonder who that was.

I had the same experience this morning. I was drinking my coffee and reading the paper. When I turned the page and saw a color photo of Prince, my heart stopped! I guess I still love the bastard. I realized how infrequently he shows up in the paper these days when I couldn't stop staring at the picture. It was a nice one.

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

That was me! I said it in another thread! And I hope he doesn't do anything too weird either. He should just accept graciously and play his ass off!!

kisscamille said:

this is really good news. i'm glad for our hero

kisscamille said:

Congrats! Play his ass off he will, I'm sure!

waiting for BJB's on this matter!

2 cents edit
[This message was edited Fri Nov 21 11:08:45 PST 2003 by PhilG]

y do they skip from Soft and Wet to Dirty Minds? wasn't i wanna be your lover a pretty substantial hit for him?

anywho - GO BOIIIEEE!!! i've been waiting for this moment for a long time!! he's more than worthy!!!

Like he said "There are NO kings, only PRINCES". Well its about time:)