By Lisa O'Donnell
JOURNAL REPORTER
Thursday, April 22, 2004



Devotion: Russell Hollifield and his girlfriend, Vanessa Wright, soak in the atmosphere of The Prince Room.
(Journal Photo by Bruce Chapman)


Nothing compares 2 Prince. At least in Russell Hollifield's eyes. Hollifield, 33, has been a rabid Prince fan for more than 20 years. He recently completed "The Prince Room," a room in his house devoted to his Prince memorabilia. On Friday, Hollifield will attend Prince's concert in Raleigh. It will mark the 31st time he has seen the famously eccentric and prolific musician from Minneapolis whose songs include "When Doves Cry," "Little Red Corvette," "Kiss" and "Nothing Compares 2 U."

The first time Hollifield wanted to see Prince, his mother, Pat, told him no.

An 11-year old boy had no business going to a concert by himself.

Three years later, Prince was back in the area, touring in support of Purple Rain, a landmark album released in 1984.

This time, his mom encouraged him to go. His older sister, Angie, and a few of her friends provided the supervision.

The concert unleashed a purple passion that continues to rage.

So who does Hollifield fault?

"My mom pushed me to go," Hollifield said with a laugh. "So she's partially to blame. She let it start."

He has amassed a collection of Prince memorabilia that includes magazines - all stored in plastic, of course - albums, limited-edition picture discs and assorted "Symbols" - that hybridization of the gender signs that Prince used in place of his name for several years in the 1990s.

"He's got some of my money in his pocket," Hollifield said.

The good stuff is framed - an autographed picture (Prince signed the Symbol, not his name), a ticket to Prince's 1999 New Year's Eve Party and a hologram. The piece de resistance is a black paisley jacket that Prince wore to the premiere of Under the Cherry Moon.

Hollifield bought it from a woman in Wyoming, whom Prince gave it to in 1987. The jacket is so tiny that Hollifield's girlfriend, Vanessa Wright, who is 5 feet 4 inches and weighs about 105 pounds, can't fit into it. The jacket has thick shoulder pads and small pockets for guitar picks in the lining.

He declined to say how much he paid for the jacket.

"It's definitely my most rare piece and most incredible artifact," he said.

Hollifield is a technician for an alarm company. He first heard Prince while on the school bus. Some girls had been playing a tape of Controversy, an early Prince album, for weeks on end. He loved what he heard.

Hollifield came of age when Prince, along with Michael Jackson and Madonna, ruled the airwaves in the mid-1980s. Prince's musicianship set him apart, Hollifield said. Hollifield plays keyboards and drums and always appreciated how Prince could play so many instruments, write and produce music without any formal training.

"He was breaking all the rules musically. It's his style. He's funky," he said. "He's a modern-day Mozart."

The Prince vibe is infectious. His mother and father, Ralph, are fans. Pat Hollifield has been to three shows. Hollifield said that one of his happiest Prince moments was in 1997 when his parents attended a show with him.

"There's not a better feeling than your parents having fun with you," he said.

Pat Hollifield said that the Prince concerts are a way to spend time with her son.

"He likes Prince so I like to go with him and do whatever it is he's interested in," she said."

Hollifield met Prince in 1993 at an autograph session in Atlanta. Hollifield stood in line for four hours.

When his turn came, Hollifield said he wanted to tell Prince everything.

"In the midst of my glory, I was going through the chaos of trying to get the words," he said.

They talked for about two minutes. Hollifield told him what an inspiration he was. He also mentioned a couple of unreleased Prince songs that he had heard on bootlegged recordings. Hollifield suggested that the artist release them.

Prince gave him a shocked look.

"He was super cool," he said.

Hollifield has also made several pilgrimages to Minneapolis, Prince's hometown. He first went with his mother. In 1990, she heard that Prince was playing a show in Minneapolis the following night. On a whim, she decided to fly up there with her son and go to the show.

Hollifield had long wanted to go to Minneapolis. They looked around the lobby of Paisley Park, Prince's recording studio.

"It was like a mecca," he said. "It was incredible to know that I was there. Here's the place you always hear about."

Since that visit, Hollifield and some friends have toured the studio and attended a few of Prince's birthday concerts in small venues. Hollifield said that the notoriously private Prince will move through the crowd at these gatherings and exchange small talk with fans. He doesn't talk for long but doesn't seem to mind mingling.

Some of Hollifield's best friends are Prince fans. Each month, he gets together with friends Don Ledford, Lisa Seaberry and Veronica Martin for "Prince Dinners." They usually eat Japanese and swap Prince collectibles they've acquired - much of it on eBay, an online auction site.

Wright, Hollifield's girlfriend of two years, also goes to the dinners. She wasn't sure what to make of Hollifield's hobby at first. Sometimes, he would play so much Prince music that she would tell him: "OK. I can't handle anymore."

But she has learned to enjoy the music.

"I got educated, let me tell you," Wright said.

Her brother even laminated a Prince article for him that appeared in the Wall Street Journal.

Hollifield doesn't know how much longer he will continue to collect memorabilia. The item he really wants is one of Prince's custom-made cloud guitars, distinctive for their unusual curves and colors. That could cost him somewhere between $5,000 and $15,000.

"My father always said, 'Russell, every man needs a hobby.' But I don't expect he thought this would be my hobby."

• Lisa O'Donnell can be reached at 727-7420 or at lo'donnell@wsjournal.com

Hey....that's my cuzzin (actually my best friend) they're talking about....
I even got a mention in the article....

Hey, this would make a cool post. I think there's been one in the past, but post your "shrines" (or collections) if you have one.

gettoff said:

i was about to ask if this guy was on the org...

FINALLY! We know what EvilWhiteMale's room looks like!















































jus kiddin'

gettoff said:

Awwwww D ya got your name in print...and it ain't even the police reports

There were these two girls in Houston - Karen and Jo, last name being withheld - who had an entire single-wide mobile home dedicated to Prince. I went there in the early '90's, I think, with a buddy who was friends with them. They had everything I could ever imagine. Concerts, videos, movie scripts - everything. According to them, they had never met Prince but had been told he knew of them.

They gave it all up and dedicated themselves to Michael Bolton. Go figure.

There's a house I'd consider robbing!