SIGN O’ THE TIMES
In 1987 Sign O’ The Times was a Prince double LP all vinyl baby, which featured tracks like “Housequake”, “If I Was Your Girlfriend” & “Adore”. Folks were bumpn’ his sounds through the urban streets of Los Angeles, and the world for that matter…it was a great time for music. Yes, His name was Prince.
Sign o’ the Times is the ninth studio album by American recording artist Prince. It was released on March 31, 1987 by Paisley Park Records and Warner Bros. Records. The album is the follow-up to Parade (1986), and Prince’s first “solo” album following his departure from The Revolution. The songs were largely recorded during 1986 to 1987 in sessions for albums Prince ultimately aborted: Dream Factory, Camille, and Crystal Ball. Initially intending to release a triple album culled from these sessions, Prince compromised with label executives and shortened the length of the release to two discs.
Prince’s LAST EVER TV APPEARANCE
The AMAs (American Music Awards) was just shy of 7 months months of this writing, on November 22, 2015 when Prince was the 1st presenter of the favorite Soul R&B Album. The Weeknd won that night along with other awards, but the dramatic irony of it all is that it seemed then, and it seems now that Prince appeared to be passing the baton of sorts to the younger generation of Artists. On April 21, 2016 the entertainment industry as a whole, not to mention the Music industry lost another Icon. Prince was and will always be considered to be one of the most talented Musicians in the world. He’s won an Oscar, a Golden Globe, Grammys, Billboard Awards, MTV Awards (VMAs), BET Awards, inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and countless others. It’s a wonder why Hollywood has not made sure this American Icon is not even considered to be on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
THE ARTIST
The fact of the matter is, Prince didn’t really care about all these accolades, all he really cared about was the Music. The music ran through his veins, and he needed to let it all out. Like all geniuses, some thought he was just plain weird, and he was often compared to Michael Jackson though the two never really meet eye to eye. They offered each other just enough competition to keep them both going on for decades. Prince could do it all, R&B, Soul, Funk, Rock & Roll, Pop and even Hip Hop music. He could not be contained or confined. He changed his name, to an unknown symbol, they called him (The Artist Formerly Known as Prince), just to get out of his contract with Warner Bros. Records. Highly reclusive, only his inner circle really knew what was going on at Paisley Park, but it’s known fact that he could play a mean game of basketball, which almost contradicted his drowned in sexual innuendo persona. If Michael Jackson was the King of Pop, then the Artist was the Prince of it all… Married only twice, however loved by many women, he suffered the loss of two children, but this adversity didn’t stop him from owning his freedom.
THE MUSICIAN
After countless numbers of albums, of a now independent Artist, his Paisley Park Mansion housed recordings inside the Vault, and recordings released to the public that are priceless. After his return to Warner Brothers Records and finally owning his own masters to his signature tracks, like Purple Rain, and When Doves Cry, Prince became a teacher of sorts to all who would learn this important lesson within the Music Industry, and that lesson is Ownership. Own your Master Recordings, own your Publishing. The fact is, Prince learned everybody, from the Recording Artists, A&Rs, Record Labels, Record Distributors and even Event Promoters. In this present day is an entirely different era of Music, blame it on the internet or ignorance and Prince understood this fact. He also got his freedom, freedom to do what he wanted to on this planet Earth, freedom to own what he wanted to own which he had created, freedom to be who he was created to be. But of course, he had to pay a price. One should ask, what’s this all for… Because Money Don’t Matter Tonight, it sure doesn’t Matter Yesterday…But the Audience sure did Adore him, while he was chasing the girl in the Little Red Corvette…Some said I Hate You…Because they Loved him so much, and now they say he died of a drug overdose, or the new rumor is that he died of Aids. This is what it all sounds like when Doves Cry…
THE PURPLE ONE
Prince Rogers Nelson (June 7, 1958 – April 21, 2016) was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and actor. He was a musical innovator and known for his eclectic work, flamboyant stage presence, extravagant dress and makeup, and wide vocal range. His music integrates a wide variety of styles, including funk, rock, R&B, new wave, soul, psychedelia, and pop. He has sold over 100 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling artists of all time. He won seven Grammy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and an Academy Award for the film Purple Rain. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, the first year of his eligibility. Rolling Stone ranked Prince at number 27 on its list of 100 Greatest Artists – “the most influential artists of the rock & roll era”.
THE ROCK STAR
Prince is one of the most naturally gifted artists of all time, and also one of the most mysterious. In the Eighties, at a time when other megastars such as Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, and Madonna, were delivering an album every three years or so, Prince remained prolific to an almost inhuman degree. A byproduct of his inexhaustible output was Prince’s tendency toward wayward, self-indulgent career moves (like changing his name to an unpronounceable symbol in the Nineties) that sometimes alienated even his most ardent supporters.
HIS ROYAL BADNESS
1. Prince wrote his first song at the age of 7, and it was called “Funk Machine.” 2. He danced on stage with James Brown when was 10. “My stepdad put me on stage with him and I danced a bit until the bodyguard took me off,” Prince told MTV in 1985. 3. He later danced with Brown — and Michael Jackson! — in this amazing footagefrom a show at the Beverly Theatre in Los Angeles in 1983. (B.B. King also happened to be on stage.) 4. His first band when he was a young teenager was called Grand Central. 5. Prince was a hardcore Joni Mitchell fan as a teen. “Prince used to write me fan mail with all of the U’s and hearts that way that he writes,” she told New York Magazine. “And the office took it as mail from the lunatic fringe and just tossed it!” 6. He was once so poor that he’d just smell food instead of eating it. “I didn’t have any money, so I’d just stand outside McDonald’s and smell stuff,” he told Rolling Stone in 1985. 7. He rejected a deal with CBS when he was 19 because they insisted that Verdine White from Earth, Wind, and Fire produce his first three albums. Prince later signed a deal with Warner Bros. that allowed him to produce his own music.
Prince was only 57 years of age when he died, ironically the same age of the untimely death of Denise Matthews (Vanity) a woman he once loved, which is an opinion up for debate that he died from a broken heart. Whatever the case, all those who support him will miss him always. He is survived by many half siblings, and his sister Tyka Nelson, and because he apparently never penned a last Will & Testament, she continues to battle her half-siblings for their late brother’s $300 million dollar fortune. Some say he was a bad business man because of this, others say he thought God would heal him of the Influenza, or whatever he was diagnosed with, and all the gossip columnist will be guessing the real cause of his death for decades to come even when the truth comes out. If drugs are found in his system and that was the cause of death however, this is also a great lesson for the young Artists to pay attention to, and now the teacher must rest in peace. Prince…we got the message, party like it’s the end of the world and never let the elevator bring you down, but everyone must know the man who hung from a cross to have eternal freedom.
THE MESSENGER
The Album 1999 was a prolific prophecy to what was to come in the future, and when the party is over Oops, Out of Time. The anthem rang all over the world when the clock struck 12:00 to ring in the year 2000.. Prince said things like…“Life is just a party and parties weren’t meant to last”. How profound and ironic this was, he originally recorded this song in 1982 at Sunset Sound Recording Studios.
THE ENIGMA
People tend to think, and have an opinion of what a real weirdo is composed of, dissecting art like it’s supposed to make sense to them at the time of exhibition, being when it’s first introduced, instead of enjoying art for what it is… This is the successful Music Producer’s both gift and curse. But if one stay’s the course, such as Prince, then the world will conform to the new normal, as to which then once considered weird. The Revolution, Morris Day and The Time, Vanity 6, Apollonia 6, New Power Generation, Sheena Easton, Sheila E., Third Eye Girl, Patti LaBelle, Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis, Chaka Khan, Larry Graham, Bootsy Collins are just some of the music Artists that Prince Produced Albums and songs for over the years. With his unique musical signature all over the track, and his famous Purple Guitar shaped like his famous Love Symbol logo. Prince also was one of the biggest admirers of Stevie Wonder, and emulated the way he’d laid down a track.
THE ONE
Prince was in love with his first wife, Mayte she was the one for him, and he was the one for her. Many thought they would be together forever, but their spirits will be joined together forever, with their family no matter how tragic.
THE MUSIC PRODUCER
As a Producer, Arranger of many songs, and playing many instruments that many music artists would dare to play. Prince was a writer from the heart. If the world ever perceived him as a strange individual, then the world needs to look at themselves and figure out if they’re normal. Then redefine the word normal, and then they would be weird, this is the way Prince would think from the message in the music. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was also considered weird, and the music of Prince will also last over time, just as classical music has lasted for centuries. Once in a while, like every hundred or even thousands of years, the world is blessed with such genius, which is almost always overly scrutinized while he is creating, and adored and admired when the artist final day has come.
THE RAVE
Sadly to say we have lost a legend, and once again drugs maybe an unfortunate issue, like it or not. He changed appearances many times like a chameleon, he last rocked the natural Afro, just like his fellow guitarist brother Lenny Kravitz once did, however the changes in the Music industry remain evasive. Change must come, the message is clear. The Prince of it all, and the King of Pop are both gone yet their music remains fo rever. ~ RIP.