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A SPECIAL HERO OF THE DAY!
Name: Prince
Age: was 57
Occupation: singer, songwriter, musician, etc.
Last Seen: Chanhassen, MN
Awarded For: being a real influence on pop culture
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Age: was 57
Occupation: singer, songwriter, musician, etc.
Last Seen: Chanhassen, MN
Awarded For: being a real influence on pop culture
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This has been a torrid year for music. It seems that everybody whom we all grew up with that had talent are all dying.
Last week while I was in Phoenix with my mother, we ended up adding Prince to the list.
I got the word from Facebook that the Purple One had died at his Paisley Park compound in Minnesota, so I flipped it to CNN. Wolf Blitzer was talking about the presidential race when CNN themselves got the word that Prince died. From there on, it was wall-to-wall Prince coverage. Mother was quite annoyed by me watching all those countless hours of Prince's passing, watching the people lined up in front of Paisley Park in tears, crying that their local hero had passed. As a matter of fact, she even told me that she was more sad that David Bowie died, so I reminded her that it's better than watching the alternative, which was CNN talking about Donald Trump (and yes, she hates him with a passion). Point made.
In a way, Prince Rogers Nelson died so Donald and Hillary would be knocked off the front page, but still, his influence in the world of all musical genres will always remain high. The son of Louisiana-bred jazz musicians in mostly white Minnesota, he schooled himself in a world of music as his escape. When he was 20, he had a record deal and a year later, scored his first top 40 hit, "I Wanna Be Your Lover".
Throughout the early 80s, he wasn't just a hit with the R&B audience, but he was popular with the new wave crowd as well. In 1982, he released 1999, his breakthrough album. But two years later, Purple Rain - the movie and the album - were both released, cementing his as a superstar. The movie - budgeted at $7 million - made over $70 million. The soundtrack gave Prince his first #1 hits, "When Doves Cry" and "Let's Go Crazy" and it gave him an Oscar for its title song. He had a score of more hits and #1s throughout the late 80s and 90s when a rift between himself and his label, Warner Bros. caused him to write the word "slave" on his right cheek and change his name to that unpronounceable symbol,
.
Eventually, Prince started working on his own terms and even restored his stage name. Even though he hadn't had a top 40 hit since 1997's "The Holy River" and a #1 since "Cream" in 1991, his albums still went gold and platinum and he still sold out arenas. He even performed at the 2007 Super Bowl Halftime Show where he performed some of his classics and even a cover of the Foo Fighters' "The Best of You" as a thank you for making a hit out of his controversial "Darling Nikki" from Purple Rain.
Prince was a man of "Controversy" (no pun intended) since it was 'Nikki' that riled up Tipper Gore and fellow 'Washington Wives' to create the Parents Music Resource Center that slaps warning labels on albums. He was also a man of many relationships and married twice. He did have a son who died as an infant. Otherwise his life was private.
Despite being private and soft-spoken, Prince was quite the showman and his image and style will live on. Without him, music and even MTV wouldn't be the same. He did more in 57 years than most would do in their whole lives.
Sleep well, Purple One.
Last week while I was in Phoenix with my mother, we ended up adding Prince to the list.
I got the word from Facebook that the Purple One had died at his Paisley Park compound in Minnesota, so I flipped it to CNN. Wolf Blitzer was talking about the presidential race when CNN themselves got the word that Prince died. From there on, it was wall-to-wall Prince coverage. Mother was quite annoyed by me watching all those countless hours of Prince's passing, watching the people lined up in front of Paisley Park in tears, crying that their local hero had passed. As a matter of fact, she even told me that she was more sad that David Bowie died, so I reminded her that it's better than watching the alternative, which was CNN talking about Donald Trump (and yes, she hates him with a passion). Point made.
In a way, Prince Rogers Nelson died so Donald and Hillary would be knocked off the front page, but still, his influence in the world of all musical genres will always remain high. The son of Louisiana-bred jazz musicians in mostly white Minnesota, he schooled himself in a world of music as his escape. When he was 20, he had a record deal and a year later, scored his first top 40 hit, "I Wanna Be Your Lover".
Throughout the early 80s, he wasn't just a hit with the R&B audience, but he was popular with the new wave crowd as well. In 1982, he released 1999, his breakthrough album. But two years later, Purple Rain - the movie and the album - were both released, cementing his as a superstar. The movie - budgeted at $7 million - made over $70 million. The soundtrack gave Prince his first #1 hits, "When Doves Cry" and "Let's Go Crazy" and it gave him an Oscar for its title song. He had a score of more hits and #1s throughout the late 80s and 90s when a rift between himself and his label, Warner Bros. caused him to write the word "slave" on his right cheek and change his name to that unpronounceable symbol,
.Eventually, Prince started working on his own terms and even restored his stage name. Even though he hadn't had a top 40 hit since 1997's "The Holy River" and a #1 since "Cream" in 1991, his albums still went gold and platinum and he still sold out arenas. He even performed at the 2007 Super Bowl Halftime Show where he performed some of his classics and even a cover of the Foo Fighters' "The Best of You" as a thank you for making a hit out of his controversial "Darling Nikki" from Purple Rain.
Prince was a man of "Controversy" (no pun intended) since it was 'Nikki' that riled up Tipper Gore and fellow 'Washington Wives' to create the Parents Music Resource Center that slaps warning labels on albums. He was also a man of many relationships and married twice. He did have a son who died as an infant. Otherwise his life was private.
Despite being private and soft-spoken, Prince was quite the showman and his image and style will live on. Without him, music and even MTV wouldn't be the same. He did more in 57 years than most would do in their whole lives.
Sleep well, Purple One.
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Got a Bee-otch to nominate? E-mail us @ chuck69dotcom@gmail.com. All suggestions (except for me) are welcome!
Bee-otch of the Day Archives can be seen on http://beeotchoftheday.blogspot.com!
Bee-otch of the Day is a production of Chuck69.com, Grand Rapids' site for Stern, politics and more!
Got a Bee-otch to nominate? E-mail us @ chuck69dotcom@gmail.com. All suggestions (except for me) are welcome!
Bee-otch of the Day Archives can be seen on http://beeotchoftheday.blogspot.com!
Bee-otch of the Day is a production of Chuck69.com, Grand Rapids' site for Stern, politics and more!
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