That tells you everything you need to know about Prince?
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To this day perhaps we’ll never know – did that guitar ever come down?.
The Current, which is Minnesota Public Radio’s music station, did a wonderful thing on Thursday by going all in on Prince, not just by playing his music, but by speaking with people who were moved by his life and sharing their stories. His prowess on the guitar is legendary. While the whereabouts of said instrument is indeed a mystery, what is perhaps more astonishing is the quality of Prince’s performance.
But the definitive proof, as they say, is in the pudding, and holy cow, what pudding it is.
Mostly associated with funk, he smashed expectations on March 15, 2004 with Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne, both collaborators with Harrison in the Traveling Wilburys, as well as Steve Winwood (who’d been part of the sessions for 1979’s George Harrison) and George’s son Dhani Harrison during a thunderous rendition of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”. A Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, he won seven Grammy Awards and an Academy Award for best original song score for the 1984 film “Purple Rain”. That was on display in 2007, when he played the Super Bowl halftime show in Miami.
But, Olivia was persuaded by organizers to let Prince perform – and the rest is history.
But there’s also no better way to remember the star than through his performances. Those were massive cultural moments that Prince somehow made bigger with his guitar and his very presence-but for pete’s sake, check out this display from a January 1982 show at the Capitol Theatre during “Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?”
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When Prince takes the stage towards the end of the performance for his solo – you see the delighted expressions on the other performers face. The resulting performance was an incredible showcase of guitar talent.
