Ray Wilson, a 45-year-old singer-songwriter from Amarillo, Tx., wanted to honor the funk icon’s stint as The Artist Formerly Known as Prince, during which he wrestled with Warner Brothers for control of his music.
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Fans of the Purple Rain singer are devasted Thursday morning after learning of his death. His cause of death remains unknown, but there are reports of him being hospitalized with the flu last week. But after Prince asked a number of streaming services to remove his music, including Pandora, the company said it was “respecting his wishes”.
Jeremiah Freed, who runs the website drfunkenberry.com and who got to know Prince after writing about him over the years, said he last saw Prince at the dance party.
James Donio, president of the Music Business Association (Music Biz), commented in a statement: “In a year that has already brought the devastating losses of music luminaries such as David Bowie, George Martin, Merle Haggard, Natalie Cole, Glenn Frey, Maurice White, and Keith Emerson, Music Biz is once again deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Prince”.
Prince could play guitar like Carlos Santana or Jimi Hendrix, sing like James Brown, turn out pop melodies worthy of Motown or lay down the deepest grooves this side of Sly and the Family Stone. “I’m outside smoking a cigarette with [Rush drummer] Neil Peart and someone sticks their head outside and goes, “Uh, dude, Prince is doing your song, ‘” Hawkins said”. The artist had first signed with Warner in 1977, releasing albums like “Purple Rain” and the soundtrack to the 1989 “Batman” movie directed by Tim Burton.
The thing that always strikes me about Prince is his ability to focus and have a direction of where he wants to go, and then making it happen. Imagine that response on steroids now that Prince has passed away.
In the same interview, Prince also vehemently defended the rapper and his wife, Beyoncé, whom he thought had taken too much abuse from the public and media.
Prince, who sold more than 100 million records during an illustrious career, was found dead in a lift at his home in Minnesota on Thursday. He also won an Academy Award in 1985 for the Best Original Song Score for his hit “Purple Rain”. He temporarily moved to California to record and played every single instrument on his 1978 debut For You.
When a musician dies, interest in his or her catalog skyrockets.
What’s your favorite Prince moment from television or film?
He also limited the use of his music on streaming services, opting to drop Spotify and Apple Music in favor of an exclusive deal with Jay Z’s TIDAL.
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Prince said he wrote music to keep himself alive.
