This version of the song would make its way onto his iconic 1984 album of the same name, and would become one of the best songs of the 1980s – no, of all time. He owned the song publishing rights to his music and vigorously pursued online outlets that used it without permission. That’s especially impressive considering that Prince was known for spontaneity onstage, performing lesser-known songs or tunes by anyone from Sly & the Family Stone to Joni Mitchell at the spur of the moment.
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One of the key aspects of Prince’s legend is that the guy was so talented and so prolific, he never stopped writing and recording music, much of which sits in storage, unreleased and unheard.
The show also included a video of Prince’s impromptu performance at an after-party following the show’s 40th anniversary special a year ago, where Prince sang “Let’s Go Crazy” on a small stage alongside Fallon, fellow SNL vets Chris Rock, Maya Rudolph, Martin Short and other celebrities.
“Prince always did what he wanted to do”, Sheila E. said.
The question now is who holds the keys to Prince’s vaults? From that point on, Prince had “SLAVE” written on his cheek each time he made a public appearance. Today, major artists from Taylor Swift to Adele to Kanye West are picking and choosing where their music is released, just as Prince did. The last CD that Prince did under contract with Warner Brothers pretty well said what he felt when he called it, Emancipation. “We’ll do it!’ It was kind of amusing to me”. I did. But you know The Wizard of Oz? If it were to be opened, and the music packaged and sold posthumously, Prince’s estate could sell tens of millions of albums for potentially hundreds of millions of dollars.
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If you want to listen to Prince’s music in his honor, you’re not alone, but you won’t find his classics like “Purple Rain” and “When Doves Cry” on Spotify or Apple Music. As Prince united disparate audiences with his music, so he’s united his fans again. Tell me a musician who’s got rich off digital sales. Then there was his legendary dust up with his record label, Warner Bros., in the early nineties.It did seem like Prince was otherworldly at times, either channeling his music and signature look from outside, or perhaps just born to a different beat than the mere earthlings around him.
