FEATURE:
Prince at Sixty-Five
The Influence of the Pioneering Artist
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I have been doing…
a run of features ahead Prince’s sixty-fifth birthday. On 7th June, the world marks that important birthday. The Minnesota-born genius died in 2016, but his influence and legacy lives on. It might be impossible to do one feature on his influence, because he impacted artists, culture and society alike. I am going to pull together some features that recognise his influence and how he changed the world. I will end with a playlist of artists inspired by Prince. I may miss some, as his impact and those he inspired is so huge and unknown. I will at least feature the most obvious artists. Before getting to that, it is worth sourcing words from those who have saluting and highlighted Prince’s influence. Apologies if they seem a bit randomly-placed, but there is a lot of information and resource if you ask that key question (what is Prince’s influence?). I want to start off with a great article from The Rake. Whilst many associate Prince with musical excellence, some forgot how he influenced people in other ways. The fact he would not define himself rigidly in terms of sexuality. How he empowered so many not to be continued. To feel their own identity. Maybe an almost unheard-of thing from an artist in the 1980s and 1990s, there are so many today who have been emboldened by Prince’s strength and defiance:
“Bigots, the unadventurous, they can’t stand individuals. They want everything easily categorized. (Preferrably, as white, male, middle class, hetero, conservative.) But much as the gatherings at Trump rallies would suggest otherwise, that kind of closed mindset is rapidly dwindling. Generation X, who grew up with Prince, overwhelmingly don’t simply tolerate but celebrate diversity and do-your-own-thing individualism. The Millennials, for all their many faults, take singularity — the freedom to be who you are, who you want to be — as a given. (Bless their entitled little hearts.)
Prince, much like David Bowie, that other great musical individualist lost to the world this year, played a major part in bringing about this new cultural enlightenment.
When Prince sang “Am I black or white? Am I straight or gay?” in 1981’s ‘Controversy’ (one of his earliest hits), those sorts of questions were indeed controversial. Now, though race and sexuality remain politically charged topics, romantic preferences and one’s gene pool are much more “Meh, whatever” matters to most of us than they were thirty-something years ago.
Prince was instrumental in making that so. His whole approach seemed to say, bravely, boldly: Maybe I am, maybe I’m not. So what? His look, his appeal, his music, transcended race lines — colour don’t matter anyway. Call Prince a ‘fag’? His response was like a shrug: What if I am? Nothing wrong with that, man. And there he was — as immortalised in the film Purple Rain — all sexy in bedazzled satin, leather and lace, riding away with a hot babe on the back of his motorcycle. Call the man a ‘freak’? Sure enough. About to get real freaky with that Apollonia — and a whole host of ladies to follow.
Prince crushed the bland masculine stereotype — Playboy, James Bond, whisky, cigars, and casual misogyny — and created a new paradigm. He proved a guy could be uber-dandyish, androgynous, sexually and gender fluid, yet brimming with raw carnal appeal. He was a little man, whose persona was writ large. A ‘soft’ man who hit hard.
Above all, Prince was an individual who stood as a standard bearer for individuality, his influence helping empower millions of others to own their uniqueness, shaping the more diverse, accepting, colourful world that’s crystallising in the 21st century. No wonder he was so hated by the forces of conformity. And loved by pretty much everyone else”.
In 2017, Everything Zoomer highlighted five ways in which Prince changed the music industry. There really was nobody like him. Whilst, on 7th June (his sixty-fifth birthday) we will remember his great music and all he gave to the world, one cannot help but imagine what could have been. There was so much the genius was going to give to the world. Lucky that we have the overstuffed and bountiful Paisley Park Vault, where he kept stuff he recorded but had not yet released. We will get Prince music for decades to come:
“1. Prince’s Sound
The trajectory of Prince’s career begins, of course, with his music and the famed “Minneapolis Sound,” named after his hometown, that he pioneered leading into his first album, For You, in 1978. Prince’s potent brew of everything from rock and funk to pop and new wave music was a revelation to fans around the world who’d never heard anything quite like it—especially coming out of the hard-rocking 1970s. His sound had such unique and wide-ranging appeal that it could rock a club and act as the soundtrack to Tim Burton’s darkly sinister 1989 film Batman. “Batdance” anyone?
Prince’s song “Darling Nikki” also has the distinction of being the instigator behind the movement that ultimately led to the “Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics” warnings now commonplace on the cover of albums.
Throughout his career, however, Prince never rested on his laurels, continuing to innovate and experiment with sound and music. And after seven Grammys, chart-topping singles and albums, Rock and Roll and Grammy Hall of Fame inductions and millions of fans worldwide, it’s safe to say that Prince reigns as one of the greatest pop music pioneers of the 20th century.
2. Behind the Songs and Record Industry Battles
Prince not only wrote some of the most original pop music of the last 40 years, but he also played most of the instruments (he was celebrated as a brilliant guitarist) and produced and engineered the music. One of the most hands-on artists of his or any generation, Prince helped put the creative power back in the hands of artists when he assumed control over most of his musical output. From his very first album, for which he secured the publishing rights and the ability to have free reign over the creative direction of the work, it’s clear Prince’s influence stretched far deeper into the studio than most other artists then or now. By taking this approach Prince was also able to shape the specific, innovative sounds that ultimately influenced countless musicians to come.
But perhaps even more importantly, Prince went to bat for artists everywhere when he stood up for control over his own music. As the International Business Times wrote,”Perhaps more than any artist in the history of recorded music … [Prince] personified the never-ending tensions between music performers and the industry that profits from them. In a four-decade career beset by legal skirmishes, Prince battled with record labels, bootleggers, streaming companies, ticket resellers and [I]nternet giants such as eBay and YouTube. He was not afraid to take adversarial stands against anyone he perceived to be a threat to his artistry or his livelihood, which to him were one and the same. That included public entanglements not only with parasitic types in the recording industry but also with advocates of free speech and even his own listeners.”
While he refused to allow his music to be used by anyone from video game makers to online streaming services (except Jay-Z’s Tidal streaming service) to parody artist “Weird Al” Yankovic, Prince’s highest profile battle over his music came in the early 1990s, when his original record company, Warner Bros., wouldn’t allow him to release his music at his own pace, resulting in the singer wanting out of his contract. When the company refused he changed his name to the infamous “Love Symbol,” since Warner Bros. had trademarked the Prince name. Despite the fact that it hurt his record sales and the name “The Artist Formerly Known as Prince” became something got a punchline, Prince stuck by his principles and released music on his own record label and even became a pioneer in selling music online.
More than two decades later, as artists from Pete Townsend to Taylor Swift speak out about how unfairly streaming services and other digital music outlets treat artists, Prince’s battles with Warner Bros. seem more and more justified. Like with his music, he could see further ahead than most when it comes to the business side of his craft and struck an early blow for the rights of artists for generations to come.
3. Crafting “Prince”
A massive part of Prince’s appeal, aside from his music, lay in his image. As the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame put it, “From the beginning, Prince and his music were androgynous, sly, sexy and provocative. His colorful image and revolutionary music made Prince a figure comparable in paradigm-shifting impact to Little Richard, James Brown, Jimi Hendrix and George Clinton.”
From the costumes to the attitude and his gender bending persona, singer Vanity at his side and changing his name to the “love symbol,” Prince, perhaps even more than David Bowie as Ziggy Stardust, pushed the societal boundaries of sexuality, style, music and personality. Whereas Ziggy Stardust was a Bowie persona, Prince was Prince.
4. Purple Rain
Prince’s first film, 1984’s Purple Rain, in which he starred, and its accompanying soundtrack, became synonymous with the artist for the rest of his life. The last film to win an Oscar for Best Original Song Score (the award is now for Best Original Musical though no one has ever won it due to lack of eligible musicals to fill out the category), its soundtrack, featuring Prince backed by the band The Revolution, won a pair of Grammys, spawned instant classics like “When Doves Cry,” “Let’s Go Crazy” and the title track and is regarded as one of the greatest albums of all time.
Perhaps most impressive of all, the Purple Rain film and album made Prince the first artist ever to land a top-of-the-charts trifecta: having the top American film, album and single at the same time.
5. Music Video on MTV
Two years before Prince brought the world Purple Rain, it was his “Little Red Corvette” that shot to the top of the charts. But perhaps more importantly, at a time when African-American artists struggled to get significant airplay on the brand new music video channel MTV, Prince and “Little Red Corvette” were among the prominent artists and songs that helped break that barrier and usher in an era of more diverse talents and sounds on America’s most popular music station”.
I am going to wrap up in a minute. This is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the magnitude of Prince’s vast influence. How he not only changed music, but he touched so many people’s lives. Far Out Magazine named eight artists who were influenced by Prince. Those whom we might not necessarily associate with him. I have chosen a few of them. I will include these artists – and many more – in a playlist at the end of this feature:
“Beck
Beck started life as a no-wave folk rock outcast, playing street corners and coffeehouses to audiences who seemed completely disinterested in this weirdo with an acoustic guitar. But when Beck got to bigger stages, a certain funky dance-move crazed demon seemed to erupt out of him – someone who greatly resembled a performer like Prince.
Of course, Beck also owes some chameleon-like tendencies to Prince as well. But on albums like Midnight Vultures, especially on the song ‘Debra’, Beck transforms into full-on Prince mode. He even throws in the occasional Prince cover in his live shows, just to prove how devoted of a disciple he is.
IN THIS PHOTO: St. Vincent in 2018/PHOTO CREDIT: Sonja Horsman/The Observer
St. Vincent
From twee art-rock to dirty ’70s funk to hard-driving electronica, it’s hard to think of a more eclectic artist in modern music than St. Vincent. Unwilling to repeat herself in any way, Annie Clark is probably more analogous to David Bowie, but there are plenty of influences from Prince in her artistry as well.
Apart from covering ‘Controversy’ at a Grammy salute to the late Purple One in 2020, Clark also picked up a few guitar tricks from Prince throughout her career, most noticeably on her self titled fourth studio album. Songs like ‘Down’ and ‘Regret’ don’t work unless the fuzz-filled guitar lines don’t at least give a slight nod to ‘Purple Rain’ or the bloopy synths don’t fire up images of Dr. Fink.
Dave Grohl
There’s a great scene in the Foo Fighters documentary Back and Forth when the group are recording guitar parts for the album Wasting Light. Chris Shiflett is laying down a chorus-heavy rhythm part for ‘These Days’ when Dave Grohl breaks out into a spontaneous and brief rendition of ‘Purple Rain’. Obviously, a walking musical encyclopedia like Grohl has some experience rocking out to Prince.
Grohl and the Foos have busted out a few Prince covers in their day, with ‘Darling Nikki’ being a particular favourite of the group. But the ultimate honour actually came the other way around, when Prince sang parts of ‘Best of You’ during his Super Bowl Halftime appearance. Grohl later called it his “proudest musical achievement”, and he joins a strange list of Prince covers that also includes Radiohead”.
Many might say, in terms of his versatility and levels of influence, Prince is the only artist others would need to reference. There is a strong case for that. From his flexible and chameleon sounds to his unparalleled musical brilliance, through to his fashion, sexuality and work ethic, he is a role model and icon for so many. WIRED argued this point about Prince being the only influence you need back in 2016 (just after he died in April). It makes it even sadder that he is not with us and seeing artists emerging now who cite him as an influence:
“Much can be said about Prince's music, and in the following days, it will. At their best, his recordings were limitless---wells of production ideas, freaky arrangements, and unexpected melodies that could never run dry, no matter how many repeat listens. But it's Prince's work ethic and vision that always influenced me most. He was as punk as a huge pop star could be. From his first album, For You, on which he's credited as having played all 27 instruments on the recording, Prince made almost everything on his own.
His career was defined by an admirable lack of leniency. He was famous for around-the-clock recording sessions in his Paisley Park recording complex, resulting in an impossibly prolific output, much of which remains in the vault. On albums, he played every instrument, even sang his own backups; live, he pushed his band to the limit. He starred in three feature films---only the first, Purple Rain, was a hit---and directed two of them. In a 2009 Los Angeles Times profile, Ann Powers put it this way: "Prince's personality seems to be governed by two oppositional impulses: the hunger to create and an equally powerful craving for control."
Again and again, Prince insisted on making expensive, high-concept, and unexpected choices. Most famous among these is his 1993 decision to change his name to an unpronounceable glyph—a decision that required his label, Warner Brothers, to organize a mass-mailing of floppy disks containing a custom font so that he could continue to be written about in print media. Some might characterize this as a diva move, and it was---but it also represented a commitment to the craft of pop-stardom so total it required a new typeface to even write about.
The control he exerted over his public image occasionally verged on the draconian. In 2007, Prince began an ultimately fruitless vendetta against what he perceived as widespread copyright infringement online, going so far as to issue DCMA takedowns against fan sites sharing photographs, images, lyrics, album covers---anything linked to his likeness---and making YouTube take down videos, including a 29-second home video by Stephanie Lenz showing her children dancing to a barely audible clip of "Let's Go Crazy." He ultimately gave up the fight, but not before the Electronic Frontier Foundation invented a new honor for his abuse of copyright claims: the Raspberry Beret Lifetime Aggrievement Award.
It may seem over the top, but Prince's foray into copyright law makes sense in the context of a career spent tightly manipulating his own public image. After all, being a pop star is a 360 degree endeavor. The music is important, but so is the finely tuned identity. And the mystique, preserved and defended by any means necessary. And even the language, something Prince realized in the 1990s, switching to an idiosyncratic shorthand (see: "Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic") that could identify a Prince joint before the listener even pressed play. It's nothing less than the construction of an effect, a total impression, on millions of people. These days, pop stars tend to achieve such impressions through transparency, by staging confessionals and throwing shade via the collective 24-hour social-media reality show. But Prince did it with style---and control.
Prince took full responsibility for the execution of his complete vision, no matter its commercial viability. And when it came to the music, he had the freedom to take risks---nobody will ever be as good as Prince. We'll be playing catch-up in perpetuity; we'll not so much as nail that drum machine sound in our lifetimes. But there is one aspect to his influence we can all take to heart, musicians or otherwise, and that is to work hard. To be relentless. To insist on complete authorship of your own work. And to never stop, not until your last breath”.
On 7th June, it will be Prince’s sixty-fifth birthday. It is quite a milestone! Of course, we will remember his passing and the fact that we lost him so young (he was fifty-seven). On the other side, we can reflect on his genius and all of the wonderful music he gave us. All those brilliant moments that bond us. As an artist, he has influenced countless others in so many ways. Inspiring and strengthening L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ listeners, compelling and motivating others to be true to themselves and not be cowed by hate and what is deemed to be ‘normal’, these messages and qualities will inspire people for generations more. I will definitely raise a glass in memory of Prince…
ON 7th June.