His name was Prince, and he did it all — or maybe as close to “all” as one can get in a lifetime, especially one of 57 years. He was a pop icon, a sex symbol, an obsessive producer, a guitar shredder and a film star. He fought for artists’ rights — partially by changing his name to an unpronounceable symbol – decades before the days of Tidal and surprise releases. He melded sex, God, funk and rock and roll into a musical celebration of life that yielded nearly 40 studio albums, more than 100 million record sales and an unquantifiable, diverse and devoted fanbase.
Prince Rogers Nelson died Thursday at his Paisley Park estate in Minnesota, and in the days since, the world has paid tribute. The City of Minneapolis lit the I-35W Bridge in purple. Writers wrote. Fans tweeted. Musicians — Bruce Springsteen, LCD Soundsystem, Sufjan Stevens – covered him in concert.
Among those remembering Prince were people with ties to IU. Four of them told the Indiana Daily Student how the man and his music touched their lives.
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Anthony DeCurtis is an IU alumnus and a contributing editor for Rolling Stone. He interviewed Prince three times, including for a 2004 Rolling Stone cover story.
On interviewing Prince
“There was a very interesting combination of bravado and vulnerability. When I think about talking to Prince — on the one hand, he had all these terms. You couldn’t record the interview — he wouldn’t let you. He seemed very concerned about how he’d be represented — almost like how a child might worry about not looking the right way.”
On how Prince spoke through music
“When I was at Paisley Park, he wanted to jam. He wanted to play...His relationship with music was the way kids relate to music or anything they totally believe in: It was absolutely unambivalent. He’d be inside the sounds in a way that was totally unadulterated.”
On Prince’s spirituality
“There was a very spiritual quality of him ... When you take seriously the idea there’s another realm, you also take seriously the idea you might go there ... He was somebody who genuinely believed if you did the right things, behaved the right way, believed the right things, you were not on the same plane of dealing with mortality other people might be.”
Favorite Prince song
“When Doves Cry”
Glenn Gass is provost professor for music in general studies at IU. His classes on the history of rock and popular music are the longest-running of their kind in the world, according to the Jacobs School of Music website.
On Prince’s stardom
“In his time, he was as big as anybody. He came of age in the early MTV days, and he and Michael Jackson broke down the color barrier on MTV ... It seemed like a return to the ‘60s, when the superstars were most exciting, and Prince was the most exciting of all.”
On Prince’s live prowess
“To this day, maybe the best concert I’ve ever seen was Prince and the Revolution on the ‘Purple Rain’ tour at Market Square Arena in Indianapolis. I’ve never seen a blend of showmanship and musicianship and sensory overload come together so completely. I was already a Prince fan, but I left there a total convert.”
Favorite Prince song
”‘1999,’ ‘ Let’s Go Crazy,’ ‘Raspberry Beret’ — Prince is kind of like the Beatles. His most famous songs are his greatest.”
Brittany Friesner is the associate director of the IU Cinema, which will marathon screen Prince’s 1984 film “Purple Rain” on Monday. She spoke to the IDS via email.
On screening “Purple Rain”
“We wanted to pay tribute to such a legendary and talented artist, but also give his fans at IU and in Bloomington a place to celebrate his life and legacy. There happened to be a rare open spot in our calendar, and it seemed to be kismet. We chose to screen the films more than once and not to charge admission as a means to make the tribute as accessible as possible to all interested in participating.”
On growing up in the Prince era
“As a child of the ’80s, I grew up watching MTV, and Prince was everything. I distinctly remember the world premiere of the video for ‘When Doves Cry.’ I was captivated. Spellbound. This man turned everything about music, art, gender, sexuality, and style on its head. At the time, I didn’t understand exactly what I was witnessing, but I knew he was different, daring, unique. And I knew I should be paying attention.”
Favorite Prince song
“It would be impossible to say I have only one favorite Prince song, but right now, ‘Erotic City’ seems to be the one I click on first when shuffling all of the Prince songs in my iTunes.”
Brett Hoffman is a musician and a junior at IU. He writes and records music under the name Brownies in Cinema and plays percussion in Wheel of the Year.
On how Prince inspired him musically
“My dad was always super into Prince. He also plays guitar and was really interested in getting me to play guitar. When Prince played the Super Bowl, he said, ‘This guitarist I really like is playing the Super Bowl, and I want you to watch it with me.’ That was the first time I thought playing guitar was really cool. It fucking rained when Prince played ‘Purple Rain,’ and who can be so cool as to command nature during a performance?”
On Prince’s artistic autonomy
“He’s primarily remembered as a solo artist, as far as handling all the aspects of the songs ... and he definitely played a hand in the recording. He’s an inspiration as a modern pop artist who had a big hand in recording his music.”
Favorite Prince song
”‘Purple Rain’ — that’s the performance I first saw. It’s one of his most popular songs for a reason.”
