Despite the fact I’m a die-hard Prince fan, I always forget the significance of his musicianship when I’m listening to him. There’s also many who don’t understand the significance of his talent so I’m here to remind y’all
I mean, the man’s released almost 40 albums officially (not to mention the endless material he hasn’t released) & I’d say on about 95% (at the least) of every single damn song ..
- Prince laid down the drums (or programmed his beloved drum-machine) himself
- Prince is the one who plays bass, rhythm & lead guitar
- If there’s any other instrumentation, like piano, sound effects & synths for example, he’s also who added that too. I mean, he’s known to be able to play the saxophone if the mood strikes so the possibilities are endless!
- He, obviously, provides both background & lead vocals to the track
- Plus on top of all that effort, playing every single instrument (it’s said Prince can play over 20 instruments) WHICH HE TAUGHT HIMSELF HOW TO PLAY, Prince is also the one who wrote, composed, arranged & produced the track
Let’s not forget his countless protege’s. The Time, Apollonia/Vanity 6, The Family, Sheila E.They are all still considered Prince albums, despite the lead vocals not being his own & Prince is known to be very humble when it comes to being credited on his input
Even when he’s been in bands (e.g. The Revolution & The New Power Generation), most of their input is at the very least & their main purpose is to support him during live shows & tours
So no, he’s not a washed up pop-star who’s had a string of hits that have put him in the ‘legendary’ category. There’s a reason why he’s a musician’s (most likely your faves) fave musician
So next time you’re listening to him, be it ‘Little Red Corvette’ or his more obscure out-put, keep this in mind & you may be more astounded than usual. You may understand what all the ‘hype’ is about. You might just understand where I’m coming from with my love for him
