This week's Tuesday Tribute goes to a man who you may know by name, or you may know by sign. He's won Grammys, he's won Academy Awards, he's performed at the Super Bowl halftime show, and he's still one of the best entertainers in the world. Having a career that has held strong in four decades now, Prince is known for his theatric live performances, as well as his on-screen rock operas such as the acclaimed Purple Rain and the lesser known, but in my opinion, equally as strong Sign O' The Times. Finding most success with his band the Revolution, Prince introduced and featured the insanely talented Sheila E as his drummer. Despite constant comparisons to Michael Jackson and many risque career moves, there is no denying his supreme versatility as a musician and his overwhelming power as an entertainer. With that said, I hope to portray Prince's unbelievable coolness through my internet video finds.
The first video is the opening scene of Sign O The Times where Prince performs his tune of the same name. People criticize the 80's for their music and their style, but Prince makes both of these things look better than ever. My favorite part is his call and response with the crowd at the beginning of the song where he hits a note that few other males in the world have the ability of hitting.
Check out this clip of the king of soul James Brown and the King of Pop Michael Jackson calling Prince up the stage early on in Prince's career. Michael keeps it short and sweet and James Brown has no clue who Prince is, but when Prince hits the stage, he attempts to steal the show but is so cool that he only gives the crowd one note on the mic. The quality is iffy, but the video is kind of funny.
The next video is of Prince performing his later hit "Kiss" on the Ellen DeGeneres show. With a "Soul Man" intro, Prince uses the highest of his many pitches to crank out one of his sexiest tunes.
Lastly, I bring you some of the new-millennium Prince with his tune "Black Sweat." Off of 2006's 3121, "Black Sweat" is Prince's response to the the crunk hip-hop of the early 2000's. My favorite line is "You'll be screaming like a white lady when I count to three." Clearly, he hasn't lost his touch
Prince has no official website, so here is his online fan page: http://prince.org/
Awesome old JB footage. BTW JB is the Godfather of Soul.
ReplyDeleteNice tribute!
B-Man