2B: Prince
Prince was born in 1958 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Question ` — Can you find Minneapolis on a map?) His full name is Prince Rogers Nelson. When he was a kid, he didn’t like his name. He wanted people to call him “Skipper.”
He wrote his first song on his father’s piano when it was a seven. It was called “Funk Machine.”
The first concert he ever saw was James Brown. Prince was ten. (Question 2 — What year would this have been?)
James Brown was one of Prince’s biggest influences. Prince tried to mimic his squeals, dance movies, and rhythm (mainly bass and drums). Listen to the beat and the choppy guitar chords on “Kiss.” (P.S. — You should totally dance to this.)
Prince combined a lot of styles of music into his own – including funk, soul, and rock. He was talented in many ways – as a songwriter, dancer, stylist, singer, and musician. He played many instruments. In fact, he played most of the instruments on his own albums. He recorded all the parts separately and then edited them together.
Prince had a wide vocal range. (Question 3 — What does that mean?) Compare his voice on “Kiss” with another song, “Raspberry Beret.” How are they different?
Prince’s favorite color was purple. His most famous album was Purple Rain, which he recorded in 1984. It was also a movie. “Baby I’m a Star” is one of the songs from the album and movie. Notice that he does the splits just before he starts singing. That’s a James Brown move. (P.S. – This was filmed at a place in Minneapolis called First Avenue. It’s an old train depot – and just a few blocks from where the Minnesota Twins play baseball.)
Some of Prince’s songs have been used in movies. “Batdance” is an example of the span of Prince’s talents in one song. Listen closely. It doesn’t follow one structure or pattern. About every minute, the song takes a turn and becomes something entirely different.
Prince was tiny! Only 5-feet-2 and 112 pounds. When do you think you’ll be as big as Prince?
Answers:
1 — Minneapolis is in Minnesota. Along with St. Paul, it’s one of the “Twin Cities.”
2 — Prince was 10 when he saw James Brown.
3 — A wide vocal range means he can sing really high, really low, and in between.