As you have no doubt heard by now, Prince died today. I’m not going to pretend I was a huge Prince fan, because I wasn’t. I was a bit too young to see Purple Rain when it came out, and I just missed out on the mass hysteria surrounding him. But I respect the intense devotion of true Prince fans, and I certainly recognize him as the icon he was. He was a madly and passionately gifted songwriter and performer, and without a doubt we all love and listen to someone who was heavily influenced by him. As a kid, I remember watching the videos for Let’s Go Crazy and When Doves Cry a lot. Later on we had a cassingle (remember those cassette singles?!) of Diamonds & Pearls which probably wore out because we played it so much. But my favourite Prince song is Nothing Compares 2 U. Sinead O’Connor’s iconic version of that song was tremendously popular in my youth, but Chris Cornell’s version holds my current affections. May Prince rest in peace, and enjoy a beautiful heavenly reunion with the young son he lost years ago. May his family’s pain be lessened by the musical legacy he left. With love, light, and song… ~Melissa~
Listen here: Nothing Compares 2 U * by Prince * from the album The Family (1985) * as performed by Chris Cornell