Prince's wink, playful smirk, mouth-drawn guitar solos, unexpected turns of phrase, flamboyantly original style and his all-encompassing other-worldliness will never be duplicated. He lives forever on a purple plain unto himself; elevated even higher by his unexpected death at the young age of 57. He was a legend before he even passed. He never seemed to age which only amplified the shock of music fans around the globe last April upon hearing the tragic news.
"A body has been found on the grounds of Paisley Park." That was the breaking news story I read on Twitter. Against all hope, I knew it was Prince, and my mind immediately time traveled back to 1977. It was late summer and I'd been outside playing. I ran inside to ask my mom something. She wasn't to be found. After a short search, my brother and I found her in the bathroom. The door was locked. In a wavering voice, she said she'd be out in a minute. When she opened the door, we could tell she'd been crying. She said she was okay. She looked anything but okay. Eventually, she told us Elvis Presley had died. Growing up, Elvis was a very big deal in our house. So, I sort of got it. But I was really young, Elvis' death was a bookmark in my youth. As a kid, you always remember the times you see your parents cry.
I didn't really understand my mom's crying until April 21, 2016. It wasn't that I was the biggest Prince fan out there. It was the realization and coming to terms with the huge void created by Prince's death. I imagine that's how fans felt when Elvis died. There just aren't any artists like Elvis or Prince. They are a singular, explosive outlier of talent. No other creates the music they created or blankets audiences with the charm they exuded. The music they produced had such a distinct sound, they were their own genre of music. So, in addition to mourning the loss of the man, we mourn the loss of an entire category of music. Admittedly, Prince's newest music has been hit or miss for me. Usually, I would like/love only a few tracks off each release. But still, with every release, it was great to hit play with the anticipation and hope of something new and great, something incredible that harkened back to the glory days of Purple Rain or Sign O' The Times, something that could only be created by the artistry of Prince.
