The music world, and more specifically the state of Minnesota, has lost one of its most iconic performers.
Prince, the rock legend who was born and raised in Minneapolis and produced some outstanding music for over three decades, passed away at his Paisley Park Studios in Chanhassen on Thursday at the age of 57.
I know I can't speak for everyone, but as someone that grew up in the 1980s, this one hits home pretty hard. Prince was everywhere in the mid-80s following the release of Purple Rain, which was set in Minneapolis, and shaped the musical sensibilities of a lot of people in my age group.
As it turned out, Prince was also a fan of the Minnesota Vikings. In 2009, he went so far as to write a song for the team during their outstanding run that season, titled Purple and Gold. While the song was panned a little bit critically, it was still pretty cool that the man felt strongly enough about the team to go out of his way to do a musical tribute to them. (For some reason, it appears all traces of this video have disappeared from the internet.) Prince had also been spotted in the luxury boxes at the Metrodome on several occasions over the years.
(EDIT: Poster "Antonius" found Purple and Gold on the Vikings' web site. It's not embeddable, but you can go to the link and listen to it. Thanks, Antonius! -Chris)
Prince was also responsible for what was, quite frankly, the greatest Super Bowl halftime performance of all time at Super Bowl XLI in Miami in 2007.
Watch prince superbowl halftime.divx in Music | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com
There are few musicians, whether they hail from Minnesota or anywhere else, that possessed the scope of talent that Prince did. . .not just with his own music, but the music he wrote for others as well. One time, Eric Clapton. . .no slouch as a musician himself. . .was asked what it was like to be the world's greatest guitar player. His response?
"I don't know, you'll have to ask Prince."
Once again, the state of Minnesota and the world of entertainment has lost an icon today with the passing of Prince. We send our condolences to his family and his fans.