Dearly beloved
We are gathered her today
To get through this thing called life
Electric word life
It means forever and that's a mighty long time
But I'm here to tell you
There's something else
The after world
A world of never ending happiness
You can always see the sun, day or night
So when you call up that shrink in Beverly Hills
You know the one, Dr. Everything'll Be Alright
Instead of asking him how much of your time is left
Ask him how much of your mind, baby
'Cause in this life
Things are much harder than in the after world
In this life
You're on your own--- Prince, "Let's Go Crazy"
He was arguably the most influential musician of the past 35 years. Miles Davis called him a genius and he wasn't the only one. He crossed all genres and broke all boundaries. (His song "Darling Nikki" inspired Tipper Gore to start her crusade against naughty lyrics.)
His importance to modern music can't be overstated. The loss is monumental.
Here he is winning the Oscar for Purple Rain:
Here he is on Arsenio Hall. He zealously guarded his copyright so there's not much on Youtube but he tears it up live on this show:
Prince, with the Muppets, doing Starfish & Coffee. One of the most joyous things you'll see today. https://t.co/qX2HinyGp1
Update: I just wanted to add that Prince did something important for women's rights and gay rights. Artists like Bowie and The New York Dolls had played with gender roles, but Prince was the guy who featured gay women in high profile musical roles in his band. His own androgyny was organic and sincere not camp (not that there's anything wrong with camp.) It mattered a lot at the time.
