I suspect most here might identify more with Merle Haggard than Prince, but many folks didn't really know the man very well. Not that strange, because he was fairly reclusive and not given to self-aggrandizing. So influential was he, that upon the announcement of his death, MTV did something that they have never done before. They ceased all ongoing programming and ran wall to wall music videos (apparently, it only takes the death of a music icon who is not David Bowie to get them to play music videos again).
He certainly was an odd man, with bizarre taste in clothing. But what you may not know is that he was a deeply religious man (Jehovah's Witness). One who lived with crippling pain resulting from bad hips that he refused to get treated because it would require him to violate his beliefs (JW's don't allow transfusions, and there was no way to do a double hip replacement without them). While some speak of suffering for their beliefs, he literally did. And Prince Rogers Nelson (yes, Prince was in fact his given name) was also a rarity in both Minnesota and the music industry. He was a Republican. And a fairly conservative one.
There have been many tributes for him over the past 24 hours, but I particularly like this one, and I hope you will too.
3 comments:
He sounds like a good person in private, which is a good way to be. You're right that his music wasn't my cup of tea, though my wife liked his stuff when she was younger.
One point of contention, Mike. Prince did have one hip replaced due to the fact that hip replacement does not require any sort of transfusion beyond the normal saline IV and antibiotics -- and pain meds, of course.
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Loved that song. Loved that suit, too.
https://youtu.be/g60vme5_-e0
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