I was in shock last week when I walked out of Paisley Park—Prince’s recording studio, home and now, museum. People had come from all over the world to be there. (On our tour, we were the only ones from Minneapolis, his hometown.)
He heard music differently. He created new sounds. He designed recording studios to meet his exacting specs. He was a prolific songwriter. He produced movies. He was a choreographer … and so much more.
I even liked that he’d rebelled against Warner Brothers because they were too slow in releasing his music—and that impacted his artistic freedom.
That’s when he started using a “love” symbol as his name … and people had to refer to him as “the artist formerly known as Prince.” Emancipated, he became even more prolific.
So, what shocked me? I learned that Prince, who died in 2016, still had tons of music we’ve barely or never heard. These songs were being released one-by-one.
Last month, his latest was released…
Whoa. That brought me to a standstill. It could have been written today, but it wasn’t. Instead, it’s a testament to what was happening in 2004, when the US was initiating a war in Iraq.
With his powerful lyrics, it’s a call to all of us to stop our fighting and love each other. We should be singing it today. Here’s the link to listen in.
If you go five minutes in, you’ll hear Prince, Tom Petty, George Harrison’s son & band play the song. Prince’s guitar playing is extraordinary.