I will never forget the day that Prince died. First of all, I am a gigantic Prince fan. I don’t remember when his music wasn’t a part of my daily existence. My sister, Planet, yes, that is her name, is also a huge fan. She was the one who made it very clear to me that he was our musical hero. Planet and I would put our faces 2 inches from her boom box speakers, just listening in awe. Everything about his music spoke to us. We would dance, sing, and just absorb every melody and every production choice.
Every album had its very own sound, look, and smell. Sure, we were kids and a lot of the lyrics were extremely sexual, but isn’t that what we are all looking for when we are young? Prince made sexuality something that belongs to all of us and put it all out there for you to see. Almost saying, there is nothing to be ashamed of, being sexual is our God given right.
I can remember one night, my cousin Sunny Bell was staying with us, and my sister may have just bought the Purple Rain cassette. It was 1984, and Purple Rain was the only movie that mattered. We played it and there was I believe, a part of the album where there was a lot of sexual sounds going on, I can’t remember exactly what it was, but my mother knocked on the door and my sister panicked and ripped the cassette out of the boombox and began destroying it by pulling out the magnetic tape. She destroyed it, I couldn’t believe it. My mother simply wanted something else; she didn’t care about the music, but we were so worried that she would get mad, my sister destroyed the evidence. She spent the next hour trying to wind it back up. The point is, we worshipped Prince.
It is very hard to pick my favorite Prince album, but if I had to, I would say SIGN OF THE TIMES. I love them all! But that album is a masterpiece. When it comes to production and character, that album is unreal. I highly suggest listening to it today if you haven’t heard it.
Okay, so back to the day Prince died. I was in New Orleans touring with The Smashing Pumpkins on the Plain Song Tour. I had plans that day to visit my dear friend Delaney Martin, who was the Co-Founder of the Music Box Village. She has since moved on, but it is still there. If you can, I highly suggest checking it out. It is incredible. Here is a link for more information about this magical place. Music Box Village Website, like I said, it is awesome. Anyway, I was in an Uber on my way to see Delaney and her new baby when the news popped up on my phone. I felt sick to my stomach, It couldn’t be true! The first person I called was my sister, who was on the treadmill at a gym. Surprisingly, she answered, I said “Planet!! Prince died!!” She refused to believe me, she said it was a hoax. I said, “No, sis, he died.” She hung up the phone to do her research and called me maybe 2 minutes later in tears. Both of us were just sobbing. Once I got to the Music Box, I hung up the phone and then notified Delaney. She, of course, was in shock, like everyone. I then attempted to smile and be there in the moment with her and her new beautiful baby girl. We walked and talked, and I snapped this photo of her and her baby.
Once my visit with Delaney was over. I had an intense desire to walk around the French Quarter, I wanted to be around people. Sure enough, every club/bar was blasting Prince. I just sobbed and took in all the love and heartache that everyone was feeling. Once I was ready to go back to the hotel, I knew I had to reach out to Billy and discuss a possible tribute of some kind. Billy is also a gigantic Prince fan, so I knew he would be feeling the same about doing something to honor the purple one.
We went back and forth and decided to sing one of Prince’s most beautiful songs, THE CROSS. If you haven’t listened to that song, do it now!
Before every show, Billy would do VIP mini shows and answer questions. So, it was decided we would perform The Cross at that time. You can find that performance right here, The Cross (Billy Corgan and Sierra Swan)
After the show, Billy and I went to Preservation Hall to watch and listen to the most incredible musicians in New Orleans. If you don’t know, the Preservation Hall is a historic music venue in the French Quarter working to protect, preserve, and perpetuate the spirit of traditional New Orleans jazz. We sat on the side of the stage and soaked in the gorgeous performance. I highly suggest doing everything you can to witness a show there. Here are some photos I took on that night at this historic venue.
After such an intense day of loss, being at the Preservation Hall was so beautiful. Honoring what Prince loved the most, real musicians playing music from the heart.
The next day, my friend Delaney came by to say goodbye. I held her baby, and she snapped this photo of me before I hopped on the bus.
New Orleans was already one of my favorite places on earth, but after April 21, 2016, my connection to that city became even stronger. It was the place I found out my musical hero passed on. That day will forever be in my memory, every minute of it.
I miss and love you, Prince. Forever my hero.
Don’t forget, tomorrow at 5 pm PST, I will be interviewing my dear friend Jenny Lee from the incredible band WARPAINT. Please join us.
What a beautiful memory. Thank you so much for sharing. He definitely was a one and only.
That day has definitely been burned into my memory as well.
I finally made it out to paisley park about a year and a half ago, and even then, I'm pretty sure more than half of the tour around the estate I was super emotional.