It was one of the saddest days in the music world: Six years ago, on April 21, 2016, Prince passed away. We revisit four of his greatest moments.
On April 14, 2016, Prince performed two concerts at the Fox Theater in Atlanta. At that time, no one suspected that the musician, who was jolly on that day, would be dead a week later. Journalists and concert-goers alike could not detect any signs of weakness or illness. But on April 21, the singer was found at his Paisley Park estate near Minneapolis. The second show in Atlanta should therefore remain his last appearance.
At the end – it was the third encore of the second concert – he performed his most famous song “Purple Rain” (1:23:30) – and the whole audience sang along. Shortly thereafter he was finally silent. (The full concert is here)
James Brown is the undisputed godfather of soul, and there were really only two musicians who could be considered legitimate successors: Michael Jackson and Prince. Both were born in 1958, and both engaged in an artistically stunning duel in the ’80s for who is the biggest star on the planet. Of course, the relationship between the two was always tense. But James Brown managed to unite the two competitors in one concert in 1983. After first getting Jackson on stage, Jackson pointed out that Prince was in the audience – and insisted that Brown bring him on stage as well:
Prince was not only a gifted composer, dancer and singer – he was also a brilliant guitarist. In 2007, the musician played the Super Bowl halftime show – in front of 100,000 fans in the stadium and a billion viewers around the world in front of the television sets. He also played his classic “Let’s go crazy” from 1984 and delivered a breathtaking guitar solo.
In July 1999, Prince and Lenny Kravitz performed the hit “American Woman” together at the New York Palladium. A song that various artists have covered, but Prince made it his own with his guitar.