#WhatsHappening for April 22, 2016

Damnit. I mean...

Damnit!

This has to be the absolute worst year in popular music history.
David Bowie's death was gut wrenching. Glenn Frey's passing shortly after that was a shock, too. Two icons- musical giants- who I "grew up with" gone. 
And now? Well, I'm still in shock after hearing that Prince was found dead at his home in Minneapolis yesterday.

Shock. Sadness. My stomach is churning. I own every album the man ever made- solo, and with his backing bands (when he let the play). And I think that sucks- because none of us will ever have a chance to hear new music from him again.

Of course, I remember reading back in the 80s or 90s that he had enough songs in his archives to release a new, full album a year for something like 40 years- so maybe his estate will keep the new music coming for a while.

I can remember seeing Prince for the first time on "Saturday Night Live" in 1981. Though Charles Rocket was the one who took the bullet for saying "fuck" during 'Weekend Update', the Purple One let it fly during the performance of "Partyup".

Clad in an overcoat, thong, thigh highs, weird tassled boots, Prince and the band that became the Revolution put on a show, for sure. I was 12 (the episode aired in February- turned 13 that summer). I was astounded.

Besides the over the top stage performance, I could tell the guy was a talented musician. I went looking for his record immediately (well, the cassette, anyway) and bought my copy of "Dirty Mind" the next day. I quickly followed that purchase up with copies of "For You" and "Prince" as soon as I did enough chores and conned some money out of my dad to get them. 

When "Controversy" came out in November, I got it, too. 

The next year saw the release of the double album, "1999" and Prince began making inroads into pop radio. 

"Little Red Corvette", the album's title track and "Delirious" all got massive crossover airplay, while "Lady Cab Driver" and "Automatic" got played on E93.

And then the "Purple Rain" came falling. Suddenly, Prince was everywhere. And it was awesome.

My then-girlfriend and I saw the movie at the Terrace in Savannah. More than once.

By then- if there was any doubt- I was hooked. 

The guy played, like, every instrument there was. He wrote songs for himself. He wrote songs for other people (never, that I can recall, under his own name, though). He stayed true to his vision- though, oftentimes, the listeners struggled to keep up.

"Around The World In A Day" and "Parade" followed "Purple Rain". While they were wonderful albums in their own rights ("Around" is, too me, woefully under appreciated), they didn't sell like "Purple Rain" did- and were deemed failures by Warner Bros, his label at the time.

"Sign o' the Times" came next. While not as big a seller as "Purple Rain" (then again, very few albums actually ever will be). It was two discs of absolute awesome. 
I played every single song on air while working in at radio stations in Savannah and Waycross. Even the ones that weren't released as singles. And the extended versions, if I could get my hands on them. 
(Full disclosure: "Sign o' the Times" is, in my mind, his absolute finest work- though I was never disappointed with any of them.)

"Animaniacs" loved him, too.

I played the entire "Lovesexy" album during a show once (if you put the CD on, it's one track from start to finish, so...). Got into a little trouble for that. I didn't care.

I never got to play any of his later albums on the air (I worked for a country station- I would've been shit-canned immediately for a stunt like that), but that doesn't mean I didn't continue buying them.

The man was a genius. If you doubt that, check out the reaction from Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne, and everyone else while Prince absolutely owns the solo in "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" during George Harrison's Rock & Roll Hall of Fame tribute to George Harrison.

Reading through my Facebook feed yesterday, I was amazed by the sheer number of people posting about Prince's death. And the number of tributes from other artists were astounding.

Mick Fleetwood, Sheila E., Tommy James, The Rolling Stones, Carole King, Cyndi Lauper, Joe Walsh, John Oates, Kenny Rogers, Barry Manilow, Questlove, the Original 7, Madonna, President Obama, and so many others- all expressing their love, admiration, and sorrow about his passing.

Something I think pretty much every music fan is feeling right now.

And then there was this absolutely brilliant tribute from Chevrolet.

Thank you, Prince. For the music. For the memories. For the entertainment. 

For everything.

You will be missed. And you'll never be equaled.