After the sad news of Prince’s death this week, I wanted to
take a moment to share how I discovered him. While I always knew his name, it
wasn’t until I watched him playing While
My Guitar Gently Weeps at the 2004 Hall of Fame induction that I truly
appreciated him as an artist:
He comes out of nowhere with fantastic playing, charisma, and
a great hat. In every way, he stands out on a stage packed with talent. He does
this not by being as outrageous as possible (though he certainly had his moments in his own act) but by doing everything just a
little bit differently. His guitar looks like a Fender Telecaster, but is
actually a Hohner copy. His playing is just that bit out there, with a modern
tone, and less bluesy style than Eric Clapton’s on the original recording. And
then of course, there is the showmanship - leaning back into a roadie as he
tears through his solo, and ending the song by throwing his guitar into the
air! Seeing this for the first time blew me away.
Prince was the consummate creative artist, he was talented,
eccentric, and had the flair to carry it all off in style. All this is
encapsulated in this video, alongside the outstanding guitar playing that first
caught my attention. Rest In Peace.
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