“Music is the soundtrack of your life”.
(Dick Clarke)
The Walk into the Future blog is back to give a run to the Five-Minute Thursday writing prompt.
This writing prompt allows me additional flexibility to my writing program. It provides a level of freedom where I can branch off and leverage a word or concept and then put a good five minutes to make a valid point or something others would want to read. So here we go with another five-minute prompt.
My fourth prompt for Five Minute Thursday is: Favorite Artist.
The Dick Clarke quote above is simple but is prophetic for me and my favorite artist.
One word: Prince!
I’ve said multiple times that Prince wrote and sang the soundtrack of my life. Maybe not in my adulthood but my teenage years and twenties resonated with every song that Prince put out.
Most folks think Purple Rain was the best music Prince put out, but my soundtrack started a lot earlier than this musical masterpiece. Dirty Mind (1980) and Controversy (1981) were my introduction to the Minneapolis sound and the genius of Prince. I was fully engaged with his music when he dropped 1999 (1982) on the world. I was hooked and remember my high school friends and I sharing the album—we would take turns bringing the album home and listening to the rock/funk/r&B sounds coming out of Minneapolis. It was hard to believe that one man could play every instrument, sing every vocal note to include backup and produce at the level he did. He introduced the band, The Revolution on the cover of 1999 but he was a one-man band up to this point. I remember watching Prince on MTV for the Little Red Corvette video—he was very dynamic, musical and had all the dance moves. The video enhanced his mystic and let us know he was a different kind of dude.
I was into the music and the sounds of Prince then he dropped the Purple Rain soundtrack and movie in 1984. It vaulted him into superstardom and then the world discovered my favorite artist. I was already on the band wagon, so it was funny hearing other folks talk about Prince like he was a brand-new artist—he was not. He had been building the soundtrack of my young life prior to ‘exploding’ onto the music/movie scene with Purple Rain.
My first concert was the Purple Rain tour. My friend Anthony Simon and I got tickets to see Prince in the Leon County Civic Center in Tallahassee, Florida. Convinced my mom to take us and dropped us off so we could experience Prince live. This was one of my favorite moments from my childhood because the live music was even better than listening to an album. He performed all our favorite songs, and we sang along just like we were part of The Revolution.
I saw Prince live 5 times before he passed away in 2016—still a sad day for me but I’m still enjoying the music and reliving my youth every time I crank up the music.
I visited Paisley Park back in 2018 to walk the same halls as Prince and experience the place he made music later in his life. This is still one of my favorite Walk into the Future adventures.
I introduced my niece Jayla to the 1999 album earlier this year. She started collecting vinyl and I found a local store specializing in classic vinyl. Jayla’s favorite artist is Michael Jackson but still wanted her to experience the grand sounds of Prince. She’s listening to the soundtrack of my youth, and I know she is enjoying it! Go Jayla! 😊
So, you’ve had time to think. Who is your favorite artist and why?
Irie!
Walk Into the Future 