It is scheduled for Tuesday, April 21, 2020, at 09:00 p.m. ET.
The special is titled Let’s Go Crazy: The Grammy Salute to Prince.
Here are links to reports on the special:
• “Let's Go Crazy: The GRAMMY Salute To Prince” To Air April 21 On CBS Featuring John Legend, H.E.R., Usher & More
• ‘Let's Go Crazy: The Grammy Salute to Prince’ Set to Air on the 4th Anniversary of His Death
(Side note: I am not pleased with the special’s inclusion of John Legend.)
I grew up, during the 1970s and 1980s, with music from Prince. And I don’t feel it is necessary to write about his life when there is plenty of that information, for those in need, on the Internet.
I have, in recent months, grabbed more and more of his music from my Apple Music account. (This is well before the U.S. arrival of COVID–19. I would be out for walks and listed to some music from this master.) I have some hard CDs saved to to my iTunes—albums like the 1984 soundtrack to Purple Rain and the 1987 LP Sign o’ the Times (both Grammy nominees for Album of the Year)—but I have been going for anything that springs to mind by Prince.
Prince was a bold and unique visionary. He was very controversial; mainly, of course, because of the sexual content from numerous songs. But, that is part of the mark of a great artist—being not like others—and letting the squares deal or not deal.
I also have gratitude to Prince for writing one of my favorite songs from the 1980s, “I Feel for You,” which was a phenomenal hit for the luminous R&B legend Chaka Khan (who won the 1984 Grammy for Female R&B Vocal Performance while Prince also won as songwriter for R&B Song).
The following is a selection of music—really a small amount to sample (I don’t want to overload)—that personally delights me. For any Progressives Chat reader with thoughts about Prince—whether it his music or the artist (or both)—please share.
• “I Wanna Be Your Lover” (1979), from the album Prince, was from the Disco era but did not play like Disco. It stood out as pure R&B—very fresh (even today its sound is fresh)—and showed that Prince, 21 in the year 1979, had a bright future ahead of him.
♯♯♯
• “1999” (1982), from the album 1999, was an exciting and knockout punch. Extraordinarily joyous—putting it into a category, by an artist not categorized, was silly. It’s a brilliant piece of music.
♯♯♯
• “Little Red Corvette” (1983), from the album 1999, was a pulsating and thrilling piece. It starts out slowly but kicks into high gear—and it doesn’t let go. It is also, as much of Prince’s music, provocative. It’s a classic.
♯♯♯
• “Let’s Go Crazy” (1984), from the soundtrack Purple Rain, was a Pop sensation and a thrilling, elaborate song-opener to his feature film.
♯♯♯
• “Sign o’ the Times” (1987), from Sign o’ the Times, synched R&B and Funk with some Blues. A very interesting album—which includes his duet with Sheena Easton (“U Got the Look”)—but the LP’s title track has really stayed with me after all this time.
♯♯♯
• BONUS • “Colonized Mind” (2009), from Lotusflow3r, is included in addition to the prior five videos because it is an example why Prince—even though so much of his material was with focuses on sexual nature—was also politically aware: “Upload: a 2 party system | The lesser of 2 dangers | Illusion of choice; Download: a veiled form of fascism | Nothing really ever changes | U never had a voice.” “Colonized Mind” was released one year after the Economic Meltdown of 2008 and in the first year of the presidency of Barack Obama.
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