I thought it would be fun to provide a brief, visual summary of Prince's spiritual journey using Google Maps. In the map below, I've highlighted some relevant key landmarks in Prince's life and career and provided the story behind each one. I've included some links to other Prince biographies, articles and a couple cool videos.
As I did with the Twitter Chat (and all of my previous blog entries), I'm sharing this post with Prince fans and friends on Facebook, Twitter and fan sites Prince.org and Princefams.com.
Please share your thoughts via those sites or in the comments section below. Are there other locations that should be on the map? If so, let me know, and I'll add them!
View Prince's Spiritual Landmarks in a larger map
Monday, May 16, 2011
Friday, April 22, 2011
"Interactive" - Prince Twitter Chat
My book is based on my own research and interviews, but I like to hear the thoughts of Prince fans and others who will be interested in reading the final version. After all, I was motivated to write it because it seems that people are not completely clear on Prince's spiritual evolution, which has, no doubt, impacted his music.
On April 18, I decided to conduct a Twitter Chat on Prince and spirituality. I advertised on Facebook, Prince.org, Princefams.com and my Twitter account, of course.
*Click on screen shots for better quality*
Here are the six questions (roughly two were asked each day) and some responses:
1) What are your thoughts on Prince as a spiritual artist?
2) Thoughts on Prince's decision to eliminate "Darling Nikki," etc. and profanity
from shows?
3) Anyone see the Purple Rain Tour in person? Your opinion on the "Conversations with God" segment?
4) Anyone see the One Nite Alone Tour in person? Inspirational or too preachy?
5) Thoughts on the Rainbow Children album? Inspirational? Confusing?
6) Which Prince song has inspired you the most, and why?
You can view the entire discussion on my "Twitter favorites."
Although the discussion wasn't as extensive as it could have been, it did reinforce something: the messages in Prince's songs are inspirational to others. I really believe that the story that I'm trying to tell will do the same. I think anyone's triumph over his or her own internal struggles and realization of spiritual clarity--no matter what that spiritual clarity is--can be inspirational to others. You don't have to be of a specific faith to appreciate it.
I certainly want to keep hearing from all of you! Continue tweeting #prince and #princespiritual, or feel free to leave comments below! In fact, I'd love to see more answers to the questions (no one answered #3 and #4).
Thanks!
Subscribe to my e-mail list for updates on the book. Click here.
On April 18, I decided to conduct a Twitter Chat on Prince and spirituality. I advertised on Facebook, Prince.org, Princefams.com and my Twitter account, of course.
*Click on screen shots for better quality*
Here are the six questions (roughly two were asked each day) and some responses:
1) What are your thoughts on Prince as a spiritual artist?
2) Thoughts on Prince's decision to eliminate "Darling Nikki," etc. and profanity
from shows?
3) Anyone see the Purple Rain Tour in person? Your opinion on the "Conversations with God" segment?
4) Anyone see the One Nite Alone Tour in person? Inspirational or too preachy?
5) Thoughts on the Rainbow Children album? Inspirational? Confusing?
6) Which Prince song has inspired you the most, and why?
You can view the entire discussion on my "Twitter favorites."
Although the discussion wasn't as extensive as it could have been, it did reinforce something: the messages in Prince's songs are inspirational to others. I really believe that the story that I'm trying to tell will do the same. I think anyone's triumph over his or her own internal struggles and realization of spiritual clarity--no matter what that spiritual clarity is--can be inspirational to others. You don't have to be of a specific faith to appreciate it.
I certainly want to keep hearing from all of you! Continue tweeting #prince and #princespiritual, or feel free to leave comments below! In fact, I'd love to see more answers to the questions (no one answered #3 and #4).
Thanks!
Subscribe to my e-mail list for updates on the book. Click here.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
"Willing and Able" - Prince Paper Submitted to AEJMC
Ok, so I was gone even longer this time, but for good reason. As I mentioned earlier, I was working on a 25-page research paper, An Analysis of Rolling Stone's Coverage of Prince, 1978-2004.
It is completed, and I have submitted it to the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC). Every year, AEJMC holds a conference to discuss the latest mass communications research. If I am selected to present in August (in St. Louis), it will be a great honor and boost to my credibility as a Prince scholar. I will find out in May!
How did I write the paper?
I looked at EVERY Prince-related Rolling Stone article from 1978 to April 23, 2004, when he told Entertainment Weekly, “It took me four albums to get on the cover of Rolling Stone, now it takes artists only one. There should be rules for that kind of thing!”
I also had the honor of talking to five Rolling Stone writers who covered Prince: Anthony DeCurtis, Jim Henke, Tom Moon, David Browne and Robert McNamara.
What did I find?
Prince actually landed his first Rolling Stone cover after the release of his fifth album, 1999. The magazine was beginning to cover African American artists again, and making a shift from featuring aging legends to embracing the new, cutting-edge artists popular with the youth culture. Meanwhile, the magazine was paying increasing attention to him as he recorded, toured, built an audience, and finally had an outstanding commercial success. After that, it could justify putting him on the cover—not only was he a fresh talent, but he would be able to sell magazines.
By contrast, today's music industry has changed to churn out more abrupt successes, and the magazine is often a reflection of that.
Overall, Prince has had a dynamic relationship with Rolling Stone. The magazine built him up to the status of its old heroes, Bob Dylan, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones during the 1980s and then criticized him for "mediocre" work in the 1990s.
Although Prince disagreed, the magazine appeared neutral regarding his struggle with Warner Bros.
Prince would eventually land the cover of Rolling Stone later in 2004 on May 27. His induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and successful tour reminded everyone of what he had accomplished.
I will post a link to the entire paper once I hear back from AEJMC, and, hopefully, develop a website of my music writing.
What about journalists' thoughts on Prince's spirituality?
I had some interesting disucssions with the Rolling Stone writers on that subject. Bits from those talks will be in one of the next few posts.
Happy to be back! Stay with me!
It is completed, and I have submitted it to the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC). Every year, AEJMC holds a conference to discuss the latest mass communications research. If I am selected to present in August (in St. Louis), it will be a great honor and boost to my credibility as a Prince scholar. I will find out in May!
How did I write the paper?
I looked at EVERY Prince-related Rolling Stone article from 1978 to April 23, 2004, when he told Entertainment Weekly, “It took me four albums to get on the cover of Rolling Stone, now it takes artists only one. There should be rules for that kind of thing!”
I also had the honor of talking to five Rolling Stone writers who covered Prince: Anthony DeCurtis, Jim Henke, Tom Moon, David Browne and Robert McNamara.
What did I find?
Prince actually landed his first Rolling Stone cover after the release of his fifth album, 1999. The magazine was beginning to cover African American artists again, and making a shift from featuring aging legends to embracing the new, cutting-edge artists popular with the youth culture. Meanwhile, the magazine was paying increasing attention to him as he recorded, toured, built an audience, and finally had an outstanding commercial success. After that, it could justify putting him on the cover—not only was he a fresh talent, but he would be able to sell magazines.
By contrast, today's music industry has changed to churn out more abrupt successes, and the magazine is often a reflection of that.
Overall, Prince has had a dynamic relationship with Rolling Stone. The magazine built him up to the status of its old heroes, Bob Dylan, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones during the 1980s and then criticized him for "mediocre" work in the 1990s.
Although Prince disagreed, the magazine appeared neutral regarding his struggle with Warner Bros.
Prince would eventually land the cover of Rolling Stone later in 2004 on May 27. His induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and successful tour reminded everyone of what he had accomplished.
I will post a link to the entire paper once I hear back from AEJMC, and, hopefully, develop a website of my music writing.
What about journalists' thoughts on Prince's spirituality?
I had some interesting disucssions with the Rolling Stone writers on that subject. Bits from those talks will be in one of the next few posts.
Happy to be back! Stay with me!
Saturday, February 12, 2011
"It Always Sounds Like I'm Preaching" - Prince and the Media, Part II
I mentioned earlier that I am researching the media's reaction to Prince's spiritual expression. I shared my thought that the media, preoccupied with the lewd components of Prince's work, didn't take the spiritual side of Prince's music seriously in the early period of Prince's career.
By the time the Around the World in a Day album was released (1985), there seemed to be a shift in the mainstream press. Prompted by songs like "Paisley Park" and "The Ladder," reporters began asking Prince about his religion. Prince confirmed a belief in God, but he did not explicitly claim a specific faith (although he was beginning to reference Jesus in his music), or discuss the topic in-depth.
There seems to be one exception: African American media, specifically Ebony magazine. Both Rolling Stone and Ebony had exclusive, one-on-one interviews with Prince during the same period (1985-1986). In his interview with Rolling Stone, Prince gave a vague response about religion, using his song "Paisley Park" as a reference point. However, in his interview with Ebony , he opened up a little more and admitted that God was the key to his happiness.
He did explain his reluctance to speak about religion. "I don't really like talking about it much...it always sounds like I'm preaching."
Prince continued to be forthcoming with Ebony about his faith throughout the years. In fact, one writer, Lynn Norment, wrote the majority of the Prince features. When the magazine did an extensive story on Prince in 2004, the artist and the writer had developed a comfortable rapport. One of my goals is to track down Ms. Norment and talk to her about her experience interviewing Prince.
For my journalism history class, I've decided to focus on Rolling Stone's coverage of Prince from 1978 to 2004. It is not quite in line with my personal project, as I am looking at topics other than spirituality. Back in 2004, Prince made a comment to Entertainment Weekly that it took him four albums to get on the cover of Rolling Stone. One month later, the magazine did a cover story--fourteen years after the last one! Prince has made other comments about Rolling Stone, and I'd like to explore his relationship with the magazine.
After I complete this school paper, I plan to go back to African American media coverage of Prince's spirituality. I'd like to look at other publications such as Jet and some broadcast media.
I will check back in very soon!
By the time the Around the World in a Day album was released (1985), there seemed to be a shift in the mainstream press. Prompted by songs like "Paisley Park" and "The Ladder," reporters began asking Prince about his religion. Prince confirmed a belief in God, but he did not explicitly claim a specific faith (although he was beginning to reference Jesus in his music), or discuss the topic in-depth.
There seems to be one exception: African American media, specifically Ebony magazine. Both Rolling Stone and Ebony had exclusive, one-on-one interviews with Prince during the same period (1985-1986). In his interview with Rolling Stone, Prince gave a vague response about religion, using his song "Paisley Park" as a reference point. However, in his interview with Ebony , he opened up a little more and admitted that God was the key to his happiness.
He did explain his reluctance to speak about religion. "I don't really like talking about it much...it always sounds like I'm preaching."
Prince continued to be forthcoming with Ebony about his faith throughout the years. In fact, one writer, Lynn Norment, wrote the majority of the Prince features. When the magazine did an extensive story on Prince in 2004, the artist and the writer had developed a comfortable rapport. One of my goals is to track down Ms. Norment and talk to her about her experience interviewing Prince.
For my journalism history class, I've decided to focus on Rolling Stone's coverage of Prince from 1978 to 2004. It is not quite in line with my personal project, as I am looking at topics other than spirituality. Back in 2004, Prince made a comment to Entertainment Weekly that it took him four albums to get on the cover of Rolling Stone. One month later, the magazine did a cover story--fourteen years after the last one! Prince has made other comments about Rolling Stone, and I'd like to explore his relationship with the magazine.
After I complete this school paper, I plan to go back to African American media coverage of Prince's spirituality. I'd like to look at other publications such as Jet and some broadcast media.
I will check back in very soon!
Friday, February 11, 2011
"What I Learned from Layin' in the Cut" - I'm back!
Unfortunately, my one-week hiatus turned into a very long break. The intensity of my one-year master's program is starting to take its toll. Although I have been busy with school and personal matters, my Prince project has never left my mind. Here are some updates:
I am so close to securing the next big interview for my book. I was actually set to do the interview back in mid-January, but we had to reschedule. I am being persistent, and I'm waiting for my source's schedule to free up next week. I hope to have good news soon.
I have been continuing my research on Prince and the media, and I am really intrigued by African American magazines' coverage of Prince's spirituality. I will elaborate on this subject in the next post.
I have been swamped with reading for school, but I managed to finally get through the first few chapters of Dez Dickerson's book. So far, I'm really enjoying it, and I look forward to learning about his exit from The Revolution in his own words. Based on other Prince biographies, his departure was spritually motivated. Honestly, I probably won't get back to the book until spring break when I have time to continue in chronological order (I don't like to skip ahead). After all this time, I just noticed that Mr. Dickerson included a personalized autograph in the front cover of my copy! Whether or not he signs them all, I think it's pretty cool. I hope he decides to talk to me in the future...
I recently received information that some of Prince's acquaintances are under orders not to speak to the media about him. That makes sense. If nothing else, I want them to understand that I don't have any ill intentions, and I'm not interested in writing a tell-all. On the other hand, I'm not trying to paint Prince as a saint. My desire is to be as objective as possible. I think people will be interested and hopefully inspired by the story. I think anyone's growth and maturity over the years can be inspiring to others.
With that said, it's probably best to start contacting the people who are the most removed from Prince. I would absolutely love to talk to Ingrid Chavez, his co-star in Graffiti Bridge. She appears to be continuing with her own music career. According to other biographies, she seemed to have a profound effect on Prince, and she was present during a crucial time of spiritual development in the artist's life. I tried to contact her a while back via her website, but I didn't get a response. I will definitely try again.
One of my loyal readers mentioned that she really wants me to find out more about the "Prince and the occult" rumors. As I've said, I have never read or heard anything about that, but I will look into it in the future. I have not forgotten!
Well, I dreamed that I met Prince twice in the past month. I hope that is a good sign! The rest of my quarter is looking pretty unpredictable, but I don't want to stay away this long again!
Thank you so much for reading.
I am so close to securing the next big interview for my book. I was actually set to do the interview back in mid-January, but we had to reschedule. I am being persistent, and I'm waiting for my source's schedule to free up next week. I hope to have good news soon.
I have been continuing my research on Prince and the media, and I am really intrigued by African American magazines' coverage of Prince's spirituality. I will elaborate on this subject in the next post.
I have been swamped with reading for school, but I managed to finally get through the first few chapters of Dez Dickerson's book. So far, I'm really enjoying it, and I look forward to learning about his exit from The Revolution in his own words. Based on other Prince biographies, his departure was spritually motivated. Honestly, I probably won't get back to the book until spring break when I have time to continue in chronological order (I don't like to skip ahead). After all this time, I just noticed that Mr. Dickerson included a personalized autograph in the front cover of my copy! Whether or not he signs them all, I think it's pretty cool. I hope he decides to talk to me in the future...
I recently received information that some of Prince's acquaintances are under orders not to speak to the media about him. That makes sense. If nothing else, I want them to understand that I don't have any ill intentions, and I'm not interested in writing a tell-all. On the other hand, I'm not trying to paint Prince as a saint. My desire is to be as objective as possible. I think people will be interested and hopefully inspired by the story. I think anyone's growth and maturity over the years can be inspiring to others.
With that said, it's probably best to start contacting the people who are the most removed from Prince. I would absolutely love to talk to Ingrid Chavez, his co-star in Graffiti Bridge. She appears to be continuing with her own music career. According to other biographies, she seemed to have a profound effect on Prince, and she was present during a crucial time of spiritual development in the artist's life. I tried to contact her a while back via her website, but I didn't get a response. I will definitely try again.
One of my loyal readers mentioned that she really wants me to find out more about the "Prince and the occult" rumors. As I've said, I have never read or heard anything about that, but I will look into it in the future. I have not forgotten!
Well, I dreamed that I met Prince twice in the past month. I hope that is a good sign! The rest of my quarter is looking pretty unpredictable, but I don't want to stay away this long again!
Thank you so much for reading.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
"Even the Soliders Need a Break Sometimes" - Be Back Next Week
Hey everyone! Just checking in to say that I will have a full blog entry up next week (or sooner). My schedule is very hectic this week. However, I am working on securing a big interview for my book next week! If all goes according to plan, I hope to have another sneek peak posted by next Wednesday. I am also expecting to have my official "Welcome 2 America" concert review posted on a music website shortly. Please continue to keep your fingers crossed for me, and as always, I will keep you up to date!
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