It’s hard to imagine a time when Prince’s extraordinary influence hadn’t permeated the world of music. The diminutive guitar virtuoso was far more than a pop sensation; he was an unparalleled icon, impossible to replicate. A masterful musician both in the studio and on stage, his legendary status was cemented by his boundless charisma, elevating him to near-mythical stature in the eyes of fans worldwide.
With such a huge impact on music, it is, therefore, difficult to think of Prince Rogers Nelson as anything other than the shimmying virtuoso he became. However, before he hit the big time and wrote some of the most beloved pop songs of the last 50 years, Prince was just a spotty teenager like the rest of us, sitting in his hometown and waiting for his big break.
Prince’s affiliation with his home town of Minneapolis, Minnesota, hasn’t always been a rich relationship. Despite making it his musical hub from the mid-1980s onwards, the singer, like most high school kids, spent much of his formative years despising his hometown for a lack of opportunities for a talented musician such as himself. He, like the majority of small-town heroes, wanted out.
Two years before Prince would burst onto the scene in a flash of bravado and funky intent, he was cutting a frustrated figure in school. Still, even in high school, he remained a figure of interest, and he was asked to sit down for his first-ever interview as a singer. It would show Prince Rogers Nelson as a star waiting to break free of Minneapolis’ oppressive atmosphere.
The first notions of frustration come from the very off when he was asked where he was from: “I was born here, unfortunately”, he responded. It’s the kind of sardonic reply one comes to expect when asking a teenager just about anything. However, this time, it feels like Prince is not annoyed about the town, in particular, but its lack of opportunity for stardom. The singer elaborated with verve: “I think it is very hard for a band to make it in this state, even if they’re good. Mainly because there aren’t any big record companies or studios in this state. I really feel that if we would have lived in Los Angeles or New York or some other big city, we would have gotten over by now.”
In the character sketch piece, Prince also shares some notable moments in his musical formation, including starting to play the piano at age seven and playing the guitar from a very young age. There’s also the subtle but poignant moment in the piece from 1976 as it becomes clear his music teachers, rather than confine the clearly talented musician, let him “work on his own”. It’s a smart move.
Prince’s guitar works is often criminally overlooked, but his all-around musical talent is one thing that set him apart from his contemporaries and clearly began in high school. In the interview, he even reveals he’s picked up singing recently. But he doesn’t play with the band because “I really don’t have time to make the concerts”.
The mercurial artist, already taken with his own musical prowess, backs it up when reveals that he’s “had about two lessons, but they didn’t help much. I think you’ll always be able to do what your ear tells you, so just think how great you’d be with lessons also.”
Yet he suggests to those looking to pick up the guitar, an instrument Prince would master: “I advise anyone who wants to learn guitar to get a teacher unless they are very musically inclined. One should learn all their scales too. That is very important.” Prince clearly feels like the sage old mystic senior.
Before making sure his band Grand Central Corporation have their plug in place for the upcoming album, he still seems to have music as a backup plan. “Eventually, I would like to go to college and start lessons again when I’m much older.” Obviously, that plan would go awry, though we’re sure he wasn’t too upset.
There you have it; even one of the most talented musicians of all time started off as a frustrated high school kid before he finally made it.
Read the full excerpt below.
