Saturday, April 23, 2016

A Few Facts About Prince Who Recently Died



Unless you're living under a rock, by now most of you know "Prince" died on Thursday April 21, 2016. This post is not about immortalizing him. Too many already covered that aspect. Rather my intention is to post as many facts as I can find all in one place along with a bit of opinion (like that should surprise anyone who comes here often).

He was found lifeless inside his Paisley Park complex. The $10 million 65,000 SqFt structures are located about 22 miles from Minneapolis. The buildings house two recording studios, a 12,400 foot sound stage, offices, a rehearsal room, costume making areas, Prince's apartment and a secretive vault. I'll speak more about that vault later.



The man was far more prolific then I had thought. Wikipedia list 155 songs he wrote. Among them were songs written for other artists who reaped hits from them. To name a few..
     "Manic Monday“ by The Bangles
     "When You Were Mine“ by Cyndi Lauper
     “Jungle Love“ by The Time
     “Stand Back“ by Stevie Nicks
     “I Feel For You“ by Chaka Khan
     “The Glamorous Life” by Sheila E.

Most are aware of his singing and composing talents. Not so well known is he could and did play 27 different instruments on his first album, "For You". He also accompanied a handful of other artists on their recordings.

Which brings us to that secret vault and what it might contain Wikipedia list many never released projects. Among them 50 fully finished music videos he never made available to the public.

In March 2015 'The Guardian' wrote-- Susan Rogers, Prince’s former sound engineer... "When I left in 87, it was nearly full. Row after row of everything we’d done. I can’t imagine what they’ve done since then.”

Brent Fischer is a composer who has helped add orchestration to Prince’s work for 30 years, beginning with 1985’s Parade album; his studio heaves with reams and reams of sheet music for his work with Prince. I recognize some of the titles, but others look like songs that must be sitting in the vault – The Streets of Panama and The Fat Lady Sings. “I think over 70% of the music we’ve worked on for Prince is yet to come out,"


Unimaginable Wealth
If these rumors ring true the Prince estate could set world records accumulating far more wealth then any of these other late artists could ever dream of. Since Elvis's death his estate tripled and Michael Jackson's doubled in their net worth.

Elvis earned $100 million over his lifetime. Almost 40 years after his death the estate is reported to have a net worth of $300 million. When Michael Jackson died his estate was reportedly $500 million in debt. Some six years after his death in 2015 said to have a net worth $450 million on the plus side. Prince's estate is currently worth an estimated $300 million.

Neither Elvis or Michael left much behind in the way of unreleased projects. If it's true what they say is stored in Prince's secret vault his estate could end up being worth many more times then that of Michael's and Elvis's combined.

Let the fighting begin. Who's going to end up owning and controlling how much of what or when any of the material may be released (if it ever will) is anyone's guess. I wonder what Prince would have wanted?


Larry King: December 10, 1999

Most artists in real life little resemble the kind of self assured we assume them to be when they perform


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