artwork
EDWARD JOSON
MEDIA &
ENTERTAINMENT
IN MEMORIAM
loosely autobiographical 1984
film ‘Purple Rain’ spawned a
monstrous soundtrack that helped
establish his stardom. Once pitted
against fellow 1980s superstar
Michael Jackson, Prince was
nominated for 32 Grammy Awards
(winning seven) while steadily
producing hits such as “Raspberry
Beret,” “Kiss,” and “Cream.”
Protesting against his record
label’s refusal to release his steady
backlog of music at a steady pace,
Prince changed his name into an
unpronouncable symbol and was
later called “The Artist Formerly
Known as Prince.” Even when he
returned to being called “Prince”
in 2000, he continued to record
and produce music, even though
not all of it has been released as
of yet. Prince was also a virtuoso
on the guitar and piano, and
his peers often stated that there
is no better guitar player in the
world than the man so often
associated with the color purple.
Though separated by a
generation, Bowie and Prince
seemingly echoed each other
for their respective fanbases. In
countless tributes made, it’s been
said that they both made it “okay
to be weird” or different from
everyone else. That they were still
able to produce great music that
will live long after them makes
their passing all the sadder.
There have been other
celebrity deaths in 2016, of course.
Musicians Glenn Frey of The
Eagles and Lemmy Kilmister of
Motörhead, actor Alan Rickman,
and just recently, former world
heavyweight boxing champion
and humanitarian Muhammad Ali
have all passed away before the
mid-point of the year. Can we hold
off on all the death already?
July - August 2016 | adobo magazine
171