Today we lost a true Prince. If anyone deserved the crown of music royalty, it was Prince Roger Nelson who died unexpectedly at his Paisley Park home in Chanhassen, MN at the age of 57.

Many tributes will be made and tears shed as the world mourns the passing of this true musical icon. Prince once said, “A strong spirit transcends rules,” and, as President Obama noted in an official statement, “nobody’s spirit was stronger, bolder, or more creative.”

The world has lost a number of musical icons this year, but this one hits especially hard.

There are some performers who are just one of a kind. They touch your soul, they mesmerize you when they perform, they inspire you.

Prince was always one of those performers for me. I count myself lucky to have been able to see him perform live multiple times. The first time I saw him perform live was thrilling, surprising and memorable. I couldn’t take my eyes off him as he strutted and swaggered across the stage. With a knowing smirk and gleam in his eye, he effortlessly riffed his way through a set of ever-changing tunes as his guitar wailed in response to his vision. He was provocative and scintillating, seducing his audience while he rarely and coyly spoke to them between songs. Seemingly every song, even the well-known hits, were original. He tossed in surprises at every turn. 

His energy was infectious even while he maintained his oh-so-cool image. Most of all, when watching him perform, I could see that he was a true musician, someone who understood and loved playing instruments as much as belting out the lyrics he carefully crafted for each song. He was a bundle of genius and I knew each and every time I saw him perform that I was witnessing something special. From Purple Rain to Controversy to Delirious and 1999 and so many others, his music will leave a footprint in the lives of generations of fans.

There is no question Prince was one of the most significant artists and musicians of our generation. The son of a jazz pianist, he was a singer, songwriter, band leader and incredible instrumentalist who is one of the rare musicians who wrote and  produced all of his music and played most of the instruments on his albums.

And no one, but no one, could play a guitar quite the way Prince could. During his live performances, he would own the stage, gyrating and sashaying from one end to the other, teasing incredible riffs from his guitar which would seemingly wail at his touch. He was a consummate musician having taught himself how to play  multiple instruments at a young age, even as he struggled with childhood bouts of epilepsy.

He leaves behind an unparalleled catalog of music, awards and tributes. Prince was extraordinarlly prolific, having released several hundred songs both under his own name and pen names as well as wrote songs for numerous other artists. It’s estimated he wrote between 500 and 1,000 songs. He sold more than 150 million records worldwide. His discography includes 82 albums, five U.S. number-one singles, 15 worldwide number-one hits and 8 worldwide number one albums. He was the most successful artist on the Billboard charts from 1980-2000, scoring 8 number-one R&B singles and 7 number-one dance singles. He won seven Grammys, a Golden Globe and an Oscar and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004.

But the reason Prince is so respected and revered has to do with so much more than the music he made. Prince was nothing if not a change maker and trailblazer. He lived to shake things up. Prince, both on stage and off,  always stood for freedom of expression and originality. He marched to the beat of his own drum. In doing so, not only was he an electrifying performer; he became a teacher and mentor.

Following an 18-year run with Warner Brothers, Prince fought hard to own and control his music as much as possible, and deliver it to his fans outside the traditional label system, which led to a number of unique distribution deals and, ultimately, a new moniker in which he would be known as the “Artist Formerly Known as Prince.”

Prince was both scintillating and provocative. Thanks to songs like “Darling Nikki,” “Delirious,” “Let’s Pretend We’re Married,” Do Me Baby,” and “Jack U Off,” his lyrics were known to be racy and gasp-inducing for the day. In fact, “Dear Nikki” landed on Tipper Gore’s “Filthy Fifteen” list of songs, which eventually led to those Parental Advisory stickers on albums.

What I loved most about Prince was he was an authentic, meaningful storyteller. He both understood and challenged his audience with lyrics that told his story his way with a commitment to his vision for creating music that mattered.

In a rare 2013 interview with PBS host Tavis Smiley, Prince shared his insights about his evolving vision as an artist and how he was able to successfully engage and cultivate his loyal following:

“From the beginning, as I was coming into my own persona and understanding of who I was, I never talked down to my audience,” Prince explained. “When you don’t talk down to your audience, then they can grow with you. I give them a lot of credit to be able to hang with me this long, because I’ve gone through a lot of changes, but they’ve allowed me to grow, and thus we can tackle some serious subjects and try to just be better human beings, all of us.”

He added, “A lot of the people that come see us now, their parents listened to real music, real songwriting,
real musicianship, and they respect somebody who takes their craft seriously. I grew up that way, so when we do our shows I try to have the best musicians I can find with me at that particular time, It’s not just about a  party….you have to challenge them, and I think that’s lacking in music today.”

As a performer, Prince was exhilarating, surprising, fascinating and always inspiring. Just when you thought you knew what he was going to do next, he would change things up. His live performances were never rote renditions of his top hits. It is one of the reasons he garnered such a loyal following throughout the ups and downs of his changing career with fans often waiting until 2 or 3 a.m. for him to grace the stage where he would  proceed to entertain them for hours.

According to Prince, that was by design. He explained, “I don’t know how any of us grow if we just tread water. The idea is that we keep growing, and the fan base I have now, they’re so sophisticated they almost expect me to do the unexpected, and that gives me a lot of room to challenge myself as well as them. You’re trying to be different. One can’t be different by being racy today. It’s not interesting anymore. Sexiness was in the  mind, it was in your imagination. When you lose that, it’s just old skin.”

It was Prince’s commitment to excellence, originality and authenticity that transcended all his music. He benefitted from and believed in the power of spiritual and artistic mentors who taught each other. In a 2009 interview, Prince explained, “That’s what makes the world go around. We all need each other; it’s about good mentoring and good teachers. I had a lot of good people around me. There’s something about having people around you giving you support that is motivating. Once I got that support from people then I believed I could do anything.”

Throughout his career, Prince shared his journey with a number of emerging artists he mentored from original Revolution band member Wendy Melvoin to singing groups The Time and Vanity to a variety of female proteges including Sheila A, Apollonia Kotera, Sheena Easton and others.

Indeed, upon his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, Prince was described as a veritable “force of nature.” It was telling even then that Prince chose to use his induction acceptance speech to focus on those issues most important to him, namely freedom of expression and spiritual mentoring.

During that speech, Prince explained: “When I first started out in the music industry, I was most concerned with freedom. Freedom to produce, freedom to play all the instruments on my records, freedom to say anything I wanted to…Without any real spiritual mentors other than artists…whose records I admired…I embarked on a journey more fascinating than I could ever have imagined. But a word to the wise. Without a real spiritual mentoring, too much freedom can lead to the soul’s decay. And a word to young artists…a  real friend or mentor is not on your table. A real friend or mentor cares for your soul as much as they do the other one. This world and its wicked systems becomes harder and harder to deal with without a real friend or mentor.”

Certainly there was no better mentor or teacher than Prince. With a cooler than cool image, Prince led by example and taught generations of artists, musicians and fans life lessons that are far reaching. Authentic storytelling, the ability to take risks, the desire for change, and the importance of mentoring will always be an important part of the Prince legacy. Long before the term “influencer” found its way into the lexicon of American conversations, Prince was the ultimate influencer to countless artists and musicians.

As a fan, I will forever remember his passion for music, his thrilling live performances, the songs that are a reminder of good times passed and the importance of telling authentic, meaningful stories.

Prince Roger Nelson. While he is gone much too soon, he leaves an indelible mark on the music industry
and the hearts of generations of fans.

His music will love on so we can be reminded of this one-of-a-kind artist who encouraged us all to party like it’s 1999, who wanted to see us laughing and who understood we were in need of a leader.

We certainly got one in the form of Prince. RIP Purple One.