When Doves Cry: A Prince Tribute

“I was dreaming when I wrote this, so sue me if I go too fast.”

I lugged my last grocery bags into the house from the car, and the notifications on my phone were  going crazy.

First my mom, a friend, then all my friends from Minneapolis and beyond were texting me.

Prince had died.

Minnesotans are fierce about their artists, and have an immense pride in the creative abilities that our state produces. Prince is undoubtedly the most famous artist Minnesota has ever produced. The fact that he continued to make Minnesota his home after becoming famous made us love him even more.

Like so many girls, I spent nearly all my free time dancing around my room, or carrying my little boom box to the yard and dancing outside. Before Spotify, YouTube or even CD’s, my music was limited to the radio and whatever tapes I could find around the house. While I loved The Boss as much as any girl, Born in the USA was about the only song on my Bruce Spingsteen tape that I could dance along to. Finding Prince, and this new blend of funk/jazz/hip-hop, was inspiring.

Prince’s music was already “old” by the time my friends and I discovered the beats, funk, and instrumentality that made up his music. On our high school dance team, it was an understanding that no Jazz/Funk routine was complete without a mashup with Prince’s music. My friends and I would watch his music videos, looking for inspiration both for our dancing, but also to get absorbed in the beat.

We all got a kick about Partying like it’s 1999, in 1999. In 1996, when Romeo and Juliet came out with Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Daines, all of our artsy friends cried foul hearing When Doves Cry by a different artist. The song within the film didn’t make the soundtrack, which was redeeming; Prince couldn’t sell out like that.

Today, my kids are no stranger to the music being played from morning until night in the house. We drop the kids off at school with the radio blaring, and thankfully don’t have neighbors close enough to hear the speakers we have attached to our home. Whether Raspberry Beret, Little Red Corvette, or going crazy with Let’s Go Crazy, we were always ready to rock out.

We love music, and to dance, and appreciate the artistry and talent behind Prince and what he brought to a very undiverse, rural area of Minnesota, where we were given an education on Funk, and exposed to music that without the gifts of music technology, we would never have been exposed to.

Rest in Peace, Prince. You join Freddie Mercury and Michael Jackson, as artists gone too soon that will always go down as my most favorite and fun. There were many lonely times when a Prince song pulled me out of a dark place and got me up and dancing again. We love and thank you for the music you gave us. It hasn’t gone unappreciated!