Prince may be gone, but his legacy will live on, inspiring artists, musicians and anyone who needs to express themselves. As the world mourns his loss, we remember that Prince was not only a kickass musician and artist, but he was also a champion of spirituality, religion, fashion, gender, sexuality, race and community. Even in his battles with the music industry, Prince was an artist before his time.
Prince endeared us with his grace, eccentricity, humility and playfulness, and everything he touched he made a little cooler. Here are four times Prince appeared, often unexpectedly, that made us smile.
Performance with James Brown & Michael Jackson
Talk about cool, this might be the trifecta. In 1983, James Brown invited Michael Jackson to the stage at his own Los Angeles concert. After a short performance, Jackson humbly tells Brown that Prince (who was just becoming more well known) is also in the audience and, at the 1:30 mark, insists that Prince be invited to the stage as well.
Prince does not let Jackson down. Backed by the funky groove of Brown’s band, Prince shreds a borrowed guitar and strips down to the waist. We wouldn’t have thought it possible that James Brown could be made any cooler, but Prince does it.
‘New Girl’ Cameo
In an episode of New Girl, Prince helps get Jess over her fear of admitting to Nick that she loves him. He’s got some great advice too: “anything beautiful is worth getting hurt for.” We also learn in this episode that Prince really likes pancakes and ping-pong.
It’s always nice to see when a celebrity has a sense of humor about themselves; and wouldn’t we all react this way if we met Prince?
2007 Super Bowl XLI Halftime Show
Prince delivered a profound halftime show that was perfectly dramatic and yet not overly showy. The performance included Prince’s originals “Let’s Go Crazy and “Baby I’m a Star” as well as paying tribute to Bob Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower” and The Foo Fighter’s “Best of You.” The finale was “Purple Rain” in the rain. Does it get any more poetic?
The Muppet Show
In 1997 Prince appeared as a guest star on The Muppet Show and performed in a couple adorable sketches. At the time he was going by The Symbol, dubbed the “Artist Formerly Known as Prince” by the media, and The Muppets wonderfully poke fun at him over this. Prince proves his silly brilliance appearing on “Muppet Hoo-Ha” with a wonderful Southern twang. He also writes a song “on the spot” based on the day’s commissary menu, still looking cool while singing about coffee, maple syrup, and jam.
Thank you for everything, Prince. You will certainly not be forgotten. You made sure of that!
