On April 21, the World of Music lost yet another icon as Prince passed away at his Minnesota home. As the only country artist ever produced by Prince, Deborah Allen states:
“I was very blessed to have had the privilege to get to know Prince while working at Sunset Sound recording studios in LA. He wrote and produced a song for me called, “Telepathy.” The time I spent with Prince was magical. He was truly a musical genius! To be in his presence was exhilarating and inspiring. Yet, he was just so down to earth and real at the same time. He treated me like a princess and with the utmost respect. He was such a gift to us all.
I treasure every second I spent with him. I still have the hand written lyrics he gave to me of our song, and the beautiful Christmas card he sent to me which simply stated, “Love God”… Which I know he did. He was a loving person and a very spiritual being. I know he is at home in Heaven right now.
I will love him forever.”
An artist admired over all genres, several in Country Music have paid their respects to Prince by performing his classic songs while draped in purple lighting. Here are a few of the heartfelt performances:
Little Big Town: (4/21) In a very moving, and sadly short, performance, the melancholy harmonies of the foursome carried the chorus of Prince’s “When Doves Cry” during their opening set of Luke Bryan’s “Kill the Lights” tour in Montana. Only their silhouettes were visual through the purple haze of light on stage, and aside from slight swaying and Sweet’s guitar strumming, the only other movement was Sweet and Fairchild pointing upwards at the conclusion of the 52 second clip.
Chris Stapleton: (4/23) During the encore of his show at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley, CA, Stapleton performed “Nothing Compares 2 U,” a song written by Prince but made famous by Sinéad O’Connor. Before starting, Stapleton is heard saying on the purple lit stage: “Hell, I’m gonna try this, not because I can actually do it, but because I’m gonna do it for a great musician that we lost recently.”
Garth Brooks & Trisha Yearwood: (4/23) In Columbus, OH, Garth and Trisha paid tribute to Prince as Garth asked for the lights of the arena to go purple and he gave Trisha a purple frilly shirt to wear. Trisha, a huge Prince fan in her own right, explained how she and her crew have performed a lot of Prince songs in sounds checks over the last 20 years, but never had to nerve to do it live. They then performed a wonderful version of “Purple Rain” in tribute to the Purple One, complete with purple rain falling from the ceiling.