2008 Woodie Awards
Prince Reigns Hall Of Fame
Lisa Panzerilla
Issue date: 3/25/04 Section: Opinion
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Most artists inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame feel happy to be remembered so many years after their last burst of musical vitality. But Prince's induction may be just the opposite.
Those who've followed the career of Minnesota's most flamboyant rock star see Monday night's induction ceremony not as a culmination, but as a new beginning.
"I feel like the stars might align right now for a Second Coming of Prince," says Kevin Cole, who was a disc jockey at the Minneapolis rock club First Avenue at the time of the First Coming of Prince.
Cole, who is now senior music editor at Amazon.com, and has a weekly radio show on KEXP-FM in Seattle, recalls how introverted Prince was before the enormous success of Purple Rain in 1984.
Prince would ask Cole and disc jockey Roy Freedom to play his new records without identifying the artist, hoping to gauge the song's quality by the reaction of the dancing crowd.
"My experiences with him at First Avenue prior to him busting out big-time is he was shy and quiet, but he wasn't aloof," Cole recalls. "He just expressed himself through his music."
But now Cole sees a new, more relaxed and confident Prince.
He cites Prince's electrifying opening to the recent Grammy Awards. Wearing a purple suit and playing one of his stylish white guitars, Prince performed a couple of his old hits "Purple Rain" and "Baby I'm a Star" with current pop diva Beyonce at the February awards show.
A more recent performance and interview on Ellen, the syndicated talk show hosted by Ellen DeGeneres, was even more impressive, Cole says.
"The Grammys was stunning, but Ellen is a stripped-down show, not a huge production like the Grammys," Cole says. "He came out and just blew everybody away.
I don't know if I've seen or heard anything that sounded as good as that on TV in ages.
"He seemed so gracious, generous and warm. They had a really funny interchange. It was cool to see Prince. He's so reclusive, you don't get to see inside him that often. I think he's setting the table for us."
Those who've followed the career of Minnesota's most flamboyant rock star see Monday night's induction ceremony not as a culmination, but as a new beginning.
"I feel like the stars might align right now for a Second Coming of Prince," says Kevin Cole, who was a disc jockey at the Minneapolis rock club First Avenue at the time of the First Coming of Prince.
Cole, who is now senior music editor at Amazon.com, and has a weekly radio show on KEXP-FM in Seattle, recalls how introverted Prince was before the enormous success of Purple Rain in 1984.
Prince would ask Cole and disc jockey Roy Freedom to play his new records without identifying the artist, hoping to gauge the song's quality by the reaction of the dancing crowd.
"My experiences with him at First Avenue prior to him busting out big-time is he was shy and quiet, but he wasn't aloof," Cole recalls. "He just expressed himself through his music."
But now Cole sees a new, more relaxed and confident Prince.
He cites Prince's electrifying opening to the recent Grammy Awards. Wearing a purple suit and playing one of his stylish white guitars, Prince performed a couple of his old hits "Purple Rain" and "Baby I'm a Star" with current pop diva Beyonce at the February awards show.
A more recent performance and interview on Ellen, the syndicated talk show hosted by Ellen DeGeneres, was even more impressive, Cole says.
"The Grammys was stunning, but Ellen is a stripped-down show, not a huge production like the Grammys," Cole says. "He came out and just blew everybody away.
I don't know if I've seen or heard anything that sounded as good as that on TV in ages.
"He seemed so gracious, generous and warm. They had a really funny interchange. It was cool to see Prince. He's so reclusive, you don't get to see inside him that often. I think he's setting the table for us."