Prince was a huge presence for me while I was in college. My friends and I  would play Purple Rain from beginning to end repeatedly. It became the soundtrack of our lives for a time. When the album first released, we took over the dance floor at 101st Airborne, a restaurant/dance club on the edge of the Nashville airport. We convinced the dj to play I Would Die 4 U, Baby I’m a Star, and Purple Rain without a break. We cleared the dance floor, not because we were performing dancing-with-the-stars-level routines, but because no one had heard the album yet and I’m sure we were being obnoxious. 

The new art in the picture was created by local Nashville artist Arthur Kirby. I’d love to fill our house with his work. We’re on our way to doing just that; we have a canvas depicting Freddie Mercury as well. Arthur’s heart is as big as his talent, which makes having some of his art in the house all the more wonderful. 

Back to Prince. Beautiful Ones is my favorite Prince song. The passion in that performance is overwhelming. But a close second is 7. If you sing karaoke, it’s a forgotten crowd pleaser. There’s only like four notes in the whole thing, the background vocals keep you in tune and make you sound great, and when the chorus repeats, you can get the crowd to sing along.