How Prince wrote 'Funk Machine' at 7, won Oscar for 'Purple Rain' and got that bodacious Batman soundtrack
Dance, sex, romance, psychedelics, and fantasia... Isn't that what fills your mind when you hear Prince Rogers Nelson's classic funk-rock hits? An artist never truly dies, especially with the treasure trove of music they leave behind. He was one such enigma, who rocked the world with his music.
With chartbuster funk-rock hits and albums like 'Dirty Mind' (1980), Lovesexy' (1988) and 'Love Symbol' (1992), the musician cast a spell on his listeners. He lost his life to an accidental drug overdose. It's been four years since his death but a vault of released and unreleased songs has made him immortal. There's a reason why he is still remembered fondly and his music is revered as a masterpiece. Here's a recollection of his triumphs—right from his first step to his last breath.
First Song at 7: Funk Machine
Did you know he wrote his first song 'Funk Machine' at the age of seven? Since his childhood, he was drawn towards melodies and he first played the theme of the 'Batman' series on his piano. When Prince was seven, he was a huge hit. Not long after, he penned down his first song called 'Machine.' As a child, he loved R&B, rock and pop music and some of his favorite bands were Godfather of Soul, then Sly and the Family Stone. He first learned to play the saxophone before the guitar, drums and bass.
In his teenage years, he collaborated with his childhood pals and cousins in a band, most notably known as Grand Central. By then, his song was called 'Funk Machine' or 'Sex Machine' and the lyrics had been replaced with graphic sexual content, comparing a sexy woman to a mechanized object.
First job at 19: Warner Bros
Prince was pretty serious about his music career. By 1976, he went on to land a recording contract. A Minneapolis businessman helped him create a demo at Sound 80 Studios and the recording along with a press kit was produced at Husney's ad agency. It soon grabbed many eyeballs, including Warner Bros. Records, A&M Records, and Columbia Records. At the age of 19, Prince signed a recording contract with Warner Bros and it gave him creative control for three albums and retain his publishing rights.
His first album, 'For You', was recorded at Record Plant Studios. It is believed that Prince wrote, produced, arranged, composed, and played all 27 tracks on the recording, except for the song 'Soft and Wet', lyrics of which was credited to Moon. While 'Soft and Wet' grabbed the No. 12 spot on the Hot Soul Singles chart and No. 92 on the Billboard Hot 100, 'Just as Long as We're Together' reached No. 91 on the Hot Soul Singles chart.
'The Revolution' and the Oscars!
His next four albums—'Prince' (1979), 'Dirty Mind' (1980), 'Controversy' (1981), and '1999' (1982)—helped him climb the stairs of success and R&B hits like 'Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?' and 'I Wanna Be Your Lover' sold over a million copies. Blended in funk, dance, and rock music, his songs were labeled a "stunning, audacious amalgam of funk, new wave, R&B, and pop, fueled by grinningly salacious sex and the desire to shock," by music critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine.
By 1984, his band became popularly known as The Revolution and he released his sixth album 'Purple Rain'. It sold 13 million copies and remained at No. 1 spot for 24 consecutive weeks! Soon, Prince got a deal to star in a major autobiographical motion picture, 'Purple Rain' and that helped him win an Academy Award for Best Original Song Score. Following the disbandment of The Revolution, Prince released a new album 'Sign o' the Times' (1987) and followed it with three solo albums—Lovesexy (1988), the Batman soundtrack (1989), and the Graffiti Bridge soundtrack (1990).
The Batman effect
His life came to a full circle when director Tim Burton approached him to record a few songs for his upcoming live-action adaptation 'Batman' (1989). Remember how Prince used to play 'Batman' songs on his piano as a child? Burton confessed he listened to Prince’s music constantly while filming Batman and even included his old songs '1999' and 'Baby I’m A Star' in a rough cut of the movie before getting in touch with Prince.
Prince produced a nine-track album and it peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, having sold more than 4.3 million copies. The six-minute vamp single 'Batdance' topped charts and is still remembered by superhero fanatics.
Until he breathed his last, he was at the peak of his career. On April 19, 2016 he attended a performance by Lizz Wright at the Dakota Jazz Club and on April 21, he passed away at the age of 57 by an accidental drug overdose.
Celebrating his prominent musical legacy on the fourth death anniversary, a special titled 'Let's Go Crazy: The Grammy Salute to Prince', will drop on CBS at 8 pm CT / 9 pm ET on April 21, 2020. Maya Rudolph will host the show and also perform with her Prince cover band and it will feature artists like Usher, Gary Clark Jr, Chris Martin of Coldplay. Prince protégés and collaborators such as The Revolution (Prince's band), Morris Day & The Time and Sheila E will also pay a heartfelt tribute to him.