Prince Honored at Touching L.A. Memorial
An intimate, private memorial celebrating the life of Prince was held Wednesday night at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. Jointly organized by Prince‘s ex-wives, Manuela Testolini and Mayte Garcia, the event brought together a wide array of celebrities from Larry King to Savion Glover and many of Prince’s old friends including all the members of the Revolution circa Purple Rain – Wendy Melvoin, Lisa Coleman, Matt Fink, Bobby Z and Mark Brown – who all sat together. Most attendees wore black with some sort of purple touch. Spike Lee sported a purple beret and purple Nikes.
A video was screened showing musicians all over the world playing Prince’s songs, fans saying tearful goodbyes and Prince accepting his Academy Award in 1985, draped in a shimmering purple cape. There were also performances, including Esperanza Spalding and Janelle Monáe’s joint covers of “Controversy” and “Take Me With U.” And there were lots of stories about Prince told by his friends.
Tavis Smiley recalled Prince’s insatiable curiosity to know about everything – he called Prince “nosy,” and many in the crowd laughed in assent. He said Prince loved having deep talks about all sorts of subjects. Smiley said they often had hours-long phone conversations about “how to navigate this thing called life.” Michael Testolini, brother of Manuela, told of playing a pickup baseball game with Prince and the band. “An epic game played by the world’s most inept group of players,” he said. Many people spoke of Prince’s fearlessness, his love of pranks and how music was always the primary force in his life. Some talked about Prince jumping onstage in small bars. Nile Rodgers of Chic said that for Prince, “It wasn’t about the fame; it was about the music.”
Many spoke of Prince’s generosity and philanthropy. Morris Hayes, who played keys in the New Power Generation, said that whenever a tour stopped in a town where one of the band members hailed from, Prince would give that member a large check to give to the local school. And if a member’s family passed away, Prince would pay for all of the arrangements.
Mavis Staples of the legendary Staples Singers, who was signed to Paisley Park for seven years, remembered when Prince first tried to find her in order to sign her. When she heard that Prince wanted to write songs for her, she said, “What would Prince write for me? I can’t sing that Apollonia stuff! I’m a grown woman!” She was told that he would write songs that were appropriate for her. She said, “I grinned the whole rest of the year.” Staples said she “adopted” Prince and called him “son,” while he called her “Mama Mavis.” When it came time to record, Staples said sessions often ended well after the sun had come up. “I said, ‘Prince, when do you sleep?’ He said, ‘Mavis, sleeping is a waste of time.’ I said, ‘Well, I’m gonna go waste some time.'” She called him “a beautiful spirit,” and said, “I will miss my son.” She walked off to adoring applause.
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