Few artists transcend genres and generations the way Prince did. (David Bowie comes close, which just goes to show how rough a year 2016 has been thus far.) He was a peerless songwriter, a jaw-dropping performer, and a one-of-a-kind public persona who is at the center of a number of remarkable stories so delightfully mysterious, so bizzarre, so very Prince that one has to assume they’re all true. There will never be another like him.
So when Prince died Thursday at the age of 57, the outpouring of grief and memories came from all quarters. It was so widespread that the Dallas skyline even paid tribute to the legend, as the Omni threw up a “Purple Rain” display for the evening. (I also saw an electronic billboard off I-45 a little bit north of downtown carrying Prince’s photo.)
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Omni Dallas ALWAYS comes through… pic.twitter.com/zbXTu6R4n9
— Brandon (@Jus1Nyt) April 22, 2016
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And while many Dallas residents took to social media to share their Prince memories, few could top Erykah Badu’s stories (and photos) in this Facebook post:
That time Prince was your rhythm guitarist
then sent you the picture.
The time Prince was so gracious to come to your club in the hood of South Dallas and play for 4 hours into the night…
The time you recorded “Today -the earth song”
at Paisley Park.
All the times y’all shot pool and argued over religion.
The time Prince got in your Lemo to tell you that ‘World Wide Underground ‘ wasn’t finished yet and you ‘felt a way’. Lol
The time Prince “evolved ” and wouldn’t sign yo mama’s ‘Dirty Mind’ album cover cause he said he wasn’t into that no mo and yo mama told him
“well you shouldn’t have made it then” and you were embarrassed.
The time Prince had a “swear jar” and you just put a 20 dollar bill in it when you walk in.
The time Prince and Larry Grahm had you cornered in a Jehova’s Witness…well, witness session.
The time you presented Prince with the ICON Billboard AWARD with 20 (Janell Monáe).
The time you sang “I wanna be your lover” on the 3rd grade talent show wearing a swim top and the teachers cut you short because it was “inappropriate”.
The moment you remember how much he means to you…
You’ve been here all my life .
And You will live F O R E V E R in my cells.Sometimes it snows in April?
Badu
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The Granada’s marquee shares some Prince wisdom:
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Dallas remembers @prince
photo by @theurbanfabric pic.twitter.com/naNwAZldsW— oldwaver (@oldwaver) April 22, 2016
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Thank you @prince and @OmniHotels #Prince #PrinceRIP #PurpleRain #PurpleTears #dfw #dallas #omnihoteldallas pic.twitter.com/vb6MEBTQy1
— Joseph Haubert (@josephhaubert) April 22, 2016
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We’ll be over here listening to our Purple Rain record.
