Famous & Gravy: Purple Reign (Prince)

This person died in 2016 at age 57. He won an Academy Award in 1985, and a Webby Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006. He was still a teenager when he was signed to Warner Bros Records, in a deal that included full creative control. His work inspired the formation of the Parents’ Music Resource Center, which pressured record companies into labeling albums to warn of explicit content. In 1993 he changed his stage name to an unpronounceable glyph, and for a while he was referred to as “The Artist Formerly Known As”. His chart-topping hits included “Let’s Go Crazy”, “When Doves Cry”, and “Purple Rain”. Today’s dead celebrity is Prince.

Famous & Gravy is created and co-hosted by Amit Kapoor and Michael Osborne. This episode features Nichelle Carr as guest host, and was produced by Megan Palmer. Sign up for our newsletter at famousandgravy.com and also enjoy our mobile quiz game at deadoraliveapp.com

If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like Episode 45 “Rebel Rebel” (David Bowie) and Episode 21 “Florida Man” (Tom Petty)

LINKS:

Transcript of this episode

New York Times Obituary for Prince

Black Women of Amherst College podcast series

Charlie Murphy’s True Hollywood Stories on Chappelle Show

Dick Clark interviews Prince on American Bandstand in 1980

Chris Rock interviews Prince in 1997

Prince’s performance at the 2004 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Famous & Gravy official website

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Dead or Alive Quiz Game

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