Tiffany Hanssen: This is All Of It. I'm Tiffany Hanssen in for Alison Stewart. Coming up tomorrow on All Of It, Alison will be back and she's talking with Booker Prize winning author George Saunders, who will be here. His new novel, Vigil, follows a powerful oil executive on the last night of his life, guided into the afterlife by a compassionate spirit. George Saunders will join Alison in studio to discuss plus learn about the lives of New York's Schuyler Sisters, Angelica, Eliza, and Peggy. That's in the future. However, now it's Prince.

[music]

Tiffany Hanssen: In 1985, the music of Prince was everywhere. I can attest. It's the year that Prince and the Revolution were in the middle of their famous Purple Rain Tour: 98 dates, millions of dollars grossed, and a concert film live from Syracuse. That immortalized what fans experienced.

[MUSIC - Prince and The Revolution: Let’s Go Crazy]

And if the elevator tries to bring you down

Go crazy, punch a higher floor

Woah

If you don' t like

The world you're living in

Tiffany Hanssen: That is Let's Go Crazy, of course, from the concert film, Prince and the Revolution: Live. That film is being screened tonight at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture as part of a series called 100 Years of Black Music On Camera. There will be a panel discussion featuring our next guest, De Angela Duff. She's an associate vice provost at NYU and a Prince fan. Welcome back to WNYC, De Angela.

De Angela Duff: Thank you so much. I'm so happy to be here.

Tiffany Hanssen: Why did I feel like I was going to cry when I was listening to that? It's like it's so joyful but also it was such of an era, it was such of a time. Do you have that reaction sometimes?

De Angela Duff: Oh yes, of course, because I actually went to that tour. I saw it live at the Omni in Atlanta, Georgia. I think he did five dates. I saw the second night and it was really extraordinary.

Tiffany Hanssen: It's worth noting that this event we're talking about, Black on Screen: Foundations of Pop, from the Blues to Purple Rain begins tonight at 5:30 in person. Tickets to see this film are sold out, but you can still join virtually on the Schomburg's YouTube channel for the panel discussion that De Angela will be part of. That's one of your Prince stories. Do you have other Prince stories? Doesn't everybody have a Prince story? [chuckles]

De Angela Duff: Yes, everyone has a Prince story. Actually, I'll tell you one about that Purple Ring tour. My mom took me to Turtles Records in Atlanta and we stood in line starting around 4:00 AM in the morning. When tickets went on sale at 9:00 AM, there were so many people there to buy tickets that they crashed in on that store, and the entire storefront window crashed, and no one could buy tickets from that location. My mom rushed me to another location.

Tiffany Hanssen: Way to go, Mom. [laughs]

De Angela Duff: Yes, but it was sold out everywhere.

Tiffany Hanssen: Oh, no.

De Angela Duff: I was devastated. Tears, all that.

Tiffany Hanssen: Oh, sure, sure, sure.

De Angela Duff: For that Christmas, I opened up this little box and it had Prince socks, the tennis brand. There's a tennis brand called Prince. It had Prince on them. I was so excited. Prince socks. Within those Prince socks were Purple Rain tickets. My mom was able to find them somewhere. I went to the Purple Rain Tour with my mom, and I'm so grateful for that.

Tiffany Hanssen: That's a great memory. Listeners, first of all, what is your Prince memory? Second of all, talk about your favorite Prince song. We'd love to hear from you. 212-433-9692. You can call us. You can text us at that number. Talk to us about what song it is that really, really stands out for you among all of his great hits, Memories of Prince. 212-433-9692. Call us, text us. I say half jokingly that everybody has a Prince memory, but there's no denying his music spoke to a lot of people from a lot of different backgrounds. Why do you think that was?

De Angela Duff: He was just so diverse in all of the different genres that he mastered. He could play rock, he could play soul, he could play gospel, he could play classical, he could play country. Anything you wanted to hear, Prince could actually play it. Also because he was constantly touring and constantly putting out albums. He almost put out 39 albums on his own, but he was writing other music for others. Obviously, Chaka Khan's I Feel For You, that song was written by Prince. Sinéad O'Connor's Nothing Compares 2 U, that was written by Prince. The Bangles' Manic Monday, that was written by Prince.

Prince, I'm so grateful that he was finally inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame because he wrote so many songs. You can basically connect to Prince in any way that you like, depending on what genre that you like. He was a phenomenal live performer.

Tiffany Hanssen: On, no doubt.

De Angela Duff: Once you saw him live, there was no turning back. I'm so grateful for the Schomburg for showing Prince and the Revolution: Live tonight, especially for people who may not have had the privilege of seeing him live, because it is a totally different experience than listening to him on his albums.

Tiffany Hanssen: What was the first song you remember hearing?

De Angela Duff: The first song that I remember hearing actually is Dirty Mind when I shouldn't have because I was only 10 or 11, but I didn't know what I was listening to. My aunt had it in her collection. I was listening to it because of the cover. If you know, the Dirty Mind cover is very provocative. As a 10 or 11-year-old, it wasn't about sexuality for me; it was about freedom. I looked at that cover and I could tell this is a guy who can do anything he wants. That was really exciting to me as someone who grew up in the South with a lot of rules.

Tiffany Hanssen: The movie that is being shown tonight at the Schomburg is Prince and the Revolution: Live. We heard Let's Go Crazy. Outside of this event, De Angela, you have another Prince project that you work on. It's a virtual book club that you call What Did Prince Do This Week? First thing that popped into my mind was what would Prince do, WWPD? [chuckles] Is it like that? Describe it for us. [laughs]

De Angela Duff: It's literally WDPDTW, What Did Prince Do This Week? We're actually reading two books by Duane Tudahl. They're part of his Prince in the Studio Sessions series. We are actually on our second book. We actually started in 2023 because the first book starts in 1983, right before Purple Rain and during the 1999 tour. Every week we look to see what Prince is up to. Right now he's in Parade era, which was his eighth album. He's about to release his second narrative film after Purple Rain, which is Under the Cherry Moon. Then sometimes he goes on tour. He's often in the studio. We talk about that every single week on Saturdays at noon.

Tiffany Hanssen: Okay, De Angela. I invited our listeners, so let's bring him into this conversation. Is it Ana or Anna? Oh, is it Ana? Ana in Brooklyn, hi. Welcome.

Ana: Hi. Thanks so much for taking my call. I am a bananas Prince fan and have got to see him several times. My favorite of those memories is when I was in college here in New York City. A friend of a friend of a friend worked at Radio City Music Hall and somehow got us tickets to the Love Symbol for a concert that she had there. We were literally in the third row, in the pit. They set up just singular chairs in those rows ahead of the regular seat. We were on the side. Madonna was in the middle in our row.

At one point during the show, he put on-- sorrt. I keeps talking in the present. He put on such a show. There was one of his backup people was taking Polaroid pictures of him and his dancers and throwing them into the audience. I actually caught one and was over the moon that I had this picture of Prince in my hand. After the concert, the person who got us the tickets said, "Oh, I think I'll get us copies made, so give me the picture." Since they had gotten us the tickets, I was like, "Okay." Needless to say, that was the last I ever saw it.

Tiffany Hanssen: Before that, Ana, it was a good memory. It was a good memory. We have a text here. Thank you so much for that memory, Ana. We appreciate it. We have a text here, De Angela.

Brian from Windsor Terrace, "So many Prince memories. I was in the third grade when 1999 came out. I distinctly remember sitting in the back of the school bus on a field trip one day and getting the rest of my fellow eight and nine year olds chanting dance, music, sex, romance. I remember making everyone in a bar be quiet when Purple Rain came on because I needed to hear that song. I literally went around yelling at people to tell him to shut up." Another text here. First Prince song was I Wanna Be Your Lover, and I saw him on American Bandstand. Did you see him on American Bandstand? Have you seen clips?

De Angela Duff: Yes, of course.

Tiffany Hanssen: How was his performance there different from his live performances?

De Angela Duff: That's a really great question. It was very early on in his career. We're talking about late '70s. You could tell that he was nervous as he interfaced with Dick Clark. He didn't really talk a lot to Dick Clark during that part where he would hold up hands. Like, "How many instruments do you play?" He would just hold up hands and then he'll delay his responses. It was a very awkward report.

Tiffany Hanssen: He was shy, though. Wasn't he shy?

De Angela Duff: He was shy. Yes, he was shy. With everyone, you start somewhere, but then you hone your craft. He became one of the best live performers ever to have graced the stage. He could really command the stage with his presence, but also with his musicianship because he played every instrument. It was a joy to see him play guitar. It was a joy to see him on keyboards, a piano. It was a joy to see him on bass guitar or drums. It's just such an amazing experience to see him live.

De Angela Duff: We are talking with De Angela. De Angela is going to be taking part in an event tonight, a screening at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. It's part of a series called 100 Years of Black Music on Camera. There will also be a panel discussion. De Angela Duff, this wonderful Prince aficionado that we are spending our time with here this afternoon is also an associate vice provost at NYU and self-described Prince fan. Listeners, we'd love you in the conversation. De Angela, let's just go right to Jimbei in Harlem.

Jimbei: Hi. How are you doing?

Tiffany Hanssen: Doing good.

Jimbei: Great. Great. I saw Prince once. Well, not once, but when I saw him first was at Radio City, and he was going inside the theater to do a concert. Then I realized how small he was. I was on the side, and I had to look down to see him. [chuckles] A few years after that, I was covering the American Music Awards. It was in session. I took a break to go outside and wait around and just wait a few minutes.

All of a sudden I see some people coming up the escalator. I'm like, "I guess they're late." Then I realized this is Prince. He's coming with these guys, four guys around him. As he's coming toward the door, I move out the way, and then I went, and I said, "Look, can I get a shot?" His bodyguard stepped in front of me and him, and he just opened his hands. He says, "Let him have the shot," and I got the shot. I got this amazing shot of him.

Tiffany Hanssen: Nice.

Jimbei: I just rattled off a few. That was one of the times that I actually got to see him up real close. Besides a concert, I actually saw with Chaka when she was doing the Chaka Khan duet with her.

Tiffany Hanssen: Lovely memory, Jimbei. Thank you so much for that. Claire in Brooklyn, you have a memory for us also.

Claire: Yes, I do. In 2013, I'm originally from Minneapolis, and I went to visit home with my friend, Kaheem. It just so happened that the night we got in, Prince was having a pajama party at Paisley Park, which my friend, Leosha, called and told me about. [chuckles] She was like, "You got to go."

Tiffany Hanssen: Infamous parties.

Claire: [chuckles] I borrowed some pajamas for my uncle and we got in line around 2:00 AM. If you haven't been, Paisley Park is a big warehouse, almost like airplane hangar event space. There were no drinks, no nothing but pancakes were being served because I think it was for his Breakfast Can Wait single that was remixed 1,000 times. Nothing happened. Some people left, some people fell asleep on the floor until 4:30 in the morning. He comes out in black silk pajamas, his hair is [unintelligible 00:14:39]

Tiffany Hanssen: I love it.

Claire: -candles are lit, and he sits down at this grand piano and starts singing Raspberry Beret. It was magical. Apparently, he did an encore at 6:30 in the morning. We left at 6:00.

Tiffany Hanssen: Holy cow, that's a good one. Claire, thank you so much for that. We have a text here too, De Angela. "There are so many that I can name that bring up so many emotions." I'm assuming this is so many Prince memories. "I was coming home from a two-week-long business trip, 3:00 AM in the morning, walking down the darkened wallway. Scandalous started playing. I said to myself, 'I'm home.'" [laughs] Love that.

Another texter. "When I was 17, the night of the day that I took my SATs, I got to see Prince in the Purple Rain Tour with Sheila E. opening. We sat in the very last row of the Nassau Coliseum. It was the very best, most joyful concert experience. I will never forget it." People like this texter and like Claire who saw him live really do never forget it. Also, Paisley Park, that's just a completely different level.

De Angela Duff: Indeed. Every year there's a celebration at Paisley Park. If you haven't gone, I highly suggest that you do. I totally understand. It's really magical there. It's in Chanhassen and it is 65,000 square feet. It has a sound stage, a club, all sorts of things there. It's a testament of Prince reinvesting in himself. Originally, he would fly out to LA and record at Sunset Sound, but eventually he just started recording at Paisley Park. He built his own studio, which is impressive.

Tiffany Hanssen: I was living in Minneapolis when Prince died, and I can tell you that Paisley Park became the epicenter of grief for a lot of people. I want to talk more about that, but we're going to take a quick break here. We are talking with De Angela Duff. She's an associate vice provost at NYU and a Prince fan.

We're talking about Prince because the film, Prince and the Revolution: Live, is being screened tonight at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. It's part of a series called 100 Years of Black Music on Camera. We're going to talk more about Prince and I promise we will get to more music coming up. This is All Of It. I'm Tiffany Hanssen in for Alison Stewart. Stay with us.

[music]

Tiffany Hanssen: This is All Of It on WNYC. We're talking about Prince, and specifically the concert film Prince and the Revolution: Live, which is being screened tonight at the Schomburg. We're talking about the film with De Angela Duff. She's an associate vice provost at NYU, a Prince fan, and she's going to be taking part in a panel discussion tonight. 1985, De Angela, this concert film, Prince and the Revolution: Live, was released in 1985 following the Purple Rain Tour. It was filmed in Syracuse. I just want to play, before we start talking, a little bit about that era and specifically that tour. Let's hear a little bit of music because we can't keep talking about it without hearing music.

[MUSIC - Prince: Purple Rain]

Say it

Purple Rain

Everybody.

Purple Rain

It's all right

Purple ain, purple rain

If you know what you're saying about, raise your hand.

Purple rain, purple rain.

It's going to be all right

He say it's going to be all right

He said it's going to be all right

[unintelligible 00:18:26]

Tiffany Hanssen: I know everybody is going to be mad at me because I'm starting to talk over that, but I can't help it. Also, I'm just going to chime in and say, De Angela, the only correct answer to what is the best Super Bowl halftime show is Prince. There are no other answers. That song, in the rain, come on. This is from Prince and the Revolution: Live, 1985. Just give us a sense of, I know I was there, but for folks who weren't living in that time, what was it like then for Prince fans?

De Angela Duff: Oh, it was a very exciting time because Prince was constantly touring. Like you said before, there were 98 tour dates for Purple Rain alone. He did a similar run for his previous album, 1999. What was really exciting about the Purple Rain Tour is that Sheila E. opened for Prince on this tour, and it was her first time as a solo act. She was also phenomenal. Seeing a combination of Sheila E., who would go on to be in Prince's own band eventually for Sign o' the Times, was really, really special. Obviously, most of the tour always started off with Let's Go Crazy like it did in the film. It was such an amazing way to open a set. Then obviously he couldn't leave without playing Purple Rain.

Then he would often play When Doves Cry, which was his first number one hit. The video for that was just incredible. If you haven't seen Prince's When Doves Cry video, I highly, highly suggest it. There's this really powerful moment in the film for me when he does one of his songs called Irresistible alongside another song called Possessed. Neither of them are on albums, but Possessed is actually in the Purple Rain album, and Irresistible B is like a B side to Let’s Pretend We’re Married on from 1999. It's really great to see him perform songs from previous albums, but the bulk of the songs are from the Purple Rain album for this particular tour.

Seeing the band on stage, The Revolution. We can't talk about Purple Rain era without talking about the revolution. You have Wendy and Lisa, who are incredible. Wendy was on the guitar and Lisa was on keyboards. Then the other keyboard is Dr. Fink. You got Bobby Z. on the drums and you have Brown Mark on bass. It was just a stellar lineup to support friends.

Tiffany Hanssen: We are going to have Alison's conversation with Wendy and Lisa as soon as we're done here, De Angela.

De Angela Duff: Amazing.

Tiffany Hanssen: I know. Everybody has to stay tuned for that. Meantime, let's bring another caller into our conversation. Renee in Kew Gardens. Hi, Renee.

Renee: Hi. My best and favorite Prince memory, and I have a few, is the time I broke the law and took my underage minor rotten baby sister to see Prince at the Bottom Line.

Tiffany Hanssen: Nice.

Renee: This was the Dirty Mind tour. She was 12 or 13 and she had not seen anything like it. To tell you, it was epic. Such a small venue. It was really, really intimate. It was amazing. It was truly amazing. Then I have the distinction of having seen the premiere of Purple Rain in New York and LA on a Tuesday here in New York and a Thursday at Grauman's Chinese in LA.

Tiffany Hanssen: Renee, great memories. Thank you so much for that. Let's hear from Dash in Hell's Kitchen.

Dash: Hi. I love this conversation. I love hearing everybody's Prince stories and how they overlap. I'm jealous of everybody else's Prince stories that are [unintelligible 00:22:44] especially seeing him at the Bottom Line. Mine is, I have so many, but I saw the Purple Rain Tour when I was 10 years old in 1984 because my parents took my brother and me to see him. 1999 was the first vinyl I ever bought. That made me a fan for life.

When I came to New York, I moved to New York to go to NYU in 1990. That was the year of the Video City show that was previously talked about. I waited out overnight for tickets in the West Village at Discorama with one friend in the freezing cold. I was robbed, but I stayed online and I got my tickets.

[laughter]

Tiffany Hanssen: Appreciate the dedication.

Dash: Got the flu. All the things. It was all worth it.

Tiffany Hanssen: Nice. Nice.

Dash: I also want to let everybody know who doesn't know. There's a wonderful online radio station that plays all Prince and Prince adjacent music. It comes out of Minneapolis from their radio station, The Current. If you tell your smart speaker to play Purple Current Radio, you can listen to great unreleased Prince and other artists like The Family and The Time and anything-- [crosstalk]

Tiffany Hanssen: I appreciate the shout out for that. I used to work at Minnesota Public Radio where The Current comes out of, and so I absolutely know what you're talking about there. It is worth checking out, especially for Prince fans. Before we let you go here, De Angela, we mentioned Minneapolis. You can't think about Prince without thinking about Minneapolis and the Minneapolis sound. Just describe for us what the Minneapolis sound is.

De Angela Duff: The Minneapolis sound, to be honest, for me, is Prince. It's tied to the use of the LinnDrum, which was a drum machine that Prince is well known for. Also Prince using keyboards as horns instead of real horns. During the Purple Rain period, 1999 period, is when journalists started using that term, the Minneapolis sound, but there were others like Jam and Lewis and Jesse Johnson all in the Minneapolis scene who are tied to that Minneapolis sound. Essentially it is Prince.

Tiffany Hanssen: All right. We've been talking with NYU associate vice provost and Prince fan De Angela Duff. She is a panelist at the Schomburg tonight for an event called Black on Screen: Foundations of Pop, from the Blues to Purple Rain. Inperson tickets sold out. You can still join virtually on the Sean Bergs YouTube channel starting at 5:30. De Angela, thank you.

De Angela Duff: Thank you.

Tiffany Hanssen: I think we should go out on 1999. Why not?

[MUSIC - Prince: 1999]

I was dreamin' when I wrote this

Forgive me if it goes astray

But when I woke up this morning

I coulda sworn it was Judgment Day

Tiffany Hanssen: Well, you can't talk about Prince without talking about Wendy and Lisa, as De Angela and I were saying. Coming up, we're going to have excerpts from a conversation that they had with Alison. Stay with us. That's coming up after a quick break.

[MUSIC - Prince: 1999]

You know I didn't even care'

Anybody want to sing?

Come on.

Cause they say

2000, zero, zero, party over

Oops, out of time

So tonight I'm gonna party like it's 1999

I was dreamin' when I wrote this

So sue me if I go too fast

But life is just a party