Yesterday, Stevie Wonder appeared as a guest on CBS This Morning to discuss the passing of Prince who had died the day before. Wonder went in depth about the musical influences the two legends had on each other, about Prince as a genius, and about the undeniable impact he had on the world as an artist.
Wonder describes Prince as “a man that did so much for the music world as well as for the consciousness of caring about people,” and continues, “The marriage of his love for music, the marriage of his love for humankind, the marriage of his love for equality, the fact that he was not afraid – he did not ever allow his dreams to be put to sleep based on fear. So when I cry, every tear is for all those various reasons.”
Wonder then went on to perform the Prince classic, “Purple Rain,” explaining, “I truly can’t sing neither one of Prince’s songs, but I can just a little bit maybe…” After singing the chorus, he returns to his lap guitar for a beautiful instrumental.
Watch the musical segment below:
As well as the full interview:
If you’re attending the New Orleans Jazz Festival this weekend, be sure to head over to the Howlin’ Wolf on Sunday, May 1st for a Michael Jackson vs. Stevie Wonder tribute show, featuring Nigel Hall, Eric “Benny” Bloom, Adam Deitch, Cory Henry, Wil Blades, and Adam Smirnoff. Also celebrating will be Zigaboo Modeliste for the 18th Annual Zigaboo’s Funk Revue, along with Sophistafunk. Tickets are available here.
[H/T JamBase]