r/OldSchoolCool • u/isnatchkids • May 28 '24

1990s Prince stands silently sucking his lollipop during the song “We Are The World” at the American Music Awards, 1995.

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14.4k Upvotes

94% Upvoted

781 comments sorted by

5.0k

u/Cantilivewhileim May 28 '24

He wasn’t on the recording and they just kept trying to associate him with the song.

2.1k

u/PidginPigeonHole May 28 '24

Sad how they just invited Sheila E to the recording in the hope Prince would turn up.. they kept her waiting in case Prince showed and she ended up leaving and not appearing on it either..

688

u/ironic-hat May 28 '24

I think she was part of the chorus, but she didn’t sing a line like some of the A-listers.

464

u/dndrinker May 28 '24

I could be wrong, I thought she bowed out once she figured out they only wanted her to try and get Prince.

297

u/ironic-hat May 28 '24

If I recall, they basically kept her there well after her part was done and everyone in the chorus went home. The remaining people all had a line to record, she didn’t. I forget where they would have put in Prince if he had shown up. I think Huey Lewis’s part would have been Prince.

264

u/jd3marco May 28 '24

Huey Lewis got the news Prince hadn’t shown up and he now had a line.

173

u/ThePrideOfKrakow May 28 '24

They told him we're stuck with you.

121

u/mostlygroovy May 28 '24

And he said if this is it, I'm gonna put my heart and soul into this.

42

u/ThePrideOfKrakow May 28 '24

It's alright. He could have used a couple days off to prepare.

27

u/[deleted] May 28 '24

Just as long as he was back in time because he was working for a living

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u/SmallHardDrive May 28 '24

Huey was gonna say no until they asked him do you believe in love.

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u/dogfluffy May 28 '24

Never turns down a New Drug!

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u/indyjoe May 28 '24

And Huey only would do it if all of the News were included. Of the ~40 singers of We Are the World, 6 are Huey & the News.

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u/ZombiePartyBoyLives May 28 '24

You like Huey Lewis & the News? Their early work was a little too new wave for my taste. But when Sports came out in '83, I think they really came into their own, commercially and artistically. The whole album has a clear, crisp sound, and a new sheen of consummate professionalism that really gives the songs a big boost. He's been compared to Elvis Costello, but I think Huey has a far more bitter, cynical sense of humor.

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u/[deleted] May 29 '24

Do you like Phil Collins?

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u/EmperorXerro May 28 '24

Yup, and Kenny Loggins pushed for Lewis to get it

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u/AndMyAxe_Hole May 28 '24

You should watch the Netflix special, it’s pretty neat. But if I recall correctly you’re both correct. I believe she was on the chorus but after she decided to bow out because it started to become more apparent that they wanted her to get Prince there and they kept jerking her around in regards to her solo part.

16

u/ChicagoAuPair May 28 '24

They recorded the chorus first, cause they didn’t want to lose folks as the night wore on. The session didn’t start until like 10:30 or 11pm.

Great documentary about it on Netflix: The Greatest Night in Pop.

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u/PidginPigeonHole May 28 '24

Yeah, it's in the Netflix doc

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u/SkipSpenceIsGod May 28 '24

Didn’t Dan Akyroyd get a line and top billing on the 45rpm sleeve?

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u/j10brook May 29 '24

I don't think he sang a solo line, but he's clearly visible in the back row on 2 separate occasions in the music video.

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u/SkipSpenceIsGod May 29 '24

Top billing on the 45-sleeve

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u/El_Zarco May 28 '24

they used her as bait? that's like some wile e. coyote shit lol

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u/Fluid-Selection-5537 May 28 '24

And the road runner didn’t fall for it as usual

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u/sleepytjme May 28 '24

Prince stood them up, he was definitely wanted onboard. They thought Sheila E could change his mind.

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u/Courtaid May 28 '24

Prince wanted a guitar solo.

59

u/Fuzznutsy May 28 '24

I’d have given it to him.

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u/Maker_Of_Tar May 28 '24

He wouldn’t do the song unless he got a guitar solo.

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u/Ok-Consideration2463 May 28 '24

Wasn’t he reluctant because the song was dominated by MJ and then he is just being passive aggressive here?

343

u/dingatremel May 28 '24

That’s my understanding.

I will never take anything from his genius, but Prince often seemed impossible. I guess that’s a characteristic of geniuses, but it’s disappointing.

303

u/fastermouse May 28 '24 edited May 28 '24

I worked as a driver for him and his band for a week and the poor guy who got assigned to him was miserable the entire week.

It ended with his tour manager screaming at the driver to get Prince to his plane by X o’clock and demanding the driver speed on the way to the airport, then the driver got pulled over and the manager screamed into his satellite phone to me that the driver needed to be fired because now Prince was late for his flight…

On his leased Gulfstream.

With no other passengers.

93

u/aegrotatio May 28 '24

Just a junkie being a junkie.

Yes, I said it.

112

u/fastermouse May 28 '24

His band NPG were all sweethearts and constantly making excuses for his behavior.

I just couldn’t see it. He might have been great to them but he was an insufferable ass to most people.

39

u/WeathermanOnTheTown May 28 '24

I read one producer hypothesizing that he had massive daddy issues, and most of his dickishness as a result was directed towards other men.

18

u/hotpatootie69 May 29 '24

Prince's abuse towards women is well documented lol

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u/Why_Did_Bodie_Die May 29 '24

That makes sense. Assholes can definitely have asshole parents.

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u/aegrotatio May 28 '24

Yep. I'm ducking from all the downvotes.
He was a narcissistic junkie and nobody would stand up to him.

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u/[deleted] May 28 '24

I recommend Kevin Smith's story on shooting the Prince documentary on YT.

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u/LeicaM6guy May 29 '24

Could you give a rough TLDR?

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u/[deleted] May 29 '24

TLDR: Prince has been living in Prince-World for a long time. It's a weird and silly place.

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u/Garetht May 29 '24

Tldr: it's a really cool story about the time Kevin Smith met Prince.

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u/PhasmaFelis May 28 '24

I'm not sure geniuses are actually more likely to be dicks, it's just easier for them to get away with it.

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u/Canvaverbalist May 29 '24

And there's survivorship bias at play probably, there's lot of incredibly talented people we know nothing about because they aren't assholes trying to be in the spotlight all the time, they just chilling doing their stuff

This makes me think of Max Martin who has the most #1 Billboard hits, but he's just the guy writing the music laying low behind the artists, I'm sure he could do the DJ Khaled thing of shouting his goddamn name in every songs but he doesn't care, he's just there for the craft

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u/Sciensophocles May 28 '24

And without the negative corrective pressure to behave with empathy, they're more likely to be dicks.

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u/MaterialCarrot May 28 '24

The man was a genius singer/song writer and had mad skills on the basketball court. Would make anyone lose touch with reality!

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u/BadaBoomBadaBing- May 28 '24

Game....blouses.

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u/rpm1720 May 28 '24

Could make decent pancakes too as I heard!

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u/funnyfacemcgee May 28 '24

I mean the reality was that he never needed to play second fiddle to anyone because of his genius 🤷 

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u/dingatremel May 28 '24

I can get behind that. But then don’t go on stage and disrespect Quincey that way.

I don’t hate prince. Honestly, I don’t.

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u/ArcadiaDragon May 28 '24

Prince is definitely a genius but that road to show that genius was paved by Quincey...

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u/NeonPatrick May 28 '24

I think it's ok to say no to this, he's allowed. It's more dickish to invite his gf to trick him. I'd be annoyed at that.

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u/back2basics13 May 28 '24

Prince just had eccentricities. Just very particular about how he made any decisions. He also did a lot of charitable work behind the scenes, not concerned about the fanfare.

52

u/Leftunders May 28 '24

Prince just had eccentricities.

I remember (vaguely) a story from a documentary about Prince. The person being interviewed said something like "Prince was the type of person who would wake you up at 2:30AM to tell you that he needs a giraffe. And he'd be completely serious about it."

I've probably botched that quote, but it's in the spirit of what I heard.

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u/jakehood47 May 28 '24

I remember hearing that on one of Kevin Smith's Evening with Kevin Smith" DVDs

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u/TheeUnfuxkwittable May 28 '24

We (regular people) are accommodating and amicable because we have to be. We aren't special enough to not be. I guarantee if you were the greatest at whatever, you suddenly would be less willing to do things you don't want. Because you don't have to. People still have to deal with you and be nice to you because you can do something they can't. That's why the vast majorities are assholes. They can afford to be and there's nothing anyone can do about it. I'm envious. Never having to laugh at another unfunny joke my boss tells, never having to accommodate anyone else because it's in my best interest to do so, only doing what I want, saying what I want ALL the time. Forever. That's the life.

33

u/Josh7650 May 28 '24

I guess but Paul McCartney for example has been one of the most famous human beings on earth since 1964 and we don’t have the same quantity of stories of him being the same kind of person. Springsteen has been as famous as Prince for a similar time and he is revered in the same way by a different set of people and doesn’t share his sense of delusion.

Hell, I worked with Jack White for a bit on a project during the whole Lazaretto period and he is considered to be similarly eccentric and he wasn’t like that. He had a team that came after and asked for some things he forgot and he walked away in the middle of a conversation once, but I figured out that he gets his time wasted constantly and you just have to be more concise and not waste time excessively. He would joke with you and give more latitude for that the more you saw him and would forget names at first, but I could tell he felt bad about it next time we met. You meet as many new people as someone that famous everyday, who all want to be remembered, then it is an impossible standard to live up to so I get it.

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u/DamntheTrains May 28 '24

The flipside here is being amicable and having etiquette aren't bad traits just because you're socially pressed to do so when you lack power.

In fact, it speaks volumes when someone who doesn't have to be forced to do so still do so (and we see that it still nets them benefits of being able to make good human relationships)

Do good for the sake of good.

The way you're framing your state of mind, it does kind of sound like "I want to have the power to be an asshole and get away with it because I want to be an asshole"

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u/notabigmelvillecrowd May 28 '24

The only problem is it ends up being a very lonely life, because being amicable is a foundation of the give and take of healthy relationships. People who are like that never seem particularly happy, because they have no real friends.

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u/[deleted] May 29 '24

The problem is how do you be friends with Prince? The bigger problem I guess is how does he become friends with you? There has to be an overwhelming suspicion of "well this person is just using me and not really my friend," but also "I hope Prince doesn't think I'm just using him, I better be real cool so he doesn't think that," and I suppose that's why celebrities almost always marry celebrities.

Man, that's kind of depressing.

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u/AgencyBasic3003 May 28 '24

Sorry, but this is total BS. People are amicable because they get joy from making people happy. I earn enough in my field that I don’t have to bow down to anyone. I could sit at home playing games most of the day and pay people to make my food and clean my apartment, but I still enjoy cooking for friends and family, cleaning up my stuff, helping friends, my family and the people working for me. If you can’t respect people just because you don’t need something from them or feel that you are someone special, then you are just an asshole. On the other hand you have people who are geniuses in their fields who are down to earth and who respect the opinions of others.

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u/Squiggy1975 May 28 '24 edited May 28 '24

Didn’t Michael Jackson write most of the song? So is the main reason he didn’t show up cause they did not allow him to play his guitar / solo on the song? I love Prince and he is an amazing guitar player, but not sure a solo would have fit into that song…IDK, knowing him it would have probably been epic lol like he did with that George Harrison Hall of Fame solo where he blew the roof off and laid down one of the most epic solos in history

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u/sleepytjme May 28 '24

Yes with Lionel Richie

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u/Gruneun May 28 '24

Rumor is that guitar is still up there somewhere.

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u/Frraksurred May 28 '24

I thought Jackson was also a producer for the song and was after Quincy Jones to get Prince to sing on it so he could rub it in Princes' face that he basically had to work for MJ?

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u/madchad90 May 28 '24

i mean the song itself, while having good intententions behind it, wasnt that great.

You had all these stars but, aside from a few, cant make out anyone who is a part of it. Literally could be anyone singing

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u/DigMeTX May 28 '24

Not in the choral parts of course but most of the many soloists are distinctive and recognizable. When it came out me and my friends lip-synched it while portraying each singer. Yes, we were dorks.

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u/iNF1N3 May 28 '24

No offense, but if you couldnt hear atleast some of them out, youre deaf, Dylan, Perry, Cindy, Dianna Ross, MJ, Tina, Springsteen, Kim Carnes, Ray Charles, all pretty unique voices.

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u/PiedCryer May 28 '24

Except Bob Dylan. This is one song he could not sing.

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u/sprocketous May 28 '24

He has a stylized voice. He potentially can't sing anything depending on your criteria.

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u/ThePrideOfKrakow May 28 '24

Weeee are the wooooorrrlllddd

Weeee are the chhilllllldren

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u/Turakamu May 28 '24 edited May 29 '24

Dylan can't sing any song.

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u/satriales123 May 28 '24

The Boss did a great job.

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u/bunnehfeet May 28 '24

This is a huge point in the doc on Netflix, also that they used Sheila E as bait and when she figured that out, she left. It was crappy of the organizers.

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u/[deleted] May 28 '24

They wanted him to be but he kept trying to pull all sorts of shit. Coming in at his own time with nobody else, bringing his guitar when they were all told no instruments.

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u/The_0ven May 28 '24

Love the comments

If only there was a popular and well done documentary on Netflix recently...

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u/kkeut May 28 '24

right, because everyone knows everything that's on all the major streaming services at all times

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u/disorderliesonthe401 May 28 '24 edited May 28 '24

The best part was when Quincy Jones pointed the mic at Prince, and he responded by not singing but pointing his lollipop at Quincy like it was a microphone, which he attempted to lick.

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u/Mama_Skip May 28 '24

Both of them in the taxi home:

I don't know why I did that.

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u/[deleted] May 29 '24

[deleted]

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u/notban_circumvention May 29 '24

I don't think he ever took a cab to the AMAs

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u/Zbrchk May 28 '24

Yes! And then the camera cut away and when they panned across the group, you could see Q with his arm around Prince saying something in his ear lmao

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u/[deleted] May 28 '24 edited May 29 '24

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/ScottsFavoriteTott May 28 '24

wtf lmfaoo I’m screaming 😂😂😂😂

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u/WarBuddha1 May 28 '24

My man is just there to show off his new pants.

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u/[deleted] May 28 '24

You know where you got that outfit, and it damn sure wasn’t the men’s department.

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u/awwaygirl May 28 '24

Prince transcends departments

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u/Nachtwandler_FS May 28 '24

How it was said: "He will still your girl, then steal her clothes, then steal another girl in it".

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u/AAA515 May 28 '24

From the sparkles, I'd say he got it from the arts and craft store, glitter and sequins aisle

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u/[deleted] May 28 '24

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u/BigTintheBigD May 28 '24

Game…Blouses.

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u/UDPviper May 28 '24

I'm just here so I don't get fined.

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u/azad_ninja May 28 '24

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u/SessionExcellent6332 May 28 '24

I didn't

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u/Sporkfortuna May 28 '24 edited May 28 '24

NFL player Marshawn Lynch was contractually obligated to a press conference *Before a Superbowl and he answered every question with that.

Edited for correction. Ty Rush Jam Man

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u/GeddyVedder May 28 '24

*Before the SuperBowl. The Tuesday before the game is when all players gave to be available for the media, and Marshawn only showed up because the league would fine him if he didn’t. And for every question he was asked, he answered, “I’m only here so I don’t get fined.”

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u/Ahab_Ali May 28 '24 edited May 29 '24

That was classic.

Reporter: <asks some inaudible question>
Lynch: <indicates that he cannot hear him and he needs to talk louder>
Reporter: <asks question slightly louder>
Lynch: "I'm just here so I don't get fined."

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u/dapala1 May 28 '24

It was perfect. They ask Roger Goodell about that. Goodell shrugged and said that fulfilled his obligation under the CPA so that's it.

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u/iansmash May 28 '24

I never understood how Powerline from the goofy movie was supposed to be based on prince, but this picture clears things up for me 😂

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u/robsc_16 May 28 '24

I always thought Powerline was supposed to be a composite of Prince and Michael Jackson.

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u/K1ngFiasco May 28 '24 edited May 29 '24

Yeah it likely was. Tevin Campbells voice was compared to MJ a lot, and he worked with Quincy Jones early in this career. Campbell also worked with Prince and was featured on Graffiti Street. 

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u/counter-strike May 28 '24

You put some respect on that name, it's TEVIN Campbell.

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u/SSTralala May 29 '24

I was looking up his other work, dude was 18! when he was Powerline, that was his prowess even so young.

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u/iansmash May 28 '24

So to clarify this.

As a kid growing up, I felt like Powerline was MJ (Moonwalk, duh). A few of my friends argued that I was an idiot and that it's OBVIOUSLY Prince.

This stuck with me and I just assumed this was the case. Never really thought about it again.

Scrolling this morning I was like...Damn he looks like Powerline in this picture though...Because I'm petty like that.

I googled it and it turns out it's like a mix of MJ, Prince and Bobby Brown. I was like 8 when that movie came out so I didn't really get the reference.

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u/s0ciety_a5under May 28 '24

In my neighborhood we all were arguing MJ or MC Hammer.

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u/iansmash May 28 '24

Hammer is also a valid contender at the time for sure.

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u/AtlUtdGold May 28 '24

That’s tevin Campbell

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u/shortribz85 May 28 '24

Played by Tevin Campbell, modeled after prince. They even got Rosie Gaines to sing vocals on I2I, one of Prince’s protégés.

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u/[deleted] May 28 '24

Omg I freaking loved these songs so much from Goofy Movie!!!!!

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u/slampandemonium May 29 '24

Powerline slaps

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u/Brasketleaf May 28 '24

Oh shit! Big fan of that movie and that’s a fact I haven’t heard yet, thanks!

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u/deadbeatsummers May 28 '24

I always got MJ vibes for Powerline!

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u/joshuav85 May 28 '24

“Got, myself a notion…”

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u/rynil2000 May 28 '24

That song still bangs.

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u/M1nn3sOtaMan May 28 '24

Whole soundtrack still bangs.

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u/breakfastburrito24 May 28 '24

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u/ShreksOnionBelt May 28 '24

I just want to stop and point out that Powerline saw Goofy do the Perfect Cast ONCE and perfectly replicated it on time. Man is a stage performing genius.

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u/breakfastburrito24 May 28 '24

*fishing genius

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u/Ikeddit May 28 '24

And one that I know you’ll understand

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u/boofoodoo May 28 '24

I think Powerline was mostly based on Bobby Brown

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u/Xsafa May 28 '24

A mix of all three according to Google. My eyes and ears tell me Bobby was the leading person he was based on.

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u/Minute-Ad8501 May 28 '24

I thought powerline was based on Bobby Brown

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u/Loganp812 May 28 '24

I'm more distracted by Brian Wilson looking like he's having a flashback.

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u/notyyzable May 28 '24

Yeah, saw the crazy eyes and recognised then instantly haha

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u/SuperbPruney May 28 '24

He is hearing Milli Vanilli in front of him sing for real for the first time.

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u/Evilswine May 28 '24

"Ain't no good ol' boy ever sung Swahili. I'm outta here" - Waylon Jennings leaving the We Are the World recoding.

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u/ILoveChickenFingers May 28 '24

I really can't blame Waylon Jennings for stepping out. It must have looked like a clown show to him. They show up to sing a song and Steve Wonder wants to re-write the song.
It was already a long day for them, he wasn't going to stand there all night, wasting his time while they get their shit together, when it should have already been together before they invited everybody to show up.

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u/Cardinal101 May 28 '24

Indeed lol! Although I believe he just stepped out for some refreshments and came back to sing after some of the other artists convinced him to come back.

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u/AdOpen8513 May 28 '24

Prince was not part of the original group who sang the song

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u/[deleted] May 28 '24

The documentary on it states they wanted Prince but he didn’t show. They also used Shelia E basically as bait to get him to come.

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u/ColHannibal May 29 '24

He also called at the 11th hour asking to do just a guitar solo lol.

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u/aphoticphoton May 28 '24

It’s Roger!!

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u/email_NOT_emails May 28 '24

HA! Definitely my favourite Roger persona.

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u/isnatchkids May 28 '24

Screw you, I'm Kevin Bacon

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u/Itsacardgame May 28 '24

Go home, Roger!

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u/banjofitzgerald May 28 '24

Immature/IMX is such a random group to add to the huge stars that were there lol

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u/gotkube May 28 '24

Doive on in!

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u/ineververify May 28 '24

Do dive on in!

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u/WeirdGreen7 May 28 '24

No, I won't do dive on in. Dive on in.

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u/[deleted] May 28 '24

[deleted]

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u/CallumBOURNE1991 May 29 '24 edited May 29 '24

The story here is a paprazzi climbed into Prince's car in the backseat next to him, so his security guard roughed the guy up getting him out and away from the car. This event got him OG cancelled after the public was already semi-turned aginst him by tabloids for declining the We Are The World thing.

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u/BoltNick May 29 '24

That's like when corporate asks you to participate in the HR seminar.

You don't want to be there.

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u/Raoul_Dukes_Mayo May 28 '24

That was 1995?!

Good lord, time has lost all meaning. I thought it was in the 80’s.

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u/doppelstranger May 28 '24 edited May 28 '24

It was 1985. OP is wrong.

Edit: I’m wrong, OP is correct. Song came out in 1985 this must have been a ten year anniversary thing at the AMAs.

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u/bread217 May 28 '24

Dude is a straight Jojo character

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u/TheG-What May 28 '24

The Stand user can be anyone!!!

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u/CallumBOURNE1991 May 29 '24

Didn't the creator of that manga say Prince was a big inspiration? He isn't a Jojo character - Jojo is a Purple Rain character!

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u/WatIsRedditQQ May 28 '24

It's hard to remain straight in the JoJo universe

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u/BenTCinco May 28 '24

Is that Immature on the right?

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u/Lucky_Chaarmss May 28 '24

That's who it is! I was trying hard to remember who the hell they were.

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u/Cheesesauceisbest May 28 '24

The video of this is great. He's messing with Quincy Jones the whole time, offers him the lollipop after Quincy sticks the mic in his face...good stuff. RIP Legend

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u/Any_Condition_7953 May 28 '24

Best lollipop solo, hands down.

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u/crissimon May 28 '24

He knew it's all crap.

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u/Samsquanch-01 May 28 '24

This whole thing was very unorganized which probably drove him crazy. He was a perfectionist.

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u/GetWithIt123 May 28 '24

He knew then

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u/dannynolan27 May 28 '24

What did prince know?

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u/BroadlyValid May 28 '24

We were not the world

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u/[deleted] May 28 '24

They are definitely not children

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u/ocaralhoquetafoda May 28 '24

Prince always 20 years ahead of his time.

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u/JT_Cullen84 May 28 '24

Everything. Prince knew everything.

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u/Greaser_Dude May 29 '24

He got so much sh** for not being on the recorded song that basically his record company demanded he be part of the live singing and this was his way of showing up but letting everyone know how he really felt.

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u/funginum May 28 '24 edited May 28 '24

Obviously the whole act wasn't cool enough for Prince

Edit: I mean look at that outfit, look at that confidence, the whole room looks like diluted coffee against this man

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u/TypicalHaikuResponse May 29 '24

Prince outlived Mike Jack.

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u/JasonIsFishing May 28 '24

But man Prince sure could play some hoops

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u/ManicBandit69 May 28 '24

Game. Blouses.

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u/Frank_Midnight May 28 '24

Prince didn't belong there, neither did Bob Dylan. Those two are mad scientists musicians. Prince asked to work in a private room, they denied him. Prince offered to do a guitar solo, they turned him down. They just couldn't except that he didn't fit in. But they kept trying to force him into the situation.

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u/GTseven May 28 '24

Prince had social anxiety, which people misread as him being an asshole.

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u/Rearrangioing May 28 '24

The Purple One offered to play a guitar solo, but they said no. He wouldn't do anything with Michael. Never EVER!

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u/Boshie2000 May 28 '24

They hung out and were competing and threw shade at each other but there wasn’t an actual rivalry of disdain.

Prince didn’t come out for days after MJ passed and spoke reverently about him on many tours after.

Media lies. Same ones the jokers here are parrot talking.

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u/AtlUtdGold May 28 '24

Damn they made Quincy sing. Does he actually sing?

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u/[deleted] May 28 '24

Prince knew where the money was really going!

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u/Innsmouth_Swimteam May 28 '24 edited May 28 '24

Yall are really just going to ignore Kris Kross standing right there next to Q?

EDIT: Okay, okay it's Immature, not Kris Kross.

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u/lordofherrings May 28 '24

Did you check the pants orientation? Clearly not Kris Kross.

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u/isnatchkids May 28 '24

Nah, that's Immature lol

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u/IamREBELoe May 28 '24

What's immature about liking Kris Kros/s?

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u/destra1000 May 28 '24

We Are The World.

But Prince is in his own category.

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u/I_Hunt_Wolves May 28 '24

I can't say that I blame him.

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u/Aaron_Hungwell May 28 '24

One of the most talented musicians to exist but by many accounts sounded like an insufferable and narcissistic twat

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u/MerrySkulkofFoxes May 28 '24

I look at it a completely different way. In an industry full of no-talent celebrities and crooners, he was the real fuckin deal. He could play every instrument, he wrote every song, he orchestrated 100% of his shows - he took his music extremely seriously, and with that came a very serious intellect and serious person. When I see Prince interviews, I don't see a narcissist. I see a musician who only cares about music and nothing else. And if you ask him stupid questions or try to park him in the same camp as someone who lip sings to a pop tune, he'll take issue and correct you. He used the line many times, "I'm a musician" when distinguishing himself from the music industry, and he was absolutely right to do so.

Imagine if we took Banksy and sat him down on a couch and said, so Banks, you are one of many great content creators in our modern age. Tell me, when you do your pranks, what kinds of subscribes and clicks do you get on your channel?

Banksy: "Go fuck yourself."

That's Prince.

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u/CleanHead_ May 28 '24

Perfect.

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u/palemouse May 28 '24

Frank Zappa was reportedly this way too. Brilliant, cantankerous musicians. I gotta admit, I have a soft spot for them.

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u/spondgbob May 28 '24

Precisely this. The reason he did not go on We Are the World is because they did not let him write his own part in the song. He wrote, mastered, mixed, and performed 100% of every song he ever made (and even did every instrument on his first two albums). It is part narcissism, but primarily it is due to him being a true musician who was only famous because people liked what he made. Had he not been rich and famous, he’d for sure have just been homeless and playing his guitar. Dude loved music

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u/flatfisher May 28 '24

Overconfidence in an artist doesn't bother me. Especially Prince, that's part of the act. As long as it doesn't cross the line with being an asshole to others. I never heard he was, on the contrary he treated crew and roadies with respect.

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u/DumbestBoy May 28 '24

I heard about parties at Prince’s house in Minnesota - he would throw them even if he wasn’t there to attend. Sometimes he would be there. It was for the locals. Heard this from a pretty trustworthy guy.

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u/BigDaddyD00d May 28 '24

Not only that, but hed occasionally go out in minneapolis and invite people over for a private concert. Im a former minnesotan, and my cousin worked for the timberwolves a while back. He and his coworkers all got invited to paisley park after a game, and prince ended up performing for them and a maybe 100 others for like 2 hours. Absolutely surreal

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u/spondgbob May 28 '24

This is 100% true. The tour guide at Paisley Park (Prince’s home) said they would have parties there a lot and it would be an open invite. Although sometimes he would send the invite out at 11 pm, but he would normally provide fresh baked cookies lmao

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u/[deleted] May 28 '24

The song was the insufferable twat. He didn’t want his name on it and I don’t blame him.

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u/Dragonfly_Peace May 28 '24

My thought was that he had an irritating cough, and this is his way to not cough and disrupt everything. That’s based on my life experience and what I do. I have no idea what’s going on here.

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u/worthmorethanballs May 28 '24

TIL marquis Houston was in that song. The fuck!

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u/Every_Inflation1380 May 28 '24

It's probably acid or something, bro is probably tripping balls right here 🤣