Minnesota mourns

The artist known as Prince has died. He was 57.


Prince’s body was discovered at his Paisley Park compound in Minnesota early Thursday morning.


Multiple sources connected to the singer confirmed he had passed.

I’m very sorry to hear this. Like many who grew up in Minnesota, his music was the soundtrack to my youth. Playing on stage at First Avenue was surreal, because it was the stage he had owned. Playing on stage at his own club, Glam Slam, was an incredible experience. I met him several times, usually at The Perimeter, and he was unfailingly civil. For a world-famous pop superstar, he was astonishingly approachable, and I never heard anything negative about him from my many friends and acquaintances who encountered him everywhere from the nightclubs and recording studios to the car wash.

There are some people who seem larger than life, and it seems impossible that they can die. Prince Rogers Nelson was a unique musical talent who had a special relationship with his hometown. His music will live on. Here is hoping that his huge collection of unreleased recordings will one day be released to the world.