Big Ced’s Top 10 Prince Songs

While we can always celebrate his music, this is the week to really shine a light on Prince's library of classics and the indelible stamp he left on music and entertainment.

June 7th marked the Purple One's Birthday. He would have been 63 that day. I remember his death, and when we had to break the news on the radio, I was in total shock.

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The last time I saw Prince in person was in march of 2013 at a show during SXSW. He closed the festival with a concert that lasted almost 3 hours, and no one was complaining. The show was different in that Prince was often more of a conductor than the star of the show, and gave encore after encore.

Throughout his career, Prince seamlessly blended genres and styles while remaining unique in both his sound and stage presence. He even wrote songs for other artists who made them huge successes with original recordings or covers, like 'Manic Monday' and 'Nothing Compares 2 U'.

Prince's guitar skills were one-of-a-kind, and in 2004 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In fact, back in 2016 a writer for GQ called Prince "rock's greatest ever natural talent", which was apparent to anyone who loved his work and managed to go see him live.

Sadly, Prince passed away on April 21, 2016 at the age of 57. Even in death, Prince has continued to find new fans and continued to have an impact on music and culture. Bootlegs of his unreleased B-sides are much sought after by fans, and it's rumored that there's an entire vault of Prince songs that fans have yet to hear. Let's hope we get to hear all that work soon!

Prince may be gone, but his music will still live with us. Here are my personal Top 10 Prince Songs.