ASU faculty members share memories of Prince

ALBANY — It was a scene that couldn’t have been scripted any better. Prince on stage during the halftime of Super Bowl XLI, making his guitar sing in “Purple Rain” as he had so masterfully done throughout his career and the crowd singing along.

As if the special effects weren’t enough to create a breathtaking scene, nature decided to get in on the action by providing rain for a fitting backdrop.

It was enough to send chills down viewers’ spines and become forever ingrained in the memories of those watching on TV. But for Albany State University Director of Communications LaNedra Carroll, that moment was one of her greatest experiences of all time. Unlike most, she got to witness the performance live, from the field.

Before Carroll came to ASU, she was the director of communications at Florida A&M University. Prince hand-picked FAMU’s Marching 100 to perform with him in Florida.

“I was at a special place at a special time,” she said. “To see the images of Prince right now on everything in that outfit at the Super Bowl and to see the lights and the fireworks from the Super Bowl, takes me back to a moment in time you can hardly describe.”

Carroll added that, as special it was to see the scene on TV, it was even more incredible to see in person.

“It was like he had a special touch and a special connection with the maker, because there was no prediction of rain for that hour if I recall,” she said.

Carroll can recall the impact performing with a legendary artist like Prince had on the FAMU students. She said the impact of Prince putting not just any band, but an HBCU band, in the public eye can be seen today as her current school’s band was the only HBCU ensemble selected to perform in the Rose Parade.

“It meant that he was a man who appreciated the talents, the skills, in a place where other people may never even look,” she said. “He plumbed the jewels of our community to put them out front, on stage doing what they do best with one of the best in the industry.”

April 21 was already an interesting day for Albany State Assistant Professor of Music Joel Johnson, as he was on his way to a gig. This particular gig happened to feature Bernard “BK” Jackson, a former member of Prince’s band, and saxophonist Adrian Crutchfield, Prince’s current band member. Both men were good friends and colleagues of Johnson’s. And, as fate would have it, Johnson received a call a few days earlier asking him to fill in and play guitar for this particular gig. He was on his way to Panama City, Fla., when he received the news of Prince’s untimely passing.

He said his mind immediately began racing as he wondered how his colleagues were doing and what that meant for the performance that night. What was originally planned as a concert featuring various pieces turned into a tribute that Johnson feels would have made Prince himself proud.

“I think — matter of fact, I know — we did an extremely good job,” he said. “It was emotional. There were tears. I was like, ‘Man I’ve heard BK and Adrian play before, but I’ve never heard them play like this.’ They definitely took it up a notch. I think they went even harder than if they were playing with Prince.”

He added that the raw emotion came out of the musicians as they were not just doing another run-of-the-mill gig, but honoring a legend who created opportunities for them and expressing the connection they had.

As a musician, Johnson said his connection to Prince was special, based not just on his technical abilities, but for his style and ability to blur genres.

“Prince was like the soundtrack to my life through the different stages,” he said. “Meaning quirky, unusual. I grew up in Orlando, Florida, and a few pounds ago I was this awkward, little skinny black kid playing rock guitar. And while other people were talking about different artists, I was talking about George Benson, B.B. King, Van Halen, Jimi Hendrix, I was all over the place.

“I grew up in a time where it was very important for you to determine which team you were gonna play for. Whether you were gonna be the traditional blues guy, or were you gonna be the rock and roll guy or the gospel guy? I was like, ‘I don’t want to pick a team, I like all of them.’ And then I hear Prince …”

Johnson said he was able to find the types of music he liked in one album, and as a budding guitarist himself, he distinctly remembers the solo at the end of “Let’s Go Crazy” that made the hair on the back of his neck stand up.

A few days after that emotional performance, Johnson is back at ASU. Dressed in a purple polka-dotted shirt and purple tie, he runs through “Purple Rain” with one of his students in hopes of passing on even just a little bit of what he was able to learn from the Purple One himself.