And felt such joy when they heard him. Dearly beloved, were here today to get through this thing called life he was Born Prince Rogers Nelson in minneapolis, minnesota. Music in his blood. His mother was a singer and social worker, his father a jazz pianist. My father left his piano at the house when he left and i wasnt allowed to play it when he was there because i wasnt as good as him, so when he left i was determined to get as good as him. I taught myself how to play music and i just stuck with it, and i did it all the time. A singular dedication to music was the Guiding Force of his life and career from the beginning. Through five decades of music, songs that immediately set down anchors in countless hearts. Princes debut album for you came out in 1978 when he was just 19 years old. He played all of the instruments and produced the record himself. Two moral bums quickly followed. I am here because of the golden age of the the 60s, 70s, 80s, when artists played their own instruments, wrote their own songs. His first smash hit came in the 80s, the album included little red corvette. Title track 1999. Tonight i am going to party like its 1999 how would you describe your music . The only thing i could think of because i really dont like categories, but the only thing i could think of is inspirational. I think music that is from the heart falls right into that category. People really feel what it is that theyre doing. In 1984, prince and the revolution released purple rain including lets go crazy i would die for you and when doves cry. That album and movie of the same name made prince an international superstar, the purple rain had begun. Ever the prolific song writer, prince produced an album a year in the 80s and early 90s. He unveiled the paisley park Recording Studio outside his hometown of minneapolis. A few years later during a dispute with his record label, he changed his name to a symbol. Was often referred to as the artist formerly known as prince, or simply the artist. I had to search deep within my heart and spirit, i wanted to make a change, move to a new plateau in my life. One of the ways i did that was change my name. Eventually he went back to being called prince and continued touring. He was passionate about performing live, wanted to interact with audiences, to play and sing without using a prerecorded track. I think thats cool for the circus, trapeze artist has to catch the other person, right on cue. Music is not like that, it should be organic and unexpected. An absolutely electric performer with unparalleled skills on the guitar, he took the stage in 2007 for what many consider the greatest super bowl performance of all time. In pouring rain, he showed millions why there never was or will be anyone quite like prince. Purple rain, purple rain oh yes dont it feel good. In recent years, prince kept releasing music and performing. The last album released a few months ago. Announced piano and microphone tour. After seven grammys, an oscar, five number one singles, princes legacy is what his life was, music. Ultimately all music is or can be inspirational. Thats why it is so important to let your gift be guided by something more clear. Hard to imagine someone so one of a kind modeling himself after anyone, and prince did so and said so openly. I use Stevie Wonder as inspiration, who i look up to a great deal for the way he crafted music and his connection to the spirit. Boy, back then i used him as a role model trying to play all of the instruments and be very self contained and keep my vision clear. Prince talking to larry king, in moments, verdean white, joining us now, Stevie Wonder. Stevie, thanks for being with us. Sorry for the loss of your friend. When you heard the news this morning, what went through your mind . Well, it is a heart break. A shock. I find it hard to believe, in this journey of music, we as artists create a reflection of society and reflect really the people that really wanted to see a better world, unity of people, all those things, as music will continue to do for those of us that will continue to listen to it. It is heart break to lose a member of that army of love. Prince talking about you on larry king, saying you were a role model and inspiration for him when it came to playing his own instruments. How does he inspire you . Well, he was a great musician. He loved music, loved playing his instrument. The times we did jam together were amazing. All of the various people he would bring together. Mostly he brought all the various cultures together. He could play Classical Music if he wanted to, jazz if he wanted to, country if he wanted to, played rock, you know, he played blues. He played pop. Everything. Just a great musician. And very cognizant of what his responsibility was as a musician and human being. Today i was watching recording of a concert that you did in paris back in 2010. You were performing superstition. Prince was accompanying you on guitar. He wasnt just a great song writer, he was a stellar guitar player, and not just guitar, he played nearly all the instruments on the first five albums. I mean, thats incredible. Yeah, its amazing. You know, it is fun to do that. Basically youre going inside yourself and youre really giving people every single part of what you feel. It is what your soul is saying, this is how i wanted this to be played. Fortunately i can play it and express myself, like an artist painting a picture. So he was a great artist, of picture, sound, picture and music. This is an amazing day as we see so many things happening, the heartbreak to see this man who was so talented be taken away from us. But i know that the almighty god has far greater things for him to do eternally. I just hope we celebrate his music, celebrate his purpose that he fulfilled. With that idea of celebrating his music, you and prince sang together at the white house last year. Is there a Favorite Song of yours . Is there something, i think youre near a piano. Is there anything that comes to your heart, that comes to your head in terms of music when you think of him . You know, i love purple rain, the whole album was in credible, but i love the stuff he did. The song that i like the whole album. I like people said earlier today on cnn, someone that said he was able to mix the blessing of life of god and yet, you know, the marriage of sex and passion. So thats very, very true. He had fun doing it. It is rare for me that i can feel with every single breath how he just passionately loved music. Like when musicians can jam, theres nothing like it in the whole world. It is like when ball players are playing, theyre excited about the game, it is the same thing with us as musicians to be able to say okay, you can do that, watch me do this, you can do that, im do that. It is just a lot of fun. He was incredible with that. Is there, i dont want to put you on the spot. Is there any song you want to sing a little of, play a little of . Again, i dont want to put you on the spot if youre not up for it. Yeah. I think i would probably breakdown if i do a song right now, but you know, he was incredible. Im just glad i was able to say to him i love you the last time i saw him. And he wrote a lot of songs for other artists over the years, and he was also a philanthropist, donating instruments for young musicians, concerned about social justice issues. He did a lot of things for charity and didnt necessarily get his name associated with that. Did a lot of things anonymously. Well, i think his spiritual commitment was far bigger than him having to say he did this and he did that. His commitment was in the action of what he did, not with the satisfaction of letting people know that he did it. How do you, i dont know if i should even ask this question, because it is maybe too soon to figure this out, certainly well always have the music, but how do you hope people remember him . Just a great musician, a great producer, great song writer. Someone that allowed himself to be himself and encouraged others to be themselves. He was very free and to do what he did without fear was a wonderful thing because its always great, it is always great when we dont allow fear to put our dreams to sleep, and he didnt. Stevie wonder, thank you so much. Again, im sorry were talking under these circumstances, but it is always an honor. Thank you. Thank you. Just ahead, performer, producer, jimmy jam who had the privilege of knowing prince from the very beginning. Later, the women he shared the stage, studio and life with, as we remember one of the greats. Twell what if i told you that peanuts can work for you . Thats right. Im talking full time delivery of 7 grams of protein and 6 essential nutrients. Ever see a peanut take a day off . I dont think so. Harness the hardworking power of the peanut. Real is touching a ray. Amazing is moving like one. Real is making new friends. Amazing is getting this close. Real is an animal rescue. Amazing is over twentyseven thousand of them. There is only one place where real and amazing live. Seaworld. Real. Amazing tonights breaking news, unexpected death of prince and the mystery surrounding it. The 57yearold icon was found unresponsive in his home in minnesota. No cause of death given. The medical examiner will be conducting an autopsy. No word on results will be available. Many Unanswered Questions tonight. Cnns ryan young is outside princes home and joins us with the latest. What do we know, how did this all occur today . Reporter anderson, a lot of people asking that question. The phone call came at 9 43 to 911. When they got here, they found prince unresponsive in an elevator on the property. From there they pronounced him dead after trying to perform cpr. People want to know what happened that led to prince being found unresponsive and want to know if anyone else was here. Hundreds of people are gathering outside his house here. Obviously so many people know about this area, paisley park. A place that so many people want to venture to because of the music produced here. You can see we almost cant get the camera to the fence, but theyre lining all the way down the street. Theres extra security here. On the other side, people seem like theyre a part of the prince entourage, people cordoned it off so you cant go through the gate. People are arriving with flowers, Young Children telling stories. Artists painting pictures of prince. You can feel the love for this artist. Honestly, i was here over the summer, went inside this Hallowed Ground for music. Many people want to show up and be part of it. You hear them having the conversations, talking about what they most loved about prince. An autopsy will happen tomorrow. So many with questions on what happened to the superstar. Lost the connection there. Ryan, thanks very much. So many people remembering prince today. Sales of princes music obviously soared after news of his death. Nine on the itunes top ten song list. Joining us contributing editor from Rolling Stone, and chief music critic from the new york times, and angela davis, one of princes stylists. Went on tour with him. John, start with you. What was his impact on the world of music . Well, the impact was seeing somebody whose entire being was devoted to music. Every iota of his life force was making music. He poured it out. He toured all the time. If he was awake, music was coming out of him. Wasnt just for him but music for other people. He was writing for other people and developed other talent. He played every single instrument. Yeah. Many of his albums say composed, produced, arranged, and recorded by prince. Allen, who does he compare to. I dont know where you he was clearly a towering musical genius of his generation. Stevie wonder says in some ways the closest parallel of somebody with a self contained genius, was able to see through from every aspect of writing and recording. But on a stage, nobody could compete with what prince could do. He could play, sing, dance, entertain each of those things at the peak of the game. All at the same time on stage. Nobody else was capable of doing all of that at once. Immediately i thought nothing compares to you. Nothing compared to the diversity of feelings from fun to scared to funky. As you were saying, these spontaneous parties and music, dance parties, you would get a call 2 00 in the morning, come to the lobby, he is going to open a club in paris, all of a sudden youre there, and it is ecstasy. I got invited to a show in a room at the hotel, i was like it is just a room. I dont know how many, maybe 50 people in a room. He goes on at 2 00 a. M. And he kept saying i have too many hits. He does cant get off the stage, i have too many hits. He was boundless. He wasnt bound by time or race or gender or space. He could rock out. It was big, full, fearless. I rewatched the super bowl half time show, probably where a lot of people maybe hadnt heard of him before got introduced to him. Pouring rain. Couldnt have scripted it better. Then purple rain for the finale. He didnt trip, none of the dancers tripped, it was like he wanted it to rain. Like he willed it to rain. He made that happen, it made a more dramatic scene. He asked the producers for more rain. He did. Said he wanted more rain. You know whats significant about him, aside from the genius was his activism. Like he really walked around with the word slave on his face, as a black american he made me see that he understood his value, that he understood his worth, and he understood the system, so theres an activism on him. He wrote a song about aids when no one was talking about aids. Sign of the times was a political song. Theres a part of him in all his intersections and diversity, theres a part of him very much an activist. He was a prophet and a pimp and a protester and passionate. He was all of that. Incredible sense of independence that ran through everything he did. This is somebody that signed his first record deal as a teenager, insisting on complete creative control. Said i will not sign unless this is all my vision. Somebody who came up with purple rain as an idea, as a vision in his head when everybody around him said who is going to make a movie at 19 to have been offered a record deal, multi record deal. But he wanted to do it himself, didnt want somebody else to produce it. Thats astonishing because if youre in the music business, you think your elders can make awe hit, he knew at 19 that he knew how he wanted to make his. Thats freedom, right . When youre willing to walk away from something never offered to you before, a midwestern little black guy, at that moment you knew you were royalty, you knew you were prince. He knew he was going to be the artist and if theres anything that inspired everybody that followed him, it was that sense, thats what it is to be an artist. You take risks, you follow the directions you need to follow, you dont worry about expectations, that he could do that and have the success he did was a tremendous example for everybody, whether they sound like him or not for everybody that came after him. He took a lot of fashion risks. Butt cheeks were out. We saw that. Even at the super bowl, had a due rag. Took it off for purple rain. No mistakes. We are like just a trenchcoat and nothing else. Again, i think stevie talked about this idea of god and sex coexisting. He made us see god and sex on the stage at the same time. These are things that people care about one or the other or both very much. So many predecessors dealing with sex and spirituality. He said it is about all of it. I keep coming back to what you said at the start. Every fiber of his being was about music and making music and sort of the generosity of making it for other people, with other people, chaka khan, all the artists he brought along, gave a career to. The life force wasnt thinking about aids and poor people, wasnt making that band the tightest thing in the universe and the life force watching people go crazy, he knew he could do it with a flick of his heir or guitar solo. Even with that, there was an intimacy to the performance, like he knew where the cameras were. Little facial gestures which in a stadium size like that, you dont see performers do. Any space. Thank you so much. Great, again, terrible the circumstances we are here to discuss him, but so great to have you all. Coming up next, jimmy jam joins us. A break first. Little red corvette, baby youre much too fast then we gave it an available 12. 3 inch multimedia display, to see around the curve. Dynamic performance, to hold the curve. And bold styling to stay ahead of the curve. The lexus rx, rx hybrid and rx f sport. This is the rx, elevated. This is the pursuit of perfection. Schwarzkopf presents hair in 30 minutes . Our most caring color collection keratin color with keratincarecomplex. Formulated for full gray coverage and up to 80 less hair breakage. Ready to rejuvenate your hair . Keratin color. From schwarzkopf. My name is jamir dixon and im a locafor pg e. Rk fieldman most people in the community recognize the blue trucks as pg e. My truck is something new. Its an 811 truck. When you call 811, i come out to your house and i mark out our gas lines and our electric lines to make sure that you dont hit them when youre digging. 811 is a free service. Im passionate about it because every time i go on the street i think about my own kids. Theyre the reason that i want to protect our community and our environment, and if me driving a that truck means that somebody gets to go home safer, then ill drive it every day of the week. Together, were building a better california. Rivalry between you and mr. Jackson . Not to me, no. I love the story of you, you know, all these prince, im sorry, thats the guy you used to be, the story of you turning down bad. Well, you know, that Wesley Snipes character, that would have been me. Ha ha ha you run that video in your mind. The first line of that song, your butt is mine. I aint saying who going to sing that to whom, you sure aint singing that to me, and i sure aint singing it to you. So right there we got a problem. Chris rock and prince who died this morning at his paisley park compound in the twin cities. Later prince changed the subject from rivals and controversy to what he lived for, creating music. Award winning producer and performer, jimmy jam. So good to have you on. Sorry it is under these circumstances, im sorry fors loss of your friend. You and prince had a friendship spanning decades. Is it true you met in junior high . Thats right, Junior High School in minneapolis. We took a piano class together, if you can believe that. We both knew how to already play, but it was a good excuse to get out of school an hour. We would go to the high school and the teacher would give us mary had a little lamb, tell us to learn it. As soon as she walked out, we would start jamming, as soon as she came back in, we pretended we didnt know how to play. What did a seventh grade prince like, what did he look like, what was he like . He was amazing. I fancy myself as a pretty good keyboard player at that point in ti