legend prince has died at the age of 57. he's an artist who truly transcended genres, generations and eras and a week ago today he was performing, sold out solo concerts across america. trying to learn exactly what happened this morning. here's what we have here at cnn so far. police responded to a medical call at his home in minnesota this morning. remember, he was born and raised in minneapolis. then a death investigation began at his estate. we know that he was hospitalized last week for the flu. and that is all we know. at this point in time. but you know prince. you know, his hits go on and on. you think about "purple rain." "let's go crazy." "kiss." "little red corvette." the list is endless. it's been three decades. we have come to know and love and respect this music pioneer. he blended his electric style of soaring g ining guitars and fun flamboyant dance moves and he performed a rally for peace concert to rave reviews in the wake of the death of freddie gray there and so many people took to the streets and at that concert, show in baltimore a show of "baltimore" a protest song written in the wake as i mentioned of the death of freddie gray. african-american, a young man shot and killed by a police officer then. we have lots to go in the course of the next two hours and keep it with me as we get new information and begin on the investigation side and my colleague miguel marquez joins me for that. miguel, what do you know? what happened? >> reporter: tough news to report here. look. he had a couple of sort of mysterious weeks. the sheriff reporting to his paisley park home and sort of electronic studio area west of minneapolis for a health emergency. it was clear that there was a death earlier on in the day but it wasn't clear who. the police trying to keep it very close to the vest but it is hard to keep news like this, shocking as this, that close to the vest. sure enough, short time ago, we did hear from his family friend and then from the publicist saying that with profound sadness she had to announce the passing of prince at the age of 57 today. we do know that last thursday he performed in atlanta. he was on a private plane back to minneapolis. they had to stop overnight in moline, illinois, because of a health emergency. he was checked into the hospital and released and the next day, the 16th, paisley park after dark, an event he puts on every year and sometimes performs at. he attended this event it seems. the publicist saying he had been -- had a bad flu an trying to recover from that and that was the end of it. and now this news. a very, very shocking to hear. seven-time grammy winner. 30 nominations. a person, an artist who did it his own way. who can forget the back and forth fight with sony records on his own name, prince, and rather give in went by the name the artist formerly known as prince. >> it's been a crazy day. i appreciate it so much. miguel marquez there and learning more on the investigation and perhaps a news conference and learning more from law enforcement there around his estate as he mentioned west of minneapolis. i want to bring in someone who signed prince to his first record deal when he was just 18 years of age. his name is owen husny. owen, are you with me? >> yes, i am. >> first of all, just my condolences to you. i've talked to a number of people today who were either dear friends of him or collaborated with him and it is just gut wrenching news an my heart an thoughts with you today. can you just -- >> i'm still in shock. i'm still in shock. i sat down at my desk this morning, ready to go to work and i get a call from a local television station in minneapolis. i live in los angeles now. and i just thought it was somebody putting me on. just shocking. >> it is beyond shocking. and when you think, 57. he was just performing a week ago today and now the news. you have an extraordinary p perspective in the fact you go way, way back to prince at 18. how did you come to know him to sign him? >> well, i was in the music business in minneapolis. i also owned an advertising and marketing firm and i had a studio and i was a concert promoter. this guy named chris moon comes in to my office one day and sat on the couch for about four hours and finally i said, okay, let's talk. what do you got? he said, i got the next big thing. i listened to the demo tape and i said, geez, that's -- i was a musician. i kind of knew musicality-wise. i said, who's the group? he said, well, it is not a group. it's one kid. he just turned 18. and he was in my studio playing all the instruments, writing everything and doing all the voices. >> hmm. >> and i was -- i was floored because it was -- it was the real deal. the music had crossed many, many barriers. and it was -- it was just beyond and i knew at that point that i was going to have to commit my life to him at that point in time. >> incredible. >> and i was going to have to -- he was very young. he just turned 18. he was living in andre simone's basement on the north side of the minneapolis and i knew i would have to protect himself for a while and i thought that was my role. i was compelled to do it because of his talent and didn't meet him until a few days later, twel. >> before that meeting, i want details, i want to hear what he sounded like at 18. what people may not realize, he had music in his blood from itty bitty. his parents were musicians. his mother a jazz singer. his father had a piano and i understand he was writing songs from when he was like 7. when you heard him on that demo at 18, what did it sound like? >> the -- again, i'm going back to the sheer music that was there. he was combining sounds at that point between the guitars and between keyboards that were very unusual for that day, that, you know, back in '76. it was like he was borrowing from elements that i could hear but he had created something new and obviously the demo tape was not -- it really wasn't record ready. you know? it was long. but yet, i could hear in this the elements of somebody who was exploring a new sound and then his vocals came in. >> uh-huh. >> and he was not using his lower voice. he was singing in this falceto and my goodness when i heard his vocals come in he was so vulnerable and so good and right on. i wanted to hug somebody that i had never met before 20 minutes before that, before i heard that. i just immediately wanted to embrace him. which i did in figuratively, you know, within a couple of days. we arranged a meeting. he was in new york with his sister. trying to get a record deal which was not happening for him. he came back and he came over to my house in minneapolis. >> if you're justing us, we're talking to owen husney who signed prince to his first record deal at 18 years of age and having this conversation here about you heard that special sauce in his instrumentation, his voice. talk about a true talent. when you finally meet him, you know, we see prince so many of prince's fans see him as this flamboyant, colorful, on-stage. what was he like when you met him for the first time? >> he was -- i immediately noticed his eyes. and the eyes had an intelligence that it's -- you know, i've worked with a lot of artists and people and you can see it in the eyes. almost little richard when he was coming up. there's just a certain look that was very direct. yet, there was a softness about him. and he was very, very shy with me in the beginning. eventually we became very, very good friends. and that shyness kind of went away when he felt, you know, comfortable. but i noticed that he was extremely bright. extremely bright. and remember, he was just 18 at the time. and i also noticed by the way he was talking to me and what he wanted to do that he was driven and focused and he had the focus of someone and the drive of someone 20 -- 18 is a time teenagers are experimenting and being stupid. that was not him. that just was not him. he was -- >> he knew what he wanted. >> he knew what he wanted. he knew how to get it. he needed me on the first album. he didn't need me after that. trust me. he has an ability to absorb information at a rapid rate. but he needed me on that first album because i had been, you know, kind of a music guy in the city. had a little regional hit record and people knew me and i was a concert promoter. and so, he needed -- and i had the contacts at warner brothers, the other label. so he really needed me and we worked very hard on that first album. subsequent to that first album, he picked it up and he knew exactly what he wanted to do. and i'm sorry. i'm still in shock. it's just -- >> i think a lot of people are. >> devastating to me. i've never met and i've worked and been around almost every one of the major stars in the history of this business and never met anyone with this kind of brilliance and i will make one statement that, you know, posthumously and i can't believe i'm saying that, the body of work that prince will leave for all of us is -- it's yet to be discovered at this point. and i think it's going to be phenomenal for years and years to come. again, he was supposed to outlive me. this is not supposed to be this way. >> he was supposed to outlive many of us. you talk about the body of work, owen. this may be like asking me to ask you to pick your favorite child, but do you have a favorite song of his? >> oh boy. that's really -- you know, one of the first songs that i ever heard him do was a song called "baby." it was on the first album and it was about i guess getting pregnant out of wedlock and what are we going to do and that was one of the first things. there was another song. we had had a little bit of a fight at one time and he -- i came over. i had rented a home by that point and i went over and he sat -- he wrote a song of "so blue" and went on the first album and he sat on the kitchen floor and played that song for me. and it -- it was kind of his way of saying, i'm sorry. i hope you're sorry. it wasn't about me or anything. but he had written that song as a result of this and i just remember sitting on the little kitchen floor in minneapolis and him playing that song and there's just so much depth to it. but i think it's really hard, you know, we can all go to the iconic songs, "199" and "purple rain" and all of that. but i think where he's really vulnerable, those songs, i think a couple of songs on the first album, certainly in to dirty mind and just some great, great writing. it's impossible. really is. impossible. >> i'm trying to wrap my head around the scene of you sitting on your kitchen floor and hearing him perform for you. owen, i mean, we're talking about, you know, this goes back, your relationship, obviously, decades. when's the last time you were in touch with him? >> well, i mean, it's privileged. i can't really talk about it. i can't. but the last time that i saw him, i saw him, he played 21 nights here at the forum and i went to two of those nights and he had even shocked me at this time because he had broken free from a band at that point and he was almost like this incredible performer standing out in front of the stage but one of the neater things that my wife and i were invited to "the tonight show" with jay leno before -- just before he left the first time. and we were just standing there on the edge of the stage right up close just watching him and it was very special to do that. but i have to tell you, when i saw him at the forum, he went beyond where i thought he was going to be as a performer. he's written me letters and saying you believe in me and i'm going to do this. i would say, yes, i know you're going to do that and then seeing him at the forum, he had gone beyond where i thought -- he went from -- he went from a kid in a band to a kid who was a front member of a band to having the new power generation and the band behind him to then having the band completely away from him and he just performing out there on stage. it's just -- >> incredible. >> it boggles the mind that kind of talent and one human being. >> incredible. i love how you -- >> i'm sorry. i'm very devastated. >> i'll let you know and i love how you said you knew it because you saw it in his eyes. thank you so much. i appreciate your time today. >> okay. brooke, thank you. >> thank you. wow. we'll continue talking to these incredible people who knew this pioneer of a man. in fact, now standing by on the phone with me, i have latoya jackson. michael jackson's sister, entertainer, it is an honor and a privilege. i hate the circumstances under which we're speaking. but how are you feeling? >> oh, brooke, i have to tell you, this is a sad, sad, sad day. it's -- i never thought that this would come again. that same feeling of just bringing back memories of my brother, losing him. it's that same feeling that overwhelms you. that comes across your entire body where you feel helpless. oh my gosh, we can't believe it. we're devastated and shocked by this news. >> tell me about your relationship with prince. how well did you know him? >> prince was a very good friend of the family. he knew the family very well. he even studies -- you know he was a jehovah witness and studied with certain members of the family and can't stop thinking about prince. we went roler skating together. >> no way. >> yes. we used to go roller skating together and it was such a ton of fun and he was great and so coordinated and always happy times. this was when we were very young, actually. we would do this and it was just -- those memories will always stay with me now at this moment because you want to grab something that's in a good place of making you feel warm and happy about it. not the sadness overwhelming your body at the moment. but he was always such a lovely gentleman. he was so kind and so -- always a man. that's what i liked about him because sometimes it's difficult to find that today. >> it is. it is. you know, you come from a legendary music family and so many people have been talking of this exactly what you said, this brings back everything from when your brother passed away and i mean, i could sit here and listen to the stories of roller skating and who knows what else but in terms of his legacy and the hits, we know the big ones, i was talking to his first manager going through the catalog and remembering prince in the very early years as a teenager, what for you really stands out about prince and his electricity on that stage? >> well, you know what? he was an extraordinary talent. and i always say that michael was an incredible talent. prince is there, too. he was an incredible talent, as well. and they just had so much charisma when they were on stage. prince was one of those artists that whenever he was on stage, it was hard to get him off. he just -- he loved what he did. he would like to keep performing and keep performing which was really wonderful. which was really great and that's what i love most about him is that the fact that he loved his art. he loved what he did. and he was excellent at it. he was great at everything he did. and it just -- it's just, again, i can't -- it's that -- even think that he's no longer with us. as i keep saying to myself, another one who's extraordinarily talented, wonderful gone too soon. i don't know when's happening but it's just -- it's one of those things that i'm still shaking because i can't stop shaking because it's hard to believe. >> latoya jackson, thank you so much for taking the time. i truly appreciate it. >> you're welcome. >> thank you. >> you know, i appreciate it. my condolences to him and his family and his family and everybody else. it's -- i just have to say i called my mother first hearing the news and she said, i know what you're going to say. she started to crying and she said, he was like my son. it reminds me of michael. i said, i know, mother. i'm feeling the same thing. >> ugh. >> so it's so sad. but anyway -- my condolences to his family. >> thank you. thank you for the time. i appreciate it. condolences from all of us. you know, as we continue talking about prince, i want to hear his music. don't you, as well? we have a little bit more and he did talk to larry king some years ago. take a listen. >> i use stevie wonder as an inspiration whom i look up to a great deal. just for the way that he crafted music and his connection to the spirit. and, boy, back then i used him as a role model and trying to play all the instruments and be very self contained and keep my vision clear so word spread very quickly about what i could do. a lot of people knew about it, why. >> how would you describe your music? what idiom would you put it in? >> the only thing i could think of, i don't like categories, but only thing is inspirational. i think music that is from the heart falls right into that category. people will really feel what it is that they're doing. and ultimately, all music is or can be inspirational. and it's -- that's why it's so important to let your gift be guided by something more clear. ♪ ♪ ♪ i guess i must be dumb ♪ she had a pocket full of horses ♪ ♪ but it was saturday night ♪ i guess that makes it all right ♪ ♪ you say what have i got to lose ♪ ♪ honey i said ♪ little red corvette ♪ baby you're much too fast little red corvette ♪ ♪ you need a love that's going to last ♪ ♪ i guess i should have closed my eyes when you drove me to the place where your horses run free ♪ ♪ i felt a little ill when i saw all the pictures of the jockeys that were living for me ♪ ♪ believe it or not ♪ i started to worry wondering if i had enough class ♪ ♪ but it was saturday night i guess that makes it all right ♪ ♪ you say baby i don't got enough gas oh yeah ♪ ♪ little red corvette ♪ baby you're much too fast ♪ yes you are ♪ little red corvette ♪ you need to find a love that's going to last uh-huh ♪ >> sitting here sitting along, every word. i'm sure so many of you are, as well. prince dead at age 57. he was inducted into the rock n roll hall of fame in 2004. i was there and alicia keys and outkast inducted him. i just want to pass along big boi too broken up to talk about it and texted me this. heart broken, saddened and shocked. his music will live forever through all of us. we have to love and cherish the heroes while they're here. god bless. thank you so much. prince, just performing one week ago today in atlanta. and lisa cox, who is a cnn producer, was there at his -- what we now will call his final show. lisa cox is joining me now. lisa -- >> hey, brooke. >> so, no one would have ever imagined that would be the last time he ever performed. how was it? >> i mean, first i'm just in shock and the thought that that was his last concert an i was there is crazy to me but everybody knows prince as a genius. and i think it was perfectly displayed the night of that concert. i mean, it was a packed house. and it was just him. and his piano. in the middle of the stage and there was this strobe light, purple of course, that just beamed down on the piano. so he went and did two showings that night. 7:00 and 10:00. i was at the later show. so i truly was at the last concert. and he just went through a medley of songs. he did covers. he talked to the audience about social issues, about relationships. all at the same time playing on the piano. it was just him. there was no band. there was no backup. it was just him. so imagine somebody playing that kind of library with just your fingers, your hands. there were times he would get up and, you know, kind of get the crowd going. everybody was standing up. screaming. and all that. but he would shake his hands. kind of like jazz hands. and we were thinking maybe that was so he could rest because he was playing his butt off. it was incredible. it was awesome. it was something that i'll never forget. i've been to several prince concerts. that was the first one where i went and the setting was that intimate. it was just unbelievable. eight rows in or eight rows from the pit. so i snuck a couple pictures because, you know, prince is very strict about taking pictures of him. taking video of his con krertds. of course, everybody had to sneak a little bit and the guards were there. but i got a couple snapshots of the stage. of the backdrop. there was this kind of kaleidoscope animated image of him and i think we have got those pictures up if you want to put them up. but it was an image of him and it would dissolve into a backdrop of all the different album covers or all the different looks if you will that we've seen with him over the decades but that single shot of that piano, that will just be there indelibly in my brain forever and never forget it. the last cd, everybody got a cd when the concert was over so -- just wow, man. just wow. i'm just shocked. >> how long did he play? >> he played about 90 minutes which was what we were told. the 7:00 and then the 10:00 and about an hour in between. we started just after 10:00 and out before midnight. >> how did he seem? any signs that something was up? >> no. he had a cane but, you know, i believe, you know, he's had surgery before with his hip or whatever. so he had the cane but he was using that as a prop and then usually a lot of people -- some people would think it's a prop to use not using that i think he did need it for medical reasons. but it was part of his outfit for sure. but he seemed fine. he got up. he walked around. prince gets hyped and hops up and bounced around the stage and he did that and he joked with the stage. he even dared us to get louder saying we weren't ready. he was playing an old school joint and the crowd kind of, you know, we were halfway there and not quite there and he stopped and said that we weren't ready. he left the stage. and then everybody got all excited and he came back and finished. he did three encores. >> what were his encores? >> oh gosh. let's see. he started out with "black muse" from the new album and then he did "how come you don't call me anymore" and left and came back and he did "if i was your girlfriend" which is one of my favorites and a cover of bob marry's "waiting in vain." >> oh wow. >> and then swooped in with an old school song of "i love you but i don't trust you" and then the bob marley cover and then he started talking about "the way we were" with barbra streisand and robert redford while he was playing "if i was your girlfriend." crazy. another encore and played "sometimes it snows in april." everybody just went wild. purple rain. he played the beautiful ones which is another one of my favorites. "diamonds and pearls." i mean, the catalog is so endless. there were songs we didn't hear and you know they were flayed at the 7:00. >> just talking to the first manager saying to me, brooke, we have no idea, the world has no idea the body of work so much to be discovered. >> exactly. >> thank you so much. i hope you held on to the ticket stub as a momento. >> you know i did. >> greatness. thank you for calling in. i want to go now to los angeles here as we continue our special coverage of the life, the legend, the pioneer that was prince. paul vercamen is at a record store. to you. >> this is the prince display and snapping up a you will sorts of prince cds, dvds, even viable. it's so popular. they're getting a lot of calls at the store. i'm trying to get a copy of "purple rain" on vinyl. they have had so many calls they're refusing to hold anything for anybody, especially saying you have to come on down in person and a person that did that, a huge fan. colina. what does prince mean to you? >> the future. he's changed music, everyone in music, influenced every person. i believe that he represents our future and kind of died with him in a way. >> you said to me earlier that you're crying on the way over here in the car and why? i mean, what impacted you so much? >> well, impacts may lot because my mom used to play his music a lot when i was young and how i learned how to play music. i play guitar and drums and so him -- this means a lot to me, especially watching the movie "purple rain." my mom covered my eyes on the silly parts and means a lot to me because i was young and i remember him most then. >> you bought prized possessions. spent money on prince cds, vinyls and more. this is your "purple rain" on vinyl. >> yes. very excited to have this again because it's a childhood memory that i'll be able to forever hold. i don't actually have a record player but i'm going to get one today just for this. >> thank you so much for taking time out. appreciate it. well, as you can tell, brooke, people very, very inspired by prince. they're coming out here to try to get a little piece of prince's life, a memories and kaleena spenting $173 and debating to get a turntable. back to you now, brooke. >> tears today and people in shock. thank you so much. i can't believe i talked to latoya jackson saying it brings back memories of my own brother passing away. we want to hear more from prince. we sat down with our own larry king live in 1999. here's a little bit more of that interview. >> do you still have a fondness for minneapolis? >> oh yeah, absolutely. >> what was it like growing up there? not many blacks in minneapolis, right? talking to dave winfield. 1% maybe. >> yeah. it was interesting for me because i knew up getting wide array of music -- i grew up with santana and larry graham and fleetwood mac. all different kinds of things, you know? that was cool. >> good place to grow up? >> yes, sir. >> you had a rough childhood, didn't you? >> some respects. >> that affect your music? >> i don't think so. no. i think it probably helped me to look inside to know that i had to do for self. >> you had a rough time with -- that's all resolved now but a rough time with your father, right? >> i wouldn't call it rough. i mean, he was very strict disciplinarian but all fathers were. i learned the difference between right and wrong. so i don't consider it so rough. >> would you look back and say you were glad he was that way? >> well, you know, as i go through this your noi, i don't look back much at all. >> you're not a reminiscer? >> no. is that a word, larry? >> no. i invented it. maybe that's my symbol. >> a hip brother. i like to learn but, you know. >> good point. when did you decide music would be a career? >> wow. i learned early on this was what i wanted to do maybe about 12 years old. i knew this is what i would want to do the rest of my life. >> well, i mean, i heard the news and devastating. i was just here saturday night. i only started coming here, like, the last year. and huge fan. live down the road. never came here over the years. a huge fan and back in college. and started going. i just thought, well, this is awesome. i felt 20 years younger every time i walked in that door. i feel so young. so i was here saturday night. and i had decided every time he has something here i am going. i am going to enjoy it. and i was thinking about him this morning. and yet, he was probably gone by that time. so -- but it makes sense because he was more connected to us saturday night than i had ever seen. i wrote about this on my facebook. and i was telling people that he came out and he spoke to us about what happened. and it was very cool. it was like, i always felt like we were his family. there were only 200 of us there. and he would walk around. no big deal. with us. and it was always very laid back. so he talked about what happened and he said he was okay and said don't waste your prayers on me right now. and, you know, wait a few days. but there was something about it. he said, i have a couple surprises for you. got on over to the other perf m performing area and he had a brand new -- brand new purple grand piano that yamaha gave him and so he pulled off the blanket and the thing was just gorgeous. absolutely gorgeous. so he seemed like a kid, like doing show and tell. and you could tell he really liked it. and i told people. the piano looks like it came from another world, like from heaven because it is so gorgeous. the way it glows. the finish on it. so then he had another surprise and pulls out this guitar and it's purple case. unlike anything i've ever seen. a purple case and he said, just look at this case. i mean, look at this case. i mean, it's spectacular looking. for a case. and so, he opens it up, pulls out a guitar. and it, again, same thing. it looks like it came from heaven. absolutely gorgeous and never seen anything like thit. it had a silvery feel to it and purple and gold and incredible. >> obviously just really -- [ inaudible ] >> yeah. practically shaking. i feel bad for my other friend mark who came here religiously. he's not here tonight. or today. and he can't make it. so i can't imagine how he feels. >> wow. okay. >> all right. we are pulling away from that for context. so again, the world is just grieving over the loss of prince. he's passed away age 57. and that was just a fan who had showed up at the paisley park studio area where he has been living west of minneapolis where prince was born and raised. people are showing up, bringing flowers. they want to be there. and on a point he made, let's bring in eric dagens for npr. i don't know if you're listening closely, how closely you were listening to that, that fan saying that prince sort of up and showed. the last big official concert a week ago today in atlanta and over the weekend at an event of paisley park after dark, prince just up and showed up, was a very intimate setting. and the fan said something like, prince said, save your prayers at least for a few days for me. do you know anything about that private small show and any context of that? >> no. i don't know anything about that. >> okay. >> fans know that he had organized a series of concerts just him and a piano and a way of him showing off his musicality and showing off his ability to command a room by himself. with just his voice and just his music. and i think fans were looking forward to seeing more of those concerts this year and so they were disappointed when one of them was canceled for ill ans and now to hear he's gone, of course srks a blow to so many inspired by him. >> gut wrenching. you know, to hear that fan describing how prince came out on the stage an like he was a little kid unveiling a gorgeous, new, purple, yamaha purple and then this new, purple guitar. he has been, his first album i believe, late '70s. the original manager we were talking to. the fact that, eric, he still loved performing. he ate it up. >> oh yeah. that's obvious. you know, i had a chance to meet with him. i was among a select few journalists who were invited back behind the scenes at paisley park last year to talk with him about his decision to move most of his music to jay-z streaming service title and talk about the music business and the record industry and a thing that's interesting about him, "a," he seemed to eat, sleep and drink music. we met him in the control room of paisley park. it looked like mission control there, it was so much gear. right next to a well-stocked rehearsal room. and living quarters it seemed to be right inside the studio. and but he was a mixture of down to earth and sort of eccentric at the same time. he could talk very knowledgeably about the music business and was very witty. also, a little shy. had two twin assistants dressed exactly the same trailing after him. and we met in a conference room with doves in it. it was quite an interesting experience. but those who have had the good fortune of meeting him, of course, watching him perform knew that he lived muse nick a way that i think very few other artists did. >> it was in him, in his bones. he had musician parents. i have only had the pleasure of seeing him perform once, it was actually when he was inducted in the hall of fame and opened the show and had the boots on and the heels and the colorful, you know, flamboyant dress and jumping up and down and gave it everything. he gave it everything and one and only time i got to see him. >> exactly. you know what was great about prince is combining the music and performance in one, you know, potent sort of dose. so he had the big band sort of flavor, the funk flavor of a james brown. you could tell there were many points in the show he had kind of taken from the godfather of soul to the next level and he had a rock and roll flavor. he was a rock guitarist and also he had this very traditional r&b style to return to for ballads, for example, and croon in a way to make women swoon and guys envious and the dance moves. >> he had it all. >> a way of getting his whole band to join in on those dance moves and combined a lot of things into one potent image and a dose of entertainment. >> we talk about the music. i want to hear it. here's a little bit more of prince. ♪ dig if you will the picture ♪ of you and i engaged in a kiss ♪ ♪ the sweat of you body it covers me ♪ ♪ can you my darling can you picture this ♪ ♪ dream if you can a court yard ♪ ♪ and oceans of violets in bloom ♪ ♪ you feel the heat the heat between me and you ♪ ♪ how could you leave me standing alone in a world that's so cold ♪ ♪ maybe you're just too demanding ♪ ♪ maybe you're just like my father too bold ♪ ♪ maybe you're just like my mother ♪ ♪ she's never satisfied ♪ why do we scream at each other ♪ ♪ this is what it sounds like when doves cry ♪ >> oh my goodness. music legend prince, on your screen, so many of us still in shock. those of us who are music lovers, just he passed away age 57. that is the word we have from his publicist here. so many artists reaching out. mikaila angela-davis, a dear friend of the show, for all the times i've spoken with you, i had no idea you were prince's stylist and toured with him. please, tell me a story. >> oh. brooke, i am shaking actually. you know, the most prolific thing to me about prince was not only was he the most vibrant example of black genius that i have ever seen, but he was able to negotiate god and sex in his subject matter in a way that we had never seen before. every song was either a prayer or foreplay. you know? and like wild cat martha in a celibate rage, i want you alone in my dirty little cage. >> wow. ooh! >> right? this is what came out of him. he was a prophet. he was a pimp. he was purple. midwest. magical. he was funny. he was so black. he -- he walked through this world like he believed he was free. like a free artist. a free man. you know? he put slave on his face to challenge the entire music industry at a time when they were getting everybody's everything. i saw him one day -- we were at paisley park. a magical place. and, you know, i just saw that fan talk about being at paisley park. he would have the pop-up shows all time. invite the community. and he would play for 75 people with the same brilliance that he would play for 75,000 people. >> he brought it for whoever was there. >> for whoever because he was playing for the music. he was the music. he literally told me that he thought in music. he said, you know, you think in words, michaela. say i'm having a conversation with you, brooke, and start thinking about lunch or my child. he's like, i hear music. so sometimes you could be at lunch with him and he would get up and leave because there was a melody so urgent, a music so real that he would go to the studio to put it down and beautiful artists come through all the time. like he would just give artists that call. and they would come to paisley park and jam. so the amount of music in his archives is -- i can't even imagine what there's left for us to hear. but he -- you know, it's funny. i was interviewing george clinton one time and i said, you know, you are the father of funk. who do you think is funk? he said, prince is the funkiest ugh ugh i ever met. so, you know, this is really difficult because we weren't prepared. you know? >> no. >> and there's so much, you know, denial going on on social media. but again, i think the thing that is so profound -- because we have had lots of profound artists, you know, michael jackson, stevie wonder but this idea of how he made spirituality and sex coexist and made us deal with it and the biggest things in so many people's lives. he unearthed it and put it in your face and funky and fabulous and you had to deal, you had to deal. and yeah. >> i'm almost speechless just even talking about it. when a privilege for you to be able to just share, you know, the same oxygen with this man for so many years. chris rock's tweet, say it isn't so. boy george, today's the worst day ever. prince rip. i'm crying. you know, spike lee, i miss my brother. prince was a funny cat. great sense of humor. >> very funny. >> let's hear. >> very funny. >> let's hear of prince. here's more from his body of work. ♪ ♪ note oh yeah oh yeah ♪ ♪ >> you ever dance with the devil in the pale moonlight? i always ask that of all my prey. i just like the sound of it. >> aah! aah! ♪ ♪ batman >> i have to go to work. ♪ batman ♪ ♪ >> oh my goodness. this is bringing me back. i played that song so many times in my bedroom as a kid! let's bring in grammy nominated art director known and worked with prince since 1998 and the "batman" movie was 1999 and right around the same time. how are you feeling today? >> well, i'm completely devastated. and just to clarify, i've done projects over the year but i met him in 1988. i was just a teenager in paris. and my dad snuck me into a club and got to talk to him. at that point, i think i was 14 or something and decided, okay, i'm moving to the states. i just watching prince perform completely changed my life and his music always, you know, just changed everything. he's for me the greatest performer of all time because it's the years i grew up in paris and then moving to the states, it was all about prince and i was obsessed with his music. i collected the records and a lot of projects i ented up doing were thanks to that collection. and, you know, he was just -- i'm in so much shock and my phone never blown up like it has today. hundreds of messages of people who i guess as soon as they heard they thought of me because they know how much he meant to me. and i think, you know, this year has been crazy. bowie. i don't know. >> and even some years ago michael jackson. i was talking to la toya it was all back for her. your dad got into the club and as a 14-year-old you got to see prince? can you please tell me about that? what was that like? >> well, the first time i saw i was 13. >> 13. >> the zenith in paris. the parade tour and i was a fan already. i was really into him. but when i saw him live in '86, this is the parade for me. this was the -- i mean, this is the best ever. and the beginning of maybe the greatest live phase he ever had. he just could not miss. he was the greatest performer i ever seen but to see him live on stage in paris, a little guy on stage, controlling 6,000 people in the show but i realized, you know, i didn't know that was possible. i never got to see james brounl in the heyday. i wasn't in the old days and sly stone and hendrix and duke ellington and mozart. he was all those guys combined with his own twist. his lyricless were like nobody else's. he invented texting basically with the 2s and us and is and he really revolutionized everything. i can't believe we're here talking about this. >> that's the thing about prince, though. he brought it altogether musically. when you talk to anyone, i know a couple people in the music business, you talk to a rock n roller, blues, jazz, country, folk, rap, hip hop, r&b, everyone has been touched by this man. >> oh yeah. i woke up. my first facetime call the morning, i work with lenny kravitz. we basically connected in the '80s because of prince's music. like we were family friends and he would say, oh yeah, dirty mind. you like that? i'd say, listen to the b-side of this record. and this morning my first facetime call with lenny who was so devastated and same time you mentioned, chris rock and we have listened to prince music together and talked about prince. we're all -- quest love. all fanatics. but lenny was really devastated and kept saying this can't be true. please find out. this is a hoax. because for him prince was also such an inspiration. you know? he wanted many e to share this with you guys that, you know, this was, you know, this was so devastating to him. he was like a brother and a friend to him and prince is somebody we were in rome i guess a couple of years ago now and had dinner with prince after one of his shows and i remember i was always very shy around prince. you know? and us walking on eggshells because he was a surreal figure to me an talked about music and whenever prince started to talk about music, the eyes glow and the body language would change and saw he was living music. it was after the concert. in his hotel room and here he is with a cane pointing to all of the performers in the video telling the band, you came in 1/12 second late on this song. such a perfectionist. he does a three-hour show and sits for three hours after the show with the band what they can do better and him and he was pulling up chairs for us. we thought, okay, we will have dinner. we had to wait a couple of hours to watch the show again with him in the room and the discipline that he had was incredible. you know? and i have no words really. i can't believe this is happening. wake up from the dream. >> so many people do. you are not alone. that is perfectionism, discipline, professionalism. hearing somebody do it for decades and decades and care about the details of the performance and everything that goes into it. let me ask you to stick around and hear more of prince and prince's own words and sat down with larry king for a "larry king live" back in appropriately 1999. here's more of that interview. >> the highest risk someone would think someone who gets famous to take is to drop the name that got them famous. >> that's a thing i dealt with. i searched deep within to find out the answer to whether fame was most important to me or my spiritual well being. and i chose the latter. >> was it difficult? to not be what you had become known as. >> you mean -- >> i think, well, a famous -- only other famous person that did that cashius clay. changed his name to mohammed ali. due to a faith belief and he was in the ring and as long as he won it sold. you, though, person show business is almost dependent on recognition. you stopped being prince. >> well, that's a good point. i pretty much wanted to be dependent upon god. and when you get the inner calling to do something and you know it that you're being inspired by god, you pretty much know you better answer that call or suffer the consequences. >> do you think this was god inspired, as well? >> i do believe, yes. >> prince in his own words talking to larry king and now have san jay gupta. we knew he was ill. what do we know about him medically speaking? >> you know, we don't know a lot about his medical history overall. he's walking with a hip. he had some hip problems. two weeks ago from today he canceled some shows and that time we were told it was the flu. a week later to the day he did them here in atlanta and you interviewed some people there at the show he looked great. >> he killed for 90 minutes. >> that night back to minneapolis, they had to make an emergency landing. he was taken to a hospital that night. we're talking about last week. in the hospital for three hours and then discharged and back home and again it was said to be flu. he needed to get some treatments for flu. really nothing more than that. over the weekend, he was seen. he performed a little show on saturday night. >> pop by. >> sunday riding a bicycle we hear and then, you know, obviously today we don't know much about the earlier part of the week. today a sudden death. so it's a very unusual situation. it's hard to piece it altogether. >> how do you piece it altogether? >> well, you know, if it was flu, what can sometimes is a flu and keep in mind it kills tens of thousands of people a year and typically older, or people who are very young. so he's 57 years old. >> not people putting on shows for an hour and a half. >> exactly. very active. >> very active. >> dance activity he is doing. can you develop a secondary sort of infection or something, is that what was starting him really sick? a week ago and then sort of got progressively ill over this early part of the week. we don't know. was there something else affecting the immune system. typically fight the virus and something to make the system weaker in some way? that's a possibility. were there medications, anything else involved? was it a heart thing that ultimately led to all this? we don't know. may be more answers over the next few days but i tell you, sometimes you just never really know for sure still. even after you look at everything. >> it's possible he had conditions he was unaware of. >> that's very possible. and sometimes with some of these conditions first time you really get an idea you're even sick is you're very sick or maybe sudden death. i think that you're going to hear a lot of speculation and too early. all we have heard with some degree of certainty is a notion of the flu a couple of weeks ago and then admitted to the hospital for three hours. a week ago. with the same sorts of symptoms. we don't know more than that. we have to wait and see. was there something else underlying all this? >> very slow, intentional with the reporting. but sanjay gupta, thank you so much. >> thank you. >> let's just reset. ♪ ♪ what have i got to lose ♪ honey i say little red corvette ♪ ♪ baby you're much too fast ♪ little red corvette ♪ you need a love that's going to last ♪ ♪ i guess i should have closed my eyes when you drove me to the place where your horses run free ♪ ♪ because i felt a little ill when i saw all the pictures of the jockeys that were living for me ♪ ♪ believe it or not ♪ i started to worry ♪ wondering if ♪ because you got the burning desire ♪ ♪ it's your time ♪ you got the horn so why don't you blow it ♪ ♪ you're so high ♪ you're filthy cute and baby you know it ♪ ♪ cream ♪ get on top ♪ cream ♪ dig if you will the picture ♪ ♪ of you and i engaged in a kiss ♪ ♪ the sweat of your body it covers me ♪ ♪ can you my darling ♪ can you picture this ♪ dream if you can a court yard ♪ ♪ oceans of violets in bloom ♪ give me a poses ♪ you feel the heat the heat between me and you ♪ ♪ how could you just leave me standing ♪ ♪ alone in a world that's so cold ♪ ♪ maybe you're just too demanding ♪ ♪ maybe you're just like my father ♪ ♪ too bold ♪ maybe you're just like my mother ♪ ♪ she's never satisfied ♪ in the purple rain ♪ purple rain purple rain ♪ ♪ purple rain purple rain ♪ ♪ ♪ purple rain purple rain ♪ ♪ ♪ >> heart broken. so many of us are heart broken in disbelief on this thursday. i can't believe i'm sitting here telling you, special breaking news coverage, that massive loss in the world of music and pop culture and art. superstar music legend pioneer prince has died at the age of 57. he is an artist who transcended genres and general rags and eras and up until last week this is a man who's performing for an hour and a half strong on stage, solo concerts, across america. we don't know a lot. let's just be entirely transparent with you but we know that police responded to a medical call at the home in morning in minnesota and then a death investigation began at the estate. we know he was hospitalized last week for the flu. that's really all we know at this point but when you think ant his body of work, i was talking to somebody who signed him for his first album in 1979 i believe and said we don't fully know what his entire catalog is. you know the hits. the list is endless. and he's so extraordinary for blending his style of electricity, soaring guitars, the funk, the bluesiness and the dance moves. he wrote the music from a very early age and even just about a year ago he was in baltimore and he wanted the perform at the rally for peace, baltimore show, to rave reviews. and it was at that show that he unveiled a new song called "baltimore." after the death of freddie gray a young man shot and killed by police there. we have a lot to walk through the next hour. let's begin with what we know as far as the investigation goes. miguel marquez is working that angle for us today. miguel, what do you know? >> well, we know that there was a medical emergency there and sounds given the carver county sheriff's office is now saying that prince rogers nelson, 57, found dead at paisley park studios in minnesota. we are investigating the circumstances of his death. so by the time emergency personnel were there on the scene, he was already dead. we know that they went there this morning. beyond that, it is murky. last thursday, the 14th, he had a concert in atlanta. that concert put off for a week because of the flu said his publicist. on the way back to minnesota, his plane, private plane landed in illinois for an emergency medical emergency. he was taken to the hospital there. he was relowe'sed some hours later. he was able to attend an event the following day. the 16th. saturday the 16th. he was at his paisley park after dark event. this is something he holds almost every year and performed some years. didn't perform this year and he did make an appearance there. at one point, even telling people who had gathered there, you know, save the prayers. don't pray for me quiet. assuring people that he was -- that he was okay. the news of his death hitting his fans. i mean, to watch the internet respond to this, i mean, we all sort of sense it and -- >> people wanted to think it's a hoax. >> unbelievable. his own -- his big fan website prince.org, they can't handle the traffic. it's shut down at this point because so many fans are trying to get on to pay their respects to this incredible artist. you were talking about the set that he played in atlanta. 25 songs on the set list there. not a guy who clearly seemed to be having any problems. his publicist said he had been suffering from the flu. tay told other media outlets he was dehydrated. but nothing, nothing indicated that it might end like this. a guy whose career just -- you know, it's just touched all of our lives in so many ways and hard thing to report, brooke. >> i'm a fan listening to the music, singing along and lisa france. let's bring in the next guest, a friend. she writes for us. cnn.com. incredible writer. but also, one of the biggest prince fans i've probably met. >> huge, massive fan. >> talking to latoya jackson telling me last hour it washed over her as if her brother just passed away and brought it back out. you were at his show. >> i was at the 7:00 show. >> a week ago. >> a week ago. >> today in atlanta. here in atlanta. >> yes. i felt blessed. prince he was such -- he mixed the profane with the profound. and he was so cool. from the moment that man walked out on the stage. >> you felt it. >> you felt it. and i remember talking to some friends before the show. we were like how's he going to do this? he was amazing. it was absolutely the best concert. you know, we have partied together. i go to concerts all the time. best concert i have ever been to in my life. >> whoa, whoa, whoa. truly? >> truly. >> just prince on a stage with a piano. >> and a microphone. he was funny. >> your pictures? >> not mine. >> lisa cox. she was there, as well. >> he was funny. he was endearing. he apologized for having to reschedule. he said he was a bit under the weather. >> he did mention that? >> yeah. you felt like there's never -- i'll say personally and to friends, i would not listen to music after i left that concert. i had my radio turned off because i felt like -- >> i know what you're talking about. >> i had such an experience. >> can't hear anything else. >> and it just made me realize that there's no other prince. never been another prince. he launched into "little red corvette" as the first song and one point he was playing with one hand. but i felt like he knew -- you know? people say that he didn't have long to be with us. a few times he left the stage. one time he came become and said i forgot how emotional this music makes me and fills me. i'm there with my best friend and we're crying singing "nothing compares to you." not just because he's now passed. i'm saying that it felt like such an experience to be in a room and to be listening to prince. and we weren't allowed to take pictures. and, you know, no one cared. like ordinarily people like wanting to be on their phones and facebook about the experience. >> you were present. >> you had to be present because it was prince. prince was in front of you on a piano with a microphone and giving us everything. he sounded perfect. i mean, his voice held up. i've gone to con rerts for rockers around, you know, some artists around for a minute. you're like, ugh, maybe i'll listen on spotify after this. he was hitting the falsetto notes and every artist needs to take him as a master class. just watch how he just came and it just felt like he was lovingly embracing us at the concert. >> stay with me. let's bring in don lemon. don lemon with us, cnn anchor. the only prince show i went to was actually 2004 rock n roll hall of fame induction ceremony. he was inducted by out kast and alicia keys and when i tell you everyone was on their feet, for the man. >> of course. >> brought the house down. had his heels on and his boots and his colorful flamboyant way an he rocked. he rocked. >> no one could -- i mean, he would compete with supermodels with walking in heels. seriously. i'm being honest. an ico of fashion. >> true. >> he wasn't huge in stature and because of who he was he appeared to be much bigger in life. larger than life. as a matter of fact. you know, sitting there listening to lisa and we are friends and her friend audrey. we're really good friends and texting and talking all day about that last concert and the shared experience she and lisa had and it was interesting because as an artist i think people do -- let's just be honest. people know when the time is nigh. when it's coming. right? and if you listen to, you know, i think you spoke to his manager. i don't want to say that, you know, for sure that he knew and i would venture a guess that prince knew something was off or that he was feeling some sort of euphoria in the latter days of his life and maybe he didn't know it was the latter days and felt euphoria and a freedom to be open and to be more of who he was. and so, with that, audrey said to me that he quoted the lord's prayer after i think singing "controversy" and very interesting. usually prince will do, you know, a lot of his new music, a lot of new concerts. i'm an old school fan from 1978. for you. and then prince and songs you can't put the lyrics on television. i'm an old school fan. i went to those concerts. and prince during these, you know, latter days did not do a lot of his old music. and for a fan like me, i want to hear "controversy" and "soft and wet" and hear, you know, "raspberry beray" and all that. he went through almost his entire songbook singing the old songs according to audrey an i'm sure lisa and him and a piano and very interesting. but i have to give prince credit for -- for giving people the power to be individual, an individual. and for giving people like little richard a voice. who didn't have as big of a voice as prince had and even james brown a voice and jimi hendrix and bringing them into the late '70s and '80s and '90s and 2000s and looking at little richard and prince you go, wow, they're very similar. if you look at some of james brown's old photographs, you look at prince and you look at the hair and some of the things, they're very similar. >> sure. >> prince sort of brought that into now and he allowed people to be individuals because he had the big afro and singing falsetto and saying am i black or white? am i straight or gay? people were hating on him and he said, you know what? i don't have to be anybody for anybody. i have to be me for me and just be you for you. that's what i loved about prince besides the genius of his music and the beauty and the hair and his fashion and -- >> heels. >> and the women around him. >> i love how michaela said he knew how to negotiate god and sex and the best line, the best line i have heard. i love it when you talk to rockers, any sort of music genre, they're all, everyone is touched by this man and amazing of a music catalog. let's play more from when he sat down with larry king talking about, of course, "purple rain." >> my love of rock music and living in minneapolis, i'm always going to have my guitar in the mix somewhere. and the chance that i got to work with gwen stefani, i wanted something she sounded really cool on so i put that on there. >> has a lot of music affected you? you like jazz davis? >> oh yes, sir. miles davis. i learned about space from him. pace space is a sound, too. >> technically great player, was he snot. >> so they say, yeah. >> the "purple rain" concept, autobiographical? >> semi. albert magnoli wrote the script for that. i wanted to chronicle the life i was living at the time which was in an area that had a lot of great talent and a lot of rivalries. i forgot to mention they will be on the pay per view special. you have to see them now. they're crazy. so i wanted to chronicle that vibe. >> were you surprised of its success? maybe you weren't. maybe you knew you had something. >> you can get a feel. there was no movie out like that at the time. that's what i tend to do in the things i do is, you know, the idea with art and inspiration is to try to let it grow and move forward. if there's stagnation, you can always come with something and cut through the maze. >> so do you sense that you're different? in that regard? certainly you're you noek. >> my music i think is different, yes. >> so on the "purple rain" thing you could say you expected it, not surprised it went as well as it did? >> i expected it. i think. because there was like i said, there was nothing out like it at the time. if only for the performance that was incredible in it. and the music, we were at a very good place musically. right today i feel like i could put together something equally as interesting and it would be as successful if the right people are getting paid. you know? that may sound strange but this is a business and when people are involved in it, you have successes. you know? and i understand that. and i knew there would be times when records wouldn't sell as much when i got away from those particular people but i was cool with this. >> you're saying you need the suits? sort to speak. >> it depends. on what you gauge success to be. >> what do you -- is financial your gauge word? >> no. not so much. because once i do the music, it's a success there. i mean, that's it for me. now, on the selling tip, for example, if an album goes down the chart, that isn't something i can control. i just did the music. >> i know so many people today, so many of you in disbelief here as we are honoring the life, the man, the legend, the pioneer, the minneapolis native prince. arsenio hall tweeting i lost a friend. l.a. reid, this is what it sounds like when the world cries. prince, i already miss you. your melodies will live on forever. i have standing by in new york, don lemon, michaela angela davis, former stylist for prince, and chris witherspoon. chris, let's begin with you. i think people may not realize prince had been writing his first book, a memoir. according to prince, a quote from him recently, we are starting, he and his brother from the beginning and first memory and hopefully we can go all the way to the super bowl. tell me about this. >> yeah. this book was going to be a tell-all. random house to publish it next year and he was so excited and i think at a place in the career ready to lift the veil and let us into his world and really let his fans go on the journey with his music, personal life, love life, many i guess affairs if you will. and let us really in. >> conquests. >> unfortunate we won't get the book. >> last time we talked we were talking in the wake of that concert he put on in baltimore and quote "baltimore" and the first stanza nobody got in nobody's way an i guess you could say it was a better day in baltimore. does anybody hear us pray for freddie gray? peace is more than the absence of war, absence of war. why was that important for him to be there to put on that show? >> you know, it seems that through his whole career prince has really cared about the music and a voice of social justice and important because there's so ma few artists speaking out. a p. diddy song didn't track and then people heard prince behind it, this was a moment to bring people together and bring a recognition that people were upset and black lives invisible. this wasn't the only time he spoke out. it was after katrina and a couple of songs about that and hiv/aids and drugs in the community. he really was a voice to push the political conversation forward. >> michaela, to you, why was that so important to him, to be the voice as he was? >> you know, prince is royalty to us. right? we called him his purple highness. he was able to fearlessly feel and so of course he's going to speak to social injustice. of course he's going to speak to the crack epidemic. of course he's going the speak to black lives. because he was brave and as an artist like a nina simone or like stevie wonder, he was unafraid to let the world channel through his music. right? for us, it was not so -- he was a revolutionary and expected him to speak and he made it so funky and sexy and cool. sometimes when you get protest or civil rights music it's protest music. but he can make you dance about crack because of alphabet street. he made a funky song about it. >> you are so funky and sexy and cool, michaela. i'm not surprised to learn that you were a stylist to prince so many years. >> you know what, brooke? she said to me talking about james brown and she said, don't forget, he had a press n curl. that's why i think the an dronlgny part was so different. this was an artist of color who was fighting for and i think garnered the same freedom as a rocker. rockers did. he just wanted to be an artist. and the music and then you think about what he did. who was doing movies? you know? prince came along and topped the charts and said, you know what? i'm going to do a movie and win an academy award. like, go ahead, boy. do that. let's go through batman and through all of you and because i'm a music nerd and hear from each of you and asking to pick a favorite child and tell me a favorite prince song and why. chris, to you first. >> i think that prince is poetic when doves cry and the line hit me. >> when you hear it. >> as a little boy -- >> i didn't know. she said that's poetry. oprah was like the doves are crying listening to your music. a poet. along with being an artist and what i love about his music. >> michaela, what about you? >> conditions of the heart was my favorite ballad. i asked him to sing it once at a concert and he did and i died. >> oh my gosh. >> irresistible b was a favorite dance song and then tomorrow is another one and ten minutes is something else. but now i just keep hearing conditions of the heart. because mine is -- is breaking. >> it's emotional. it's emotional for so many people today. >> i think michaela was closest. you were his stylist and knew him well and i spoke with van jones. >> i talked to van, too. breaking. >> he told me he had spoken to you. yep. >> sian-pierre? >> mine is silly but "1999" because you remember y2k, i was in high school and a controversy and my friends got together and we were like 1999. just a big memory for me. it's an important one. the friends together, an existential crisis. >> great. we have it cued up. let's listen to it right now. >> we can all agree that purple rain is life changing. ♪ forgive me if it goes astray ♪ but when i woke up this morning could have sworn it was judgment day ♪ ♪ the sky was all purple there were people running everywhere ♪ ♪ from my destruction you know i didn't even care ♪ ♪ 2000 party over whoops out of time ♪ ♪ so tonight i'm going to party like it's 1999 ♪ >> lisa france is sitting here with me and singing along to every single word. don lemon, favorite song? >> well, the first one i knew was "head." this was 19 probably 80. "soft and wet" 1978. i'm old school and then "controversy" because of the lyrics. those are mine. you can put those on and i'll start dancing and cheer me up. the old stuff sticks in my heart. >> not even old. it was so timeless. >> yeah. >> right? >> it's hard. you can't hear it on -- you can't get it on spotify. to listen to prince, i have to go and put it on either something that i've downloaded or the old vinyl needle on the rodrigue. >> or youtube. >> some you can't get on youtube. >> let's take a quick break. i want to continue celebrating the life of prince when we continue. ♪ what have i got to lose ♪ honey i said ♪ little red corvette ♪ baby you're much too fast ♪ little red corvette ♪ you need a love that's going to last ♪ ♪ i guess i should have closed my eyes when you drove me to the places where your horses run free ♪ ♪ because i felt a little ill when i saw all the pictures of the jockeys that were living for me ♪ ♪ believe it or not ♪ i started to worry wondering if i had enough class ♪ [bassist] two late nights in tucson. blew an amp.but good nights. sure,music's why we do this,but it's still our business. we spend days booking gigs, then we've gotta put in the miles to get there. but it's not without its perks. like seeing our album sales go through the roof enough to finally start paying meg's little brother- i mean,our new tour manager-with real,actual money. we run on quickbooks.that's how we own it. i look up to a great deal, stevie wonder. just for the way that he crafted music and his connection to the spirit. and boy, back then i used him as a role model trying to play all the instruments and be very self contained and keep my vision clear. so word spread very quickly about what i could do. a lot of people knew about it, yeah. >> how would you describe your music? >> hmm. >> what idiom would you put it in? >> the only thing i could think of because i don't really like categories but i could only think of inspirational and i think muse africa the heart falls into that category. people will really feel what it is that they're doing and ultimately all music is or can be inspirational and it's -- that's why it's so important to let your gift be guided by something more clear. ♪ beautiful ♪ to turn me on ♪ i just need your body baby ♪ from dusk until dawn ♪ you don't need experience ♪ to turn me out ♪ you just leave it all up to me ♪ ♪ i'm going to show you what it's all about ♪ ♪ you don't have to be rich to be my girl ♪ ♪ you don't have to be cool to rule my world joets ♪ ain't no particular sign ♪ i just want your extra time and your ♪ ♪ kiss >> makes me think of that scene in "pretty woman" with julia roberts in the bathtub. his music was everywhere. the man, the legend, the pioneer. the minneapolis pioneer prince who's died at age 57. way too early for all of us. as we're trying to understand exactly what happened and why, we know that medical personnel went to his paisley park studio west of minneapolis and apparently found him unresponsive so we are getting more details. let's bring in miguel marquez for new details, miguel, son exactly how he was found. we now know. >> yeah. 9:43 those medical personnel were called out. it was the carver county sheriff's department was the responding agency. they went to his paisley park and sort of an electronic show space for him and when they got there, they found an unresponsive male in an elevator. they performed cpr on him but apparently it was too little too late. at 10:07, very short time after they responded, very short time after the call went out at 10:07, 57-year-old prince rogers nelson was pronounced dead. >> tried to use, tried cpr. and they were unsuccessful. so this is what we're getting. carver county sheriff. miguel, thank you. i'm brooke baldwin. watching special coverage of the death of prince. want to welcome the viewers in the united states and around the world. listening to so many voices from michael jackson's sister l a toya saying she couldn't believe it. and to prince's very first manager who signed him when prince was 18 and said he'll never forget his eyes meeting prince and the brilliance he knew. there was a magic. magic in prince. we have michaela and don and sian-pierre and lisa is next to me here at cnn who went to his last concert. michaela, i'm thinking of you. i know this is very -- emotional for you. you knew prince very well and to hear that he was found in his elevator alone. it's gut wrenching. >> yeah. i mean, it sounds like he just collapsed. you know? he's probably on his way to make some music. and it was -- you know, it's time to go. it's interesting. you know, you go to people's homegoing and say he's in a better place. i don't feel that right now. i feel his better place is here with us. making music. like that's just the -- i might feel differently tomorrow but his better place is here. i can't -- i'm not like he's up in the sky with jimi hendrix makes music. i'm not there, kids. i'm negotiating this. there's no lead-up. paisley park was his home, sleep and have friends and make so much music. we will be unearthing music for decades. he was that prolific and that profound. and his capacity for art was -- like that little body could let so much big music through it. that we haven't seen anything quite like it. >> brooke, the elevator thing and listen. we don't know the cause of death. we don't know. everyone is talking about this bout that he had with the flu and talking with sanjay. a doctor friends who specializes in this stuff says, this is a direct quote saying, people don't realize pneumonia and flu fourth leading cause of death in americans and same thing to james brown and prince was private. probably waunt fan of going to the doctor. just assuming. or having close to see him and he said this isn't uncommon and said it happened to prince but a fourth leading cause to death according to him in the united states and we cover deaths of people dying from respiratory illness and the flu every year and depending on the severity, it goes up and down and it brings home how dangerous it can be. >> to think that as of, you know, what? just this past saturday night he popped in with a beautiful brand new purple yamaha piano. stay with me. let's bring matthieu. his dad snuck him into a club i think in paris at 13. creative leader of lenny kravitz. >> 14. >> 14. you facetimed with lenny this morning and crushed, as well. but, you know, i want to hear more about prince, the off stage prince. i know he was quite shy, was he not? he was a lover but shy. >> yeah. i mean, you know, for me, all the times to speak with him, every time felt like a miracle to me i always hear he doesn't talk and in reality, you know, he was a very elegant, very funny person. you know? and sometimes i'd see him. he wouldn't say anything or be really nice. he is a gemini. you have two sides there. and, you know, i -- i just think he was, you know, for me, the whole thing is living your passion. i don't think there's a better example of somebody living out their passion than him and beyond he was on another to me he was always on another planet and i just heard you say the thing about the elevator. it's so ironic thinking about "let's go crazy." we won't let the elevator bring us down. let's go crazy. i don't think it's hit me anyways. >> when's the last time you saw him or in touch with him? >> i saw him -- well, i saw him at the club in hollywood. the -- oh god. what is it called? i'm in shock. i can't remember the name. >> it's okay. how recently? >> he had -- last year. he had some artists that he -- the sayers club. but that was just a little nod hello. no conversation. i really think the last time i had a conversation with him, real conversation, was just like a couple of few years ago in rome. and then at a show -- >> what did you talk about if i may ask. >> well, we were talking about music and we were talking about -- i just remember specifically talking about -- we were talking about bette davis. you know? who was married to miles davis and we talked about how funky she was and grand central station. larry graham was a presence in his life. just funk. my people know me as a guy who's a big funk fan and collect records and a lot of my work is in box sets and with my record collection as was the ultimate prince cd that came out in 2007. the two-cd set and which had a bunch of my collection in there so people know me as that guy, the crazy french kid that collects everything. >> the french funky kid. >> yeah. >> would you know who was prince listening to? who was prince -- you know, present day. >> i can -- i never sat down and listened to music for him. i know for a fact i just two weeks ago i photographed an artist and i think she played with him and i heard he was into her music, candace spring. he was into janel monet. these are not things he personally told me but he tweeted about or people around me said, oh yeah, he is into this person. you know? but yeah. that's as far as -- >> as far as you know. let's play a little bit more. this is invaluable to prince in his own words with larry king. back in 1999. here's more of that interview. >> a lot of people telling me people, boy, you will have the artist on for an hour. he's hard to talk to. you're not hard to talk to. where did this reputation begin? you're not hearing it here for the first time. >> probably where all reputations begin. i think the media playing a big part in one's perception of me. until one sits down and actually talks to me. they can't really know me. >> should you have been more public? should you have done more of things like this? >> no. i kind of did what i wanted to do. i wanted my music as even now to speak loudest for me. >> but you're not uncomfortable here, are you? >> no. not at all. >> but a reputation is that you would be. how do you fight that other than counter acting it? >> well, i'm not -- i don't think in terms of fighting. i'm not -- i don't think that you win anything by fighting. i'm the type of person that likes to look at things for exactly the way they are and -- >> do you get angry? you're a perfectionist, musically, right? you must get angry then. >> i use my anger with humor. i have a way of being very stern but i always find the irony in it and i always make it funny. i make it funny for myself and the person i'm -- >> directing at you is not humbled or made to feel less than a human. >> well, no one can make you feel anything. you pretty much are going to fall in there if you -- you know, aren't spiritually based. >> how do you handle that aspect of the media which often gives you trouble, the tabloids? >> i don't have trouble with anybody. >> you don't? do you read them? >> no. >> do you hear about them? >> very seldoseldom. >> do you think any part of a personality's private life is our business? do you think your marriage is our business? >> well, you know, i'm like this. my music is my music. that's pretty much what you come to the party for. >> naturally. >> if i give you something else, that's me giving you something else. if you seek something else, there's something inside of you that's lacking i would think. you know? so i think that personal means personal. >> but do you wonder why the public wants to know? don't wonder? >> no. >> are you interested in the personal lives of other people? >> see, michael jordan. >> yeah. are you interested -- michael jordan. a big fan. >> big fan. >> are you interested in how his marriage goes? >> in. >> his children? >> nope. >> no. >> not interested in how he gets along with that ram. >> well said. ♪ oh no let's go ♪ don't lie ♪ dropped it on the floor ♪ was all i heard ♪ we're not going to let the elevator break us down ♪ ♪ let's go ♪ come on baby ♪ are you all ready to get going tonight ♪ ♪ let me hear you scream >> brought the house down. super bowl 2007. just love seeing all these clips. i know all of us are -- i don't believe it. i'm talking about the life of prince. last hour and a half. lisa france with s with me, a senior producer, entertainment with us. cnn.com. we keep seeing all these tweets and i'll read what justin timberlake wrote on instagram. to you, a couple of months ago, she, by the way, was at the last big show. >> i was here. >> here in atlanta a week ago today. you wrote about him and you know he read it y.? >> the passport photo. he was flawless at 57. >> still is. >> can't wrap my brain around it. looks gorgeous. the passport photo is way better than anybody else. >> the line is -- >> looked as if he's using a moisturizer made of unicorn tears and all of our hopes and dreams and someone tweeted him to ask him about his looks and what he used. he replied unicorn tears and my twitt eter blowing up. i totally fan girl ds. just to think that prince read something that i wrote. i write about celeb tips all the time. prince, a class of his own. >> no nothing. >> no nothing. >> let's read what gisten timberlake posted. raspberry beret. mommy, when's that singing? weird but true. once in a forever artist. i'm still in shock and i feel this overwhelming grief but we should all turn away from that and on nor this musician that changed all our lives, perspectives, feeling, whole being from another planet? probably. royalty for sure. us worthy? laughable. he goes on. they say don't meet your idols. that they let you down. but some of my greatest, funniest, yes, he was hi lair jous, and moist prolific encounters and conversations about music came from the moments i spent with him. it would be silly to say that he has inspirped our music. it's beyond that. he's somewhere within every song i've ever written. i am sad but i will smile when i think of every second that i had the fortune of being in his company. we have lost our greatest living musician but his music will never die. prince nothing compares. i have michaela angela davis standing by, a former stylist for prince for us in new york. sian-pierre, don lemon. let's go to you and i was talking to this creative director for lenny kravitz. knew prince pretty well and asking him who he was listening to. and januaryel monet from here in atlanta, right? he had a relationship with. talk to me about this. >> she was a sort of protege to him with a british artist and tweeted back and forth and he took her in and he helped her build great music. i remember the last interview with her. i asked her about social media saying does it kill your artist tri to put so much of your life out there? she said prince taught me only give them so much and speaks to the character and he did not put much of his private life if any at all out there for people to see and so different in the landscape of artists right now seeing their lives as it's happening and she said the artistry is strong because of that. and i thought that that was so powerful and she has a futurist sound like him and a very specific niche audience. an audience that loves music, that cares about musicality and not sort of a come modification of music itself. >> amen. >> makes sense they were so tight. >> well said. >> i mentioned this before and only bit of prince -- i can't say he's wroted my words, lisa frank. i was at the rock n roll hall of fame induction ceremony and outkast from here in atlanta and alicia keys. i know big boi and prince really, really influenced him and andre 3000 and bigboi, he is too broken up but texted i'm heart broken, saddened and shocked. his music lives forever through us. we have to love and cherish our heroes while they're here. so, gosh. i'm still -- i have to say, i'm stale little speechless over all of this. michaela, as you're processing this, i want to hear more about prince the man, sort of off stage. what was he like? >> he was funny. when you're in intimate moments with him, he's -- there's -- he's both magical and really regular at the same time. you know? like -- and like i literally saw him throw chicken bones at the television during a basketball game. like that's like your brother, like your dude. and then he would rise up and go make music. because he heard it. like it was like a calling. it was like prophetic. so -- and i'm not using the words lightly. it really would happen. he would rise up and let the music come through him. >> you talked about this. michaela spoke to this. if you listen to wendy williams who knew him and other people, summon you like late at night after a concert, like to his hotel room or an afterparty like, hey, come meet me and meet people and then do little concerts, right? >> one of the greatest things, i went on a press junket tour with him to europe and nightly you get a call about 2:00 in the morning from security and said, be in the lobby in 30 minutes. >> that's funny. >> go to the lobby. a car takes you to a club. >> right. >> open up a club in par nis a little town in ireland. and like, rock out and this is before -- like, you couldn't text someone saying meet me at the club. but people would just start to come and come and it was incredible. and this happened nightly. >> yep. >> so we would goat a town. his sound people would disperse. go and check out three or four clubs and know, they would have a plan where he would play that night. it was church. >> will you please pinch yourself for me? pinch yourself for me. that is like pinch me. that's a pinch me moment. >> yeah. he just had to play. and we just had to dance. and we just felt alive and, again, he made us feel free. >> yeah. >> yes, yes. >> let's bring in one more voice here. i have bill wordy, bill formerly of billboard put prince on the cover, magazine's relaench r launch back in 2013. when's the last time, bill, you talked to prince. >> the last time i talked to prince business at a billboard afterparty for the grammys in 2013. and i have to say, i was really glad to hear michaela talking about his sense of humor because the prince i got the know was equal parts, you know, passionate to the point to follow the >> but also really incredibly funny and would pick, from the perspective at the time, a magazine editor, some of the most inopportune moments to crack funny jokes. if you have a moment, i can give you an example. >> i have many moments. hit me. >> so we put prince on the billboard cover of a big relaunch issue for us in 2013 and that issue wound up winning awards for best single issue. but behind the scenes, we were coming right down to the wire and every bit of this story package was, you know, interesting. it was not your typical straight line working with prince. and not only was she not allowed to record any of the interview, prince said that she couldn't take any notes because he felt that was too much like texting. that created a lot of drama. then we never got a photo. we were coming right down to the wire. >> minor detail. >> what's that? >> minor detail. we had never gotten this photo. i'm texting and e-mailing a woman working at the time. she says, okay, prince has given us something and i think it's perfect for our cover. we're at the 14th hour now and finally texted me this image and she said, you're going to love it. it's a picture of a 94-year-old very heavy woman that has nothing to do with prince. and so at the last minute, he sends us a beautiful picture and it was an award-winning cover. that was prince. he would follow his passions, like i said, and argue and fight vehemently for artist rights, artists that he felt needed more exposure and he had this lethal sense of humor sort of quietly. >> bill, thank you so much. we've talked so much about his sense of humor, a little by of shyness, his heels, his funk. let's hear more from prince and his music. ♪ ♪ ♪ come on lady ♪ going to let the elevator break us down ♪ ♪ oh no let's go crazy ♪ let's get numb ♪ let's go >> more of the man, the music, the man we love, the funny man, the man -- he could rock, too. funk and rock and everything in between. i have bill carter standing by, cnn media analyst who got to attend that huge party in new york. the 40th anniversary of "saturday night live." bill, correct me, but that was a party where all kinds of people hopped up on that stave, the after party. >> like nothing i've ever seen. >> like only to be a fly on that wall. and prince performed. >> he did. what happened was, they had instruments on the stage and what's the band going to be? well, can somebody come up and play bass? paul mccartney got up to play bass. >> naturally. >> and then taylor swift sang and at 2:00, 3:00 in the morning, all of a sudden there's this amazing surge to the stage and it's prince going on stage to play unrehearsed. all of the stars had just been hanging out in the back, like beyonce and jay-z and they had to see prince. they rushed to the stage. it was the most electric moment. of all the people there, he had the most influence across the board on all of these other artists. >> was it like moses parting the waters as prince was approaching the stage? >> it was. it was a huge crowd of people. the people just said, oh, my gosh. it's prince. now it's even bigger. it was just a remarkable moment. >> did anyone else dare jump up on stage with him or was it prince solo? >> well, when he played, he played. jimmy fallon was the moderator and bringing people up there but, man, he just stopped the show. it was just remarkable how people reacted to him. it's like they wanted to be close and right up there and see him. just big fans. they were just fans, you know? >> the fans and pages of tweets from all of these different people. everyone. it is all pouring out. so many people thought, this has to be a hoax. sadly, it's not. it's not at all. >> you know, it's not. it was like the history. elvis, people think about that, elvis was 42 when he died. >> wow. >> really stunning but 57 now seems crazy young for a great artist. still producing great music. >> just performing late saturday night at paisley park. bill carter, thank you so much. here is more from prince and larry king. >> i use stevie wonder as an inspiration, i look up to him as a great deal, the way that he crafted music and the way that he connected to the spirit, and, boy, back then i used him and be very self-contained and keep my vision clear. words pressed very quickly about what i could do. a lot of people knew about it. >> how would you describe your music? what idiom would you put it in? >> i don't really like categories so the only thing i can think of is inspirational. people really feel what it is that they are doing. and and ultimately all music is or can be inspirational and that's why it's so important to let your gift be guided by something more clear. >> we've been talking to all of these regular folks reacting to his death. i have now been handed, from the press secretary from the white house on the passing of prince. "today, the world lost a world icon. michelle and i join millions of fans from around the world mourning the sudden death of prince. few artists have influence and sound and trajectory of music more distinctly or touched so many people with their talent as one of the most prolific musicians of our time. prince did it all. again, this is from the president of the united states. funk, r & b, rock 'n' roll, an electrifying performer. nobody's spirit was stronger, bolder or more creative. our thoughts and prayers are with his family, his band and all those who loved him from the white house. i have just about three, two minutes left with everyone remaining. lisa france, final thoughts? >> i have to say that you should embrace freedom, grab every second because i didn't initially got tickets for that concert but i went and in honor of prince, be yourself. i feel like prince was the ultimate do you. he was just that do you boo type of guy. >> don lemon, what do you think? >> i'd say yes. i thanked him for allowing us to know that it's okay to be an individual. and i also -- everyone is paying tribute to his artistry which is great, but he was also business savvy. he did not bow down to record labels. that's the ultimate, really, individual protest, if you want, that you can do. so he owned his own music and now it's going to be worth billions. congratulations to prince and his family. he was the ultimate individual. >> we will see you later this evening. 60 seconds left on my watch. shawn pierre. >> this is a moment that i'll always remember where i was when i found out, just as i did with michael jackson and in that same case people were blaring the radio in new york. >> michaela? >> prince showed us what i think that's a great legacy as a black american. he showed us what music was like. i want to thank all of you from the bottom of my heart for being with me. thank you for staying with us on cnn. i'm brooke baldwin. don't move a muscle. we have much more coming at you. "the lead" from jake tapper starts now. ♪ trying to run from my destruction you know i didn't even care ♪ ♪ 2,000 >> welcome to "the lead." i'm jake tapper. he was possibly the most talented, charismatic, entertaining, influential and barrier breaking of his generation. prince, the purple one, died today at the age of 57. the cause of death is not yet known. we do know that prince was found unresponsive in an elevator at his estate in

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