The Green Energy Champion Formerly Known as Prince
April 29, 2016
Was looking for an excuse to post this video, and found it.
If you haven’t seen, it’s the 2004 induction of George Harrison into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame, with an all star band playing the classic “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”.
Tom Petty & Co do a great version of the song, but what makes it is the last part, where Prince steps up and burns down the stage.
“He thought it was in poor taste for these celebrities to get millions of dollars and then write a check and have their publicists all over the media bragging about it. He was like, ‘This is ridiculous. We get enough attention. We’re celebrities.’”
That’s environmental activist Van Jones talking about Prince with The Guardian. While there’s been much talk about The Purple One’s legacy on music, film and the arts, what was less well known — until his untimely death at least — was that Prince was also a rock star in the worlds of social justice, environmental activism and philanthropy.
In the case of Jones, for example, their relationship began when Prince tried to give him a $50,000 check to support his work with Green For All, an environmental justice organization working on everything from clean energy jobs for inner city youth to insuring a safe drinking supply. Jones was initially skeptical, refusing to accept anonymous checks because he was concerned that they might compromise the organization’s values. The two eventually connected, however, and with Jones’ help, Prince was able to fund the installation of solar panels for families in inner city Oakland — yet those families never knew who had funded it.
April 29, 2016 at 6:31 pm
In an interview, Eric Clapton was once tritely asked, “What’s it like to be the best guitar player alive?” Clapton simply responded, “I don’t know, ask Prince.”
That performance shows why Clapton said that.
April 30, 2016 at 8:15 am
Even before reading the story, I just have to say, I loved the headline!
April 30, 2016 at 8:23 am
One of the best guitarists ever. In my opinion.