Fans of the musical icon Prince, who died yesterday looked for answers in an autopsy report to help relieve them of the sudden loss of the musical Legend.
A day after the enigmatic pop
superstar died at age 57, a steady stream of people filed past his Paisley Park
studio complex on the outskirts of Minneapolis to pay their respects and place
flowers and handwritten messages. Prince Prince Many wore purple, his signature
color. Many said how proud they were of the city’s native son, and how saddened
they were by the fact that he died alone — as well as by unconfirmed reports
his death could be linked to an overdose of painkillers. “It breaks my heart,”
said Cindy Legg, a 41-year-old nurse. “Hopefully it was just not any of that
and it was just God needed him in heaven.” Prince was found dead in an elevator
at Paisley Park, a week after being taken to a hospital with a flu-like illness
that he later downplayed.
The local sheriff was to brief the media at 3:00 pm
(2000 GMT) on the investigation into his death, which remains unexplained. The
singer’s autopsy began early Friday, according to the local medical examiner’s
office, which cautioned that preliminary results will take days and the results
of a full toxicology scan could be weeks. “As part of a complete exam, relevant
information regarding Mr. Nelson’s medical and social history will be gathered.
Anything which could be relevant to the investigation will be taken into
consideration,” the office said in a statement.
Entertainment website TMZ,
citing unnamed sources, reported that Prince was treated for an overdose of the
opioid-based painkiller Percocet in the week before his death. After a show in
Atlanta, the singer was taken to hospital after his private jet made an
unscheduled landing in Moline, Illinois. “Multiple sources in Moline tell us
Prince was rushed to a hospital and doctors gave him a ‘save shot’… typically
administered to counteract the effects of an opiate,” TMZ said. AFP could not
immediately verify the report.
Carnival-like : Small in stature but an
electrifying live performer, Prince became an international sensation in the
1980s, fusing rock and R&B into a highly danceable funk mix. The sudden
loss of the “Purple Rain” legend, a Grammy and Oscar winner acclaimed for his
guitar and keyboard skills and soaring falsetto, prompted an outpouring of
tributes and spontaneous celebrations.
In New York, director Spike Lee led a
Prince sing-along at a packed block party in Brooklyn while in Minneapolis,
where a bridge was lit up in purple in Prince’s memory, the atmosphere was
carnival-like with the crowd erupting into renditions of his hits.
“You know,
he was the greatest artist of all time. There will never be another one like
him,” said Antonio Harper, one of thousands who partied through the night in
Prince’s hometown in a bittersweet farewell.
“I cried, I cried a few times all
night. Every time they played his music, songs that hit me,” said Melody
Johnson, part of the crowd that gathered at the First Avenue club, where Prince
shot “Purple Rain,” the rock musical featuring songs from the album of the same
name. “Queen of Soul” Aretha Franklin led an outpouring of tributes from the
entertainment industry, describing him as “an original and a one of a kind.”
Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger called Prince “one of the most unique and
talented artists of the last 30 years” while former Beatle Paul McCartney
tweeted that he saw in the New Year with the singer and that he had seemed in
good health.
On the turntable : President Barack Obama, who invited Prince to
play a private White House show last year, let slip that he played some of his
records Friday morning at the US ambassador’s residence in London, where he is
staying. “It happens there’s a turntable and so this morning, we played ‘Purple
Rain’ and ‘Delirious’ just to get warmed up before we left the house,” Obama
told a joint press conference with British Prime Minister David Cameron. “He
was a great performer. And creative and original and full of energy. And so
it’s a remarkable loss.” Prince — whose huge catalogue of hits includes “1999,”
“Cream” and “Kiss” — was prolific in his output, recently releasing albums
through streaming site Tidal, and had taken to scheduling shows at the last
minute to avoid scalpers.
Named after his jazz pianist and songwriter father’s
stage name, the pop icon was born Prince Rogers Nelson in Minneapolis. In 2004,
he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Prince was in the middle
of a pared-back “Piano and a Microphone” tour when he began experiencing health
problems. But the Saturday before he died, the musician invited fans via
Twitter to a “dance party” at Paisley Park, where he kept his back recordings
in vaults, as a way to prove his health problems were behind him, Minnesota’s
Star Tribune newspaper reported. “Wait a few days before you waste any
prayers,” he reportedly told the roughly 200 in attendance.
A day after the
enigmatic pop superstar died at age 57, a steady stream of people filed
past his Paisley Park studio complex on the outskirts of Minneapolis to
pay their respects and place flowers and handwritten messages.
Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/04/killed-prince-autopsy-seeks-answers/
A day after the
enigmatic pop superstar died at age 57, a steady stream of people filed
past his Paisley Park studio complex on the outskirts of Minneapolis to
pay their respects and place flowers and handwritten messages.
Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/04/killed-prince-autopsy-seeks-answers/
A day after the
enigmatic pop superstar died at age 57, a steady stream of people filed
past his Paisley Park studio complex on the outskirts of Minneapolis to
pay their respects and place flowers and handwritten messages.
Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/04/killed-prince-autopsy-seeks-answers/
Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/04/killed-prince-autopsy-seeks-answers/
No comments:
Post a Comment