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Singer Prince, Dead at 57, is Remembered for Musical Influence

  • Veronica Neffinger

    Veronica Neffinger wrote her first poem at age seven and went on to study English in college, focusing on 18th century literature. When she is not listening to baseball games, enjoying the…

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  • Updated Apr 22, 2016

Prince Rogers Nelson, known as “Prince,” passed away yesterday (April 21). The world is mourning his death, as well as celebrating his life and music.

Many were influenced by Prince’s music and feel as though it was a staple of their years growing up.

In a blog post for Pastor John Piper’s Desiring God website, Jon Bloom recalls, “Prince sang on the soundtrack of my high school years. I can still see right where I was sitting in Wayzata High School’s cafeteria during sixth-period study hall listening to Prince’s '1999' blasting on cassette from someone’s boom box a few tables away.”

Thousands others shared similar stories of how influential the genre and gender-bending artist was on their lives.

Though most Christians acknowledge that Prince’s music was often sexually explicit and not something they would necessarily encourage others to listen to, they also acknowledge that it had a profound impact on their lives.

And so did news of his death.

Christian blogger Denny Burk says that news of Prince’s death “was like a punch in the gut for me.”

Prince was an enigma to many. He was known for his bold music and stage personality, but was also known for being reserved and even shy. 

He bent the normal rules of music, making it difficult for his music to be categorized. 

His performance at the 2007 Super Bowl was memorable to many. When he played his song “Purple Rain” at the event, it actually rained. 

Over the years, Prince changed his religious views. Although his albums were targeted by Tipper Gore in her campaign to get the music industry to label albums that contained explicit content, Prince later stopped using profanity at all in his music.

Christian Today even notes that many of Prince's lyrics have Christian themes.

Raised as a Seventh Day Adventist, Prince later became a Jehovah’s Witness, according to Bloom, and spoke openly about his faith.

Only God knows what Prince’s true beliefs were, but Burk says he hopes the singer’s last thoughts echoed lyrics from his song, “The Cross,” which says, “Don’t die without knowing the cross.”

Prince was 57 when he died. The cause of his death is still being investigated. 

Photo courtesy: Wikipedia

Publication date: April 22, 2016