Prince.
It’s a sad day in history to say goodbye to such a talented soul. At the age of 57, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s Prince Rogers Nelson was found dead in his Minnesota home on Thursday morning, TMZ confirmed.
Prince has been regarded as one of the most important musical figures in history alongside The Beatles, Michael Jackson and the late David Bowie. With over 100 million records sold throughout his 35 yearlong career, seven Grammy awards, an Oscar award, and countless fans; Prince will never be forgotten.
There has been an anguished cry among the masses with the loss of Prince. Fans and musicians alike have taken to social media to express their sadness and admiration for the legacy Prince has left behind.
Variety reports that throughout the week television networks plan to honor Prince with marathons of his music, career highlights, personal interviews and interviews with other celebrities about their memories of Prince.
On Thursday, after the news broke, MTV, MTV2 and VH1 switched all of their previously scheduled content to the singer’s music videos and MTV released the following statement,
“MTV is heartbroken and in utter disbelief at the news that the world has lost Prince Rogers Nelson so suddenly and so before his time,” the network said in a Thursday statement. “Prince was a once-in-a-lifetime artist who transcended every medium and genre he touched and created music with a passion and individuality that inspired multiple generations. Our hearts and prayers go out to his family, friends and millions of fans.”
VH1 also aired Prince’s movie “Purple Rain” on Thursday, and they plan to continue re-airing it through the weekend.
MSNBC aired an hourlong tribute on Thursday night to the late star with interviews from those who knew him, as well as his fans.
Over on BET, the network began playing music videos on all four of their channels and they too plan to continue the marathon for up to 48 hours.
On Saturday, April 23rd, OWN, the Oprah Winfrey network, will be airing an episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show from the mid-90’s in which the singer was interviewed.
According to Variety, adding to the the memorial marathons are ABC’s 20/20 and Dateline NBC. Each broadcast will be celebrating the life of the late icon with hourlong specials on their respective networks Friday April, 22nd. Both specials will be covering the life and death of Prince.
Let’s take a moment to remember that death isn’t the end in Prince’s opinion.
“Dearly beloved
We are gathered here today
To get through this thing called life
Electric word life
It means forever and that’s a mighty long time
But I’m here to tell you
There’s something else
The after world
A world of never ending happiness..” -Prince