For Those of Us in Radio…The Loss of Prince Marks the End of an Era

Being just a young "newbie" in radio back in 1979, I remember playing a song by a new recording artist called "Prince."  "I Wanna Be Your Lover" was a good uptempo pop song, but nothing our of the ordinary at the time.

Then came the early 1980's, and a string of incredible, ground-breaking hits that we couldn't wait to play on the radio.  "Little Red Corvette," "1999," "When Doves Cry," and the legendary "Purple Rain."   These were amazing songs that sounded like nothing else.  The request lines lit up every time a new Prince song hit the airwaves.

The hits from this superstar kept on coming in the later 80's as well.  "Raspberry Beret,"  "Kiss,"  "U Got the Look," and "Pop Life" were all songs that the record companies didn't even have to promote.  As soon as they arrived at the radio station, they were on the air.

Prince and the New Power Generation continued to have hits on the 1990's.  "Cream" went to number 1 in 1991.  "Diamonds and Pearls" was a top 5 hit the following year.  In 1994, Prince scored a top 3 hit with "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World.".

Exciting, creative and entertaining superstars are few and far between.  The 7-time grammy award winner who was born Prince Roger Nelson was truly an icon.  Having played incredible hits from this artist over the past 30 years, hearing that Prince had passed is something I'll always remember.