Congressman Keith Ellison on the death of Prince

“My heart is heavy with the news of Prince’s passing. To the people of Minnesota, Prince was a cultural ambassador. He inspired countless others around the world with his music and theatrics. Prince showed us it was okay to be different. He showed us that the best way to be cool was to be yourself. Prince wasn’t merely a pop star – to many of us, he was much, much more.

“But the world will be a little less bright without Prince in it.”

On air now with Tom Weber, reporter Tim Nelson of MPR News said there is a somber, mourning mood of about three hundred people, 10 or 15 deep in the road directly in front of Paisley Park. A media camp is building as well.

Prince is being remembered today as a brilliant musician an international pop icon. He died this morning at age 57 at Paisley Park in Chanhassen.

Susan Rogers is a professor at Berklee College of Music in Boston. From 1983 to 1988 she worked with Prince as a recording engineer. She says he was a genius with melody and rythym.

"That word is thrown around a lot, the word genius, but if we were to really be particular. in his case it really applied," she said. "One of the most creative human beings I've ever known, he was an enigmatic man, that's well known. But he was, at his heart of hearts, he was a good man."

Rogers says it was a privilege to have known Prince and been in his company as long as she was. She also says he was a brave man who made hard choices about his career and his music.

"I have played cello in the Mississippi Valley Orchestra for 30 years. In 1992 one of our orchestra members heard that Prince was looking for a cello player to be in one of his current videos, and that he was holding auditions at Paisley Park. Seeing that Price was one of my all time favorite musicians and that I had been to every possible concert of his since he started his music career, I of course went to audition for the video! While waiting for my turn I was sitting next to and talking to this very nice man who I happen to not know who he was. About 10 minutes into our conversation I asked him his name and he started to laugh and said, "You don't know who I am?" and I said, "No" it turned out to be Ice-T!" -- Linda DeRoode, Hopkins

"A bunch of years ago, I was in the fan club and paid more than I've ever paid for a concert ticket to see Prince at the Paramount Theater in Oakland, CA. The show was great, but I also got to go to soundcheck. It was almost like being let in the back door to see Prince dressed down (as much as he ever was) and working through partial songs and jams. Having done plenty of soundchecks myself over the years, they can be super boring. But Prince knew what we were there for and he made sure to break the fourth wall and let us into the experience. Sure, I'd paid to be there, but it was intimate and fascinating." -- Phil Johnson, Milpitas, CA

"I will never forget standing a foot away from Prince wailing on guitar @ 4 a.m. on the floor of a jam room at Paisley Park. My friend Arthur Lee was recording a record there and Prince would come in from his club 'The Big Bam Boom' in Mpls around 1 a.m. He had given out invitations to people - always just regular looking folks - at the club to come back to Paisley Park. Prince and his band were set up just on the floor of this jam room and would start to play around 4 a.m. and play 'til dawn. This happened multiple nights that we were there. One night Lenny Kravitz came and clearly couldn't hang with the playing and begged off after struggling through one song. Prince joked smilingly, 'Lenny has to go home -- he's got a cold.' Prince by contrast - the night I remember best - played bass, drums, keyboards and of course, guitar! Ever the showman, the final number that night culminated in a blistering guitar solo. At the climax, Prince held a scorching note at the top of the register, flung the guitar in the air where it seemed to hover, the note still ringing in the air, time suspended for what seemed like an eternal instant - before the guitar plummeted to earth, Prince swiveled electric on his heel and strode out. A foot away, this is how I will remember him always. Tear it up in Heaven Prince! Tear it up... I have no doubt you will." -- Ben Hunter, Los Angeles