Eric Clapton was once asked how it felt being the greatest guitarist in the world. His reply? "I don't know. Ask Prince."
Prince's death at age 57 has seen an outpouring of grief around the world. The pop pioneer influenced many in his almost 40-year career.
"We won't see his like ever again," music blogger Simon Sweetman told Mark Sainsbury on RadioLIVE this morning.
"He was a pop star, a huge giant pop star -- but what was quite a rarity in that field is that he was also a musician's musician. Quite often pop stars are just a pretty face, a nice voice and set of pictures and some great songs that other people wrote for them; but he was a multi-instrumentalist who composed songs for other people, as well as for himself."
One of his biggest hits was 'Nothing Compares 2 U' by Sinead O'Connor. The Irish singer is yet to comment, but other singers and celebrities have.
"I am deeply shocked to hear of Prince's passing," said Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger.
"Prince was a revolutionary artist, a great musician, composer, a wonderful lyricist, a startling guitar player but most importantly, authentic in every way. Prince's talent was limitless. He was one of the most unique and talented artists of the last 30 years."
Brian Wilson, the brains behind the Beach Boys' biggest hits who knew a thing or two about the studio, lamented Prince's "young age".
"Musically, he could do it all: sing, play, arrange and produce. Love & Mercy. [sic]"
Indie star Neko Case focused on how Prince inspired young artists, much in the same way David Bowie -- who died in January -- did.
"It makes me shiver when I think of all the people who might not have found the bravery to make art if it weren't for Prince and Bowie."
In an all-caps blog post, R&B singer Frank Ocean explained why he couldn't say "rest in peace" because Prince was "bigger than death".
"He was a straight black man who played his first televised set in bikini bottoms and knee high heeled boots, epic," wrote Ocean. "He made me feel more comfortable with how I identify sexually simply by his display of freedom from and irreverence for obviously archaic ideas like gender conformity… A vanguard and genius by every metric I know of who affected many in a way that will outrun oblivion for a long while."
Duran Duran's biggest chart success, the album Rio, came in the same year Prince hit the bigtime with '1999'.
"Sad news today - Prince is gone," tweeted the group's singer Simon Le Bon.
"Music has lost a great presence. A world less funky. I don't want to believe it."
1980s pop star Gloria Estefan said Prince was "a musical juggernaut that knew no boundaries", while rapper Lil Wayne referred to him as "God Prince".
Chuck D said the "Earth is missing a note", and there was nothing to do but "play".
Prince's fame spread far beyond the music world, or even that on which we walk -- NASA tweeted a purple nebula to honour 'His Purpleness'.
Newshub.
