I grew up in Brookline Massachusetts and listened to a ton of music in my lifetime. Some of my all time favorite memories are me listening to a wide variety of music from Michael Jackson, Madonna, Aerosmith, Tears for Fear, Eurythmics, Run DMC, John Williams, Tchaikovsky, Benny Goodman, Smokey Robinson and so much, much more.

At the top of the list for me… in my top 5 maybe even top 3 musical influences of my life is, was and will always be Prince!  The “Purple One,” dominated my mix-tapes back in the day and there are some tracks he created that are burned into my soul.  Losing Prince was devastating to me and I could go more into that, but that’s not what this is about, this is about a celebration, a celebration about him and his talent.

I was lucky enough to see Prince twice in my lifetime and each time he didn’t disappoint.  I STILL can close my eyes and put myself back in Memphis or Oakland, the two places I saw him and feel his presence and emotional energy that immediately puts a smile on my face.

Now the reason why I am waxing poetic is because I want to share something with you special… You may have seen it or maybe this is your first time?  For me this Prince performance is one of the greatest of all-time.  Not just the greatest Prince appearance, but one of the great overall performances musically on the planet.

At the 2021 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony organizers put together an all-star group of musicians to celebrate and honor the former Beatle George Harrison and had them play, “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.”  On the stage that night were, Dhani Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Steve Winwood, Tom Petty and yes… Prince.

The song starts off beautifully and as a tribute was spot on, however when Prince enters the fray, he steals the show.  His look, his performance, his solo are epic.  To this day, when I am having a moment, I’ll sneak away and listen/watch this video.  It is simply one of the best things on the internet to date and I can only imagine what it must have been like to be in the room that night.

For me what continues to make this moment even bigger are the hundreds of “Reaction” videos to this “Hall of Fame” moment.  You can Google, “While My Guitar Gently Weeps – Reactions” and watch any of them and find so much joy in how people respond to Prince. It’s not just musicians, men or women, black or white… EVERYONE who watches and lets their guard down to appreciate what is going on, has an honest and genuine reaction I personally love.

Yes, the Prince halftime show at the Super Bowl is also impressive, for so many THIS performance though, is the one that sounded the alarm for them regarding how great Prince was as a guitarist and musician, something many of us who followed him since his early  “Dirty Mind” days already knew… respected and loved.

So just a little something-something to brighten your day…Enjoy