Like when any other legendary musician dies, several tributes have been made in Prince’s honour after his untimely death last week at age 57.

Not only was Prince Rogers Nelson a singer, songwriter and performer, but he was also an extremely skilled guitarist. Due to his masterful showmanship, it was easy to forget that he was one of the greatest guitarists in any music field, thus making him very underrated as a musician.

Over a wide range of styles including funk, rock and blues, he knew his way around a guitar fretboard like the back of his hand, and effortlessly delivered beauty and passion through his music. He relied on intuition to make the notes he played match the music he wrote, driven from feel and emotion.

By the time he was 20, Prince was already recording one-man solo albums. He has also been credited for the invention of the Minneapolis sound, as well as the restoration of funk during the post-disco period in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. Initially, Prince was inspired by artists and composers such as Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Wonder, Miles Davis and the Beatles, as well as soul and RnB legends including James Brown, Larry Graham and The Jackson 5. As clear as his influences were, Prince remained unique, and is now considered to be one of the incredible and legendary one-man orchestras, along with his influences.

Some of Prince’s top guitar solo numbers include “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”, “Purple Rain”, “Let’s Go Crazy”, “I Wanna Be Your Lover”, “When Doves Cry”, and “Controversy”, as well as some of his covers and collaboration performances including Radiohead’s “Creep” and his performance of “American Woman” with Lenny Kravitz and “Superstition” with Stevie Wonder.

During these solos and more, Prince’s fingers danced across the guitar, producing such mesmerising and passionate sounds that even when he made any “errors” they sounded good, proving that he could truly be considered the king of the guitar, and thus one of the most underrated guitarists of all time.

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Music for everyone
SOPM HQ
Delancey Campus
St Sampsons
Guernsey
GY2 4HS
Registered in Guernsey
Company No. 57800
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