“There is a park that is known for the face it attracts
Colorful people whose hair on one side is swept back
The smile on their faces, it speaks of profound inner peace
Ask where they’re going, they’ll tell you nowhere
They’ve taken a lifetime lease on Paisley Park
The girl on the seesaw is laughing
For love is the color this place imparts (Paisley Park)
Admission is easy, just say you believe and come to this place in your heart
Paisley Park is in your heart”
- Prince and the Revolution (1985)
On March 30, 2026, I flew out to Minneapolis with a friend to see Bruce Springsteen (see previous post). I knew the musician Prince was associated with Minnesota, and when I was preparing for our trip I was excited to find that Prince’s home/studio/office/club called “Paisley Park” was open for tours. We had some extra time to kill, so I booked a tour.
The tours are only available on certain dates and times, they sell out quickly, and they aren’t cheap. The basic “Paisley Experience” cost $75, the “VIP Experience” was $110, and the and the “Ultimate Experience” was a whopping $199. But it wasn’t hard to decide which one to choose- the only one available during our short time in Minneapolis was the VIP Experience, so I signed us up. It included a guided tour of the main floor of Paisley Park, including studios where Prince recorded, produced, and mixed his biggest hits, as well as access to the massive soundstage and concert hall where Prince rehearsed and hosted private events, and a visit to the NPG (“New Power Generation”) Club, famous for Prince’s late-night performances. The VIP tour also included access to additional content, rooms, studio areas, and a showcase of rare artifacts from Prince’s personal archives.
I first became aware of Prince in late 1982, when he released his breakthrough double album, 1999, which sold more than four million copies. It had three hit singles- “1999”, “Little Red Corvette”, and “Delirious”. It is included on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, and in 2008, the album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. The music videos for both “1999” and “Little Red Corvette” received heavy rotation on MTV, making Prince one of the first Black artists to be prominently featured on the channel. I was hooked.
In 1984, Prince became the first singer to simultaneously have a number-one film, album and single in the United States, with the film Purple Rain, the Purple Rain soundtrack, and the year’s best-selling single, “When Doves Cry”. The album, recorded with his new backing band the Revolution, spent six consecutive months atop the United States Billboard 200 chart and won the Academy Award for Best Original Song Score. It had four top 10 singles- “When Doves Cry”, “Let’s Go Crazy”, “Purple Rain” and “I Would Die 4 U”. On November 22, 1984, at the height of his popularity, Eva and I saw him at the Spectrum in Philadelphia for his “Purple Rain” tour. I’d have to say it was one of my top 5 concerts of all time. Now, here I was 42 years later, excitedly looking forward to touring Prince’s famous Paisley Park.
There were about a dozen people in our tour group, from as far away as California, Florida, and Virginia. Like us, most of them were in Minneapolis for the Bruce Springsteen show, and decided to check out Paisley Park while they were there. After going through security, the staff locked up our phones and smart watches in a security bag. Even when Prince was alive, he did not allow photos to be taken at Paisley Park. No photos, videos, recordings, food, drinks, gum, or mints allowed. No touching anything or leaning on the walls. They obviously wanted to keep the place in museum quality condition. They did mention that they would unlock our bags for the last room of the tour, where we could take some photos.
I understood the requirements, but I would have loved to have been able to take photos throughout the tour. (The pictures in this post were either from areas where photography was permitted, or from pictures I found on the internet.) The place was a sight to behold. In the main lobby, the guide gave us a great overview of Prince’s life and career. The walls had a series of doves painted on them, which were flying up to the sky. The second level had two big bird cages with actual live doves in them that you could hear cooing. Needless to say, there was a lot of purple furniture throughout.
I was familiar Prince’s music, and I knew he was associated with the “Minneapolis sound”, but I wasn’t sure exactly how the Minneapolis sound was defined. The tour guide explained that it was the unique blending of musical styles that had its foundations in the geography, demography, and culture of its namesake city. It was a subgenre of funk rock that incorporated elements of new wave and synth-pop, and was exemplified by Prince-affiliated acts, including the Morris Day and the Time, Vanity 6, Apollonia 6, Sheila E., the Family, Wendy & Lisa, and Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis. While the Minneapolis sound includes many of funk’s elements, it has several distinguishing characteristics, including synthesizers replacing horn sections, a faster rhythm accented with repeating percussive fills at fixed intervals, and a louder and more aggressive lead guitar. Compositions often incorporated orchestral string arrangements, and the “bottom” of the sound was less bass-heavy than traditional funk.
There was a wall with his awards and gold records, and one with photos of Prince over the decades, showing the changes in his hair and wardrobe style. Another hallway had an artistic mural with paintings of musicians who influenced Prince (Santana, Hendrix, Sly Stone, etc.) on one side, and with later musicians who were influenced by Prince (Morris Day and the Time, Beyonce, etc.) on the other side. There were a series of rooms where each one had a specific album theme, with clothes, guitars, keyboards, and photos from that time period. We saw his extravagant office, decorated as though he was still working there, as well as various studio rooms where songs were recorded and mixed. There was a kitchen/cafe area where guests would be entertained. We watched several videos along the way, including Prince’s interviews with Larry King and Oprah Winfrey, as well as some awesome concert footage, including Prince’s iconic performance of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” at the 2004 Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on a giant screen. Naturally, the sound in his studio and concert hall was absolutely incredible. I hated to leave.
Prince famously loved to play ping pong (see the hysterical Jimmy Fallon interview where he talks about playing ping pong with Prince). They actually had one of his ping pong tables in one of the studios, and we tourists had some time to play against each other, which was a blast. They also had his motorcycle from the “Purple Rain” film, which we could sit on and pose for pictures.
In 1993, in the midst of a contractual dispute with Warner Bros., Prince changed his stage name to an unpronounceable symbol- a hollow circle above downward arrow crossed with a curlicued horn-shaped symbol and then a short bar, known to fans as the “Love Symbol”. In part, it contained the common symbols for male and female, combined together in one image. Prince was often referred to as the Artist Formerly Known as Prince (TAFKAP), or simply the Artist. The unmistakable symbol was prominently displayed throughout Paisley Park.
Prince was a complex and controversial individual. On one hand, he was an observant religious person from childhood and throughout his life and became a Jehovah’s Witness in 2001. An abiding love of God and Jesus were recurring themes in his work, although often intertwined with romance and sexuality. A complete recitation of the Lord’s Prayer is featured in the full-length album version of his 1981 hit “Controversy.” He often penned songs with a religious theme, such as “Rainbow Children”, “The Cross”, and “I Would Die 4 U”, but is also known for explicit lyrics in songs like “Head”, “Jack U Off”, “Sister” and “Darling Nikki”. As a performer, Prince was known for his flamboyant style and showmanship. He came to be regarded as a sex symbol for his androgynous, amorphous persona and defiance of racial stereotypes. His androgynous look has been compared to those of Little Richard, Marc Bolan, and David Bowie. One thing that both Eva and I remember so well from his show in 1984 was his electric guitar that simulated ejaculation. It was known as the “Ejacucaster”. At Paisley Park they have the famous guitar on display, broken down so we could see how it was constructed. It had copper tubing along the side of the truss rod, and it terminated at the tip of the headstock. On the body side, it terminated in a compartment with a solenoid valve that connected to a tank of Ivory Liquid that would shoot out on demand, as Prince stroked the neck of the guitar. It was pretty shocking for that time. I’ve attended countless concerts in the past half-century. Some are a bit of a blur, but Prince knew how to ensure this performance would stay in our memory banks forever!
The 2 hour tour ended in a cafe where you could purchase Prince-inspired drinks and get a piece of cheesecake from his favorite bakery. And, of course, there was the obligatory stop at the Prince gift shop. While there, I bought a book called “The Beautiful Ones”. Like everything Prince, it is unique, intriguing, and artistic. Before he passed, Prince hired a writer, Dan Piepenbring, to help tell his story. They had a few meetings but then Prince died unexpectedly. Rather than complete the book himself, Dan just tells the story of how he met Prince and they started discussions on the theme of the book. After that brief introduction, the majority of the book has pages and pages of Prince’s original handwritten notes and ideas, sent to Dan for his review for the book, along with dozens of photos, doodles, and other writings. (Thankfully in addition to Prince’s handwritten notes, it includes a typed translation of his hard-to-read handwriting.) But it’s actually an unfinished book- as enigmatic as the man himself.
On April 21, 2016, at the age of 57, Prince died at his Paisley Park home and recording studio in Chanhassen, Minnesota, after accidentally overdosing on counterfeit hydrocodone/paracetamol pills which were laced with fentanyl. In his lifetime, Prince sold more than 100 million records worldwide, making him one of the world’s best-selling music artists. His awards include the Grammy President’s Merit Award, the American Music Awards for Achievement and of Merit, the Billboard Icon Award, an Academy Award, and a Golden Globe Award. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame in 2016, the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2024, and twice into the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame in 2022. He is often credited as one of the greatest musicians of his era.
I loved the tour. While I was familiar with about half a dozen of his albums (mostly from the early stages of his career), I learned that he actually recorded 40 studio albums. Needless to say, the tour stirred my interest and now I’m catching up on a lot of Prince music that I missed over the years. Paisley Park is certainly a must-see if you ever get to Minneapolis. “For love is the color this place imparts (Paisley Park); Admission is easy, just say you believe and come to this place in your heart; Paisley Park is in your heart”
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