Local Prince fans pay tribute to the late musical legend



SEATTLE -- Fans in Seattle were remembering Prince as a musical icon Thursday night.

They say he was a pioneer with a unique sound that won him international acclaim, an Oscar and multiple Grammys.

When Sharon Williams heard that Prince died, she decided to throw a dance party outside the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute.

“I need to talk to people, I need to hear people's stories,” she says. “I need a hug. I don't want to cry by myself.”



But no one had tears as they listened and sang along to some of Prince’s biggest hits.

“To be able to write like he did and to be able to perform,” says Sandra Boas-DuPree, “you just don't see that.”

Within hours of his passing, fans in West Seattle bought up all the Prince vinyls at Easy Street Records.

“There’s not an artist that has encompassed so many genres of music in their own style of music,” says owner Matthew Vaughan.

It’s why KEXP didn’t think twice about devoting their airwaves to the Purple One today.

“He was a really eclectic character,” says DJ Kurt Reighley. “I think that inspired a lot of people to sort of stand up for themselves and say I don't have to conform, I can do it my way.”

Curators at the EMP agree. Today they put the cash register from the Minneapolis club where Prince filmed part of the iconic movie Purple Rain on display.

“He was really an iconoclast that kind of did his own thing and pushed boundaries in popular culture in all different ways,” says Jacob McMurray.

Williams says Prince’s individualistic spirit helped inspired her to become an artist, and that’s what she’s going to remember when she listens to his music now.

“Hold your ground, be true to yourself and you'll leave a legacy like Prince did.” She says.

Friday night, the EMP will be hosting two free screenings of Purple Rain.