Prince is one of those artists so shrouded in weirdness and enigma that it seems like there’d almost have to be a good book about him. Yet, because of his high-profile pop persona, there’s also a good market for fluffy, pointless “celeb profile” type books.
Is there a decent book about Prince out there, something that gets beyond the celeb fluff and into the meat of his albums, career, and persona?
He’s always been pretty reclusive. Rolling Stone scored quite a coup when they interviewed for a mid-eighties cover story. But he was so upset with the interview that he vowed never to do another one. I’m not sure if that still holds.
So, AFAIK, any book on him will necessarily be “unauthorized.” Not that an authorized bio would be any less weird . . .
I say rent Purple Rain. It’s my understanding that, in broad outline, it’s pretty autobiographical. Also awesome.
I don’t know of any books about Prince, but Kevin Smith had interesting things to say about his experience working with Prince. You can hear it on “An Evening with Kevin Smith”, which is a four-hour collection of excerpts from his college lecture tour. I recommend it only if you’re a Kevin Smith fan.