# Prince Dead at 57 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** celebrity-death\ **Created:** [April 21, 2016, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-dead-at-57/752828 "2016-04-21T16:54:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2016, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-dead-at-57/752828/81 "2016-04-23T06:12:52Z")
Earlier today I read an article that indicated Prince had developed a problem with chronic hip pain and had become a heavy user/abuser of Percocet, and that during his brief hospital stay after his plane had made an emergency landing early last Friday he was given a “save shot” to counteract the effects of an opioid overdose, and Percocet is an opioid drug. I’d been doubtful that Prince had died of a drug overdose because he often spoke about how he didn’t take drugs, but it’s likely he had recreational drugs in mind and didn’t really consider pain medication to be drug use in the normal sense. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2016, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-dead-at-57/752828/82 "2016-04-23T10:53:18Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > If the stories are true, his emergency landing a few days ago (less than an hour from his planned destination) was to get a shot of Narcan. I’m assuming the ‘he has the flu’ was just a cover for that and probably wouldn’t have been questioned otherwise. If he had a seizure on the plane they might have done the same thing, then let him go a few hours later because post-seizure it’s not always necessary to keep someone in the hospital. He could have had a panic attack. He could have had an allergic reaction to something (I know from personal experience that they don’t always keep you after they get one of those under control). We don’t really know what happened on the airplane, and we don’t know what happened at the hospital. > [@](#): > > I really don’t want to believe it was drug related either, but at the moment it seems to be heading in that direction. It’s headed in that direction because someone started some rumors and ran with them. Not because of any actual proof. > [@](#): > > Hopefully, if it is drug related, it’s turns out to be that he OD’d because he was in so much pain (but we may never know that) or he just had a reaction to the drugs or combination of drugs he was on. Maybe after the scare on the airplane he took himself off the drugs and had a complication due to withdrawal. Withdrawal from something like Percocet (which seems to be the leading rumor) is extremely unlikely to cause death. Can we kill that notion already? Drug reaction is more likely IF it was drug-related at all, or an accidental overdose IF it was drug related at all. > [@](#): > > All we know is that we’ll know more in a few days or weeks when we have the ME’s report. But my guess is that if it was something not drug related the ME wouldn’t be keeping quiet until they got the tox screen back. I mean, if he had an aneurysm or the flu/pneumonia got him, I’d guess they’d mention that today even if they said they were still waiting on tox reports. No, actually, they _don’t_ have to mention that. Eventually there will be an official death certificate but Prince is just as entitled to medical privacy as anyone else. They could have found evidence of some disease-related process but unless it’s actually connected to the cause of death no, they don’t have to announce it. It’s none of the public’s business. The statement was that there was no trauma, so he wasn’t murdered, and there’s no indication it’s a suicide, so it wasn’t self-murder. Other than that we got nuthin’ It’s possible we will _never_ know - I had a nephew who laid down for a nap at the age of 24 and never woke up and the autopsy could find no cause of death. He just stopped. _Maybe_ a heart arrhythmia or something, but those doesn’t show up on autopsy. At all. > [@](#): > > Again, for the record, I’d really like it to not be drug related, but the emergency landing the fact that OD’d on Percocet just a few days ago is making hard to think otherwise. Please provide PROOF that he “OD’d on Percocet just a few days ago” or stop spreading such a rumor. Honestly, people, wait for all the official reports to come in. Nothing is served by that sort of wild speculation. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2016, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-dead-at-57/752828/83 "2016-04-23T11:58:07Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > If he had a seizure on the plane they might have done the same thing, then let him go a few hours later because post-seizure it’s not always necessary to keep someone in the hospital. He could have had a panic attack. He could have had an allergic reaction to something (I know from personal experience that they don’t always keep you after they get one of those under control). We don’t really know what happened on the airplane, and we don’t know what happened at the hospital. > It’s headed in that direction because someone started some rumors and ran with them. Not because of any actual proof. No one said ‘seizure on the plane’ but you. Official word is that he OD’d on the plane and had a Save Shot at the airport in IL. Doctors wanted to keep him for 24 hours be he left anyways. There is actual proof. Did you do any homework before you claimed there wasn’t? > [@](#): > > Withdrawal from something like Percocet (which seems to be the leading rumor) is extremely unlikely to cause death. Can we kill that notion already? Withdrawal from opiates/opioid can cause both seizures and vomiting. People that vomit, especially while seizing can inhale the vomit and choke to death…it’s one of the ways you can die while withdrawing. I’m not making this stuff up, I actually looked these things up before I wrote them. And it’s hardly ‘a notion’ it’s just something I tossed out there, christ. > [@](#): > > Drug reaction is more likely IF it was drug-related at all, or an accidental overdose IF it was drug related at all. [What’s your point?](http://www.tmz.com/2016/04/21/prince-walgreens-death/) > [@](#): > > Please provide PROOF that he “OD’d on Percocet just a few days ago” or stop spreading such a rumor. > **[Prince -- Percocet Triggered OD Days Before Death](https://www.tmz.com/2016/04/22/prince-od-percocet-death/)** > > Prince had OD'd on Percocet days before his death, and he ingested so much, EMTs had to administer a "save shot" at the airport where his plane made an emergency landing to save his life. > [@](#): > > The statement was that there was no trauma, so he wasn’t murdered, and there’s no indication it’s a suicide, so it wasn’t self-murder. Other than that we got nuthin’ If anyone is jumping to conclusions here, it’s you. I really doubt either of these things is the case, but please provide PROOF that he was not murdered or killed himself before making any such statements. In other words…back off. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2016, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-dead-at-57/752828/84 "2016-04-23T13:40:55Z")
I’ve watched this a dozen times since Thursday — [Prince, Tom Petty, Steve Winwood, Jeff Lynne and others -- "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" - YouTube](http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6SFNW5F8K9Y) ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2016, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-dead-at-57/752828/85 "2016-04-23T13:41:48Z")
I can’t believe the thread has gone on this long without anyone linking to the Charlie Murphy vs. Prince basketball game from Chappelle’s Show. [So I’ll do it.](https://youtu.be/5GgED4bfhds) ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2016, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-dead-at-57/752828/86 "2016-04-23T13:48:09Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > I’ve watched this a dozen times since Thursday — [http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6SFNW5F8K9Y](http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6SFNW5F8K9Y) That’s the performance that really made me realize how good Prince was. Before that (as a child of the 80’s/90’s and not that into music) he was just that weird guy that did some weird stuff on stage and sang in a really high pitched voice. Anyways, for those of you that don’t know, that was at a R&R Hall of Fame Induction and that performance was a tribute to George Harrison. That kid next to Tom Petty is George Harrison’s son. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2016, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-dead-at-57/752828/87 "2016-04-23T14:12:27Z")
> [@Catamount](#): > > I can’t believe the thread has gone on this long without anyone linking to the Charlie Murphy vs. Prince basketball game from Chappelle’s Show. [So I’ll do it.](https://youtu.be/5GgED4bfhds) That’s a story I have been laughing about with folks as we discuss this. When I was in the 80’s, the only musicians that mattered, to me, were Prince and Peter Gabriel. I was a young, stupid, suburban college graduate working in Silicon Valley. I ended up rooming with an African American running buddy (ah, the clubs in San Franciso in the 80’s. DNA Lounge, DV8, the one where you danced over the plexiglass covered swimming pool. Good times). I remember him playing Dirty Mind and I just _got_ it. Played the grooves off that record and all of Prince’s music since. Understanding Prince’s music and talent was part of breaking out of my “suburban classic rock” music mindset and I will forever be greatful. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2016, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-dead-at-57/752828/88 "2016-04-23T14:16:57Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > That’s the performance that really made me realize how good Prince was. Before that (as a child of the 80’s/90’s and not that into music) he was just that weird guy that did some weird stuff on stage and sang in a really high pitched voice. > > Anyways, for those of you that don’t know, that was at a R&R Hall of Fame Induction and that performance was a tribute to George Harrison. That kid next to Tom Petty is George Harrison’s son. It really is stunning. You don’t get to see very much footage of Prince playing an instrument. You kind of know that “he plays all the instruments,” but actually seeing him pick up a guitar like its a plaything and just hurl it around and make it cry with what seems like almost no effort at all … just stunning. He makes Tom Petty smile when he leans backwards off stage. Dhani Harrison has a huge grin. Prince gives a slight Mona Lisa smile, flings his guitar into the crowd, and struts offstage, leaving Steve Winwood, Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty, and George Harrison’s son in a cloud of pixie dust. When Prince was on stage, there were no other rock stars. (I haven’t figured out who else was playing in the band, particularly who was playing the lead guitar parts before Prince took over for the solo.) ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2016, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-dead-at-57/752828/89 "2016-04-23T14:28:03Z")
I can’t recall who did the lead guitar fills on the RRHoF version of While My Guitar…before Prince steps in. Because it kinda doesn’t matter! 😉 Here is a link to the Acoustic Guitar Forum thread where a dealer posts a link to FB where someone has posted an acoustic mini-set from Prince. Of course he is playing a Purple acoustic: [8-Minutes of Acoustic Magic from Prince - The Acoustic Guitar Forum](http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=427188) Such an amazing player. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2016, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-dead-at-57/752828/90 "2016-04-23T14:31:14Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > (I haven’t figured out who else was playing in the band, particularly who was playing the lead guitar parts before Prince took over for the solo.) Took some googling, but it appears to be [Marc Mann](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Mann), I’m not familiar with him. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2016, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-dead-at-57/752828/91 "2016-04-23T14:48:00Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Took some googling, but it appears to be [Marc Mann](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Mann), I’m not familiar with him. Kind of feel sorry for him - “and then Prince will come in” - oh fuck. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2016, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-dead-at-57/752828/92 "2016-04-23T15:11:12Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Took some googling, but it appears to be [Marc Mann](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Mann), I’m not familiar with him. Cool! Thanks! Now I want to know who’s playing most of the keyboard parts, because especially at first it didn’t seem like Winwood was playing all that much—it was whoever the guy was next to him. And of course the percussionists and drummers. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2016, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-dead-at-57/752828/93 "2016-04-23T15:24:14Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Cool! Thanks! Now I want to know who’s playing most of the keyboard parts, because especially at first it didn’t seem like Winwood was playing all that much—it was whoever the guy was next to him. And of course the percussionists and drummers. And the other guitarist between Dhani Harrison and Prince … ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2016, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-dead-at-57/752828/94 "2016-04-23T15:27:00Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > That’s the performance that really made me realize how good Prince was. Before that (as a child of the 80’s/90’s and not that into music) he was just that weird guy that did some weird stuff on stage and sang in a really high pitched voice. > > Anyways, for those of you that don’t know, that was at a R&R Hall of Fame Induction and that performance was a tribute to George Harrison. That kid next to Tom Petty is George Harrison’s son. By the way, I can’t figure out what Prince is doing when he uses his right hand to lift the body of the guitar away from him. What’s going on there? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2016, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-dead-at-57/752828/95 "2016-04-23T15:29:44Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Cool! Thanks! Now I want to know who’s playing most of the keyboard parts, because especially at first it didn’t seem like Winwood was playing all that much—it was whoever the guy was next to him. And of course the percussionists and drummers. The drummer is Steve Ferrone from The Heartbreakers. Organ/pianos are Billy Preston and Stevie Winwood. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2016, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-dead-at-57/752828/96 "2016-04-23T15:30:56Z")
Ah, Billy Preston! I should have been able to figure that one out. ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2016, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-dead-at-57/752828/97 "2016-04-23T15:36:08Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > Such a powerful creative force, so suddenly, totally unexpected… > > …and to be perfectly honest, generationally too damn close. > > [Today GM placed this in various print and online media outlets.](http://stmedia.startribune.com/images/1vettead042316.jpg) [Cakewrecks did a great tribute as well.](http://www.cakewrecks.com/home/2016/4/22/from-the-baker-formerly-known-as-prince.html) ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2016, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-dead-at-57/752828/98 "2016-04-23T15:36:22Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > By the way, I can’t figure out what Prince is doing when he uses his right hand to lift the body of the guitar away from him. What’s going on there? Around 4:30? Not sure. Coulda been anything from an aborted trick (playing behind his head or with his teeth) to just trying to adjust how it was laying on his body. He didn’t appear close enough to any speakers to be going for any kind of amp induced feedback. If I had to guess, I’d guess he was just trying to adjust the strap. There’s a few times just before and after where he moves it around as well, just not quite as much as that. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2016, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-dead-at-57/752828/99 "2016-04-23T15:37:36Z")
After being in a state of shock for the last day and a half, I finally cried this morning. Prince was not supposed to die this young. I was expecting him to be 100 years old and still looking like he was 35, and laughing at us mere mortals for aging due to our meat-eating lifestyles. I was expecting him to be still cranking out music 30 years from now and it still be stuff that has me solemnly nodding my head like Billy when “The Kid” has his moment of redemption playing Purple Rain. I was expecting my kids to attend his fucking concerts and listening to his music and knowing the words to his songs better than me. Now, I worry they will only see him as some old dead guy that was a superstar back in the 1980s (which will be ancient times for them). I don’t even care what killed him. I don’t really want to know at this point. All I know was that this is a devastating loss to the world. There will never be another icon like Prince. Never. He was the one person on the planet who could be forgiven for every personality flaw he had (which were exceptionally numerous and in some cases, straight up ridiculous) because he was so gifted musically. And he wielded so much charisma he could’ve been very dangerous if he’d been an evil politician, but fortunately for humanity, he channeled that talent into his stage presence. Damn, getting teary-eyed again. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2016, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-dead-at-57/752828/100 "2016-04-23T15:43:33Z")
You just made me cry. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-dead-at-57/752828.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-dead-at-57/752828.md?page=6)