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00:00♪ So tonight I'm gonna party like it's 1999 ♪
00:07Tonight, he's rocked, he's shocked, and he's been
00:11telling us to party like it's 1999 for 17 years.
00:17The artist formerly known as Prince is our guest
00:20of Music World Original, next on Larry King Live.
00:24We're back in New York tonight, never know where we are.
00:36This is our Millennium Month on Larry King Live.
00:38Tomorrow night, a tribute to Frank Sinatra,
00:40who, he would have been 84 years old this Sunday.
00:42We'll replay an interview tomorrow.
00:43And among the guests next week will be Ted Turner
00:46and Peter Jennings and Jim Carrey and President
00:48Gerald Ford and President Bill Clinton.
00:50That's all next week.
00:51It's a great pleasure to have with us tonight
00:53the artist formerly known as Prince.
00:55His first album in three years has just been released.
00:58It's called Rave Unto the Joy.
01:01Fantastic.
01:02There you see the cover of the CD.
01:05And for the artist, the obvious first question is,
01:08why three years?
01:10Well, there's a few things I wanted to get out
01:12of my system, mainly the Crystal Ball project,
01:16which was a reissue of a lot of the bootlegs
01:21that have been coming out all over the world.
01:23I'm probably one of the most bootlegged artists
01:25out there.
01:26I wanted to clean that up and get the real good
01:29mixes out and let people hear what they're really
01:32supposed to sound like if ever given the chance
01:35to complete them.
01:37So that's the reason for this space of time.
01:40Yeah.
01:41We did a couple other projects.
01:43I was working with Chaka Khan.
01:45I did an album with her, Larry Graham.
01:49She's terrific.
01:51What can an artist do about bootlegging?
01:55The best thing you can do is go back and get
01:59those mixes again and fix them up the way you
02:03always saw them completed and then reissue them.
02:08Does the listener know if they buy one of these
02:11in Germany that this isn't what you intended?
02:16A lot of my so-called fans do.
02:21They actually thrive off the fact that it's
02:26stolen property.
02:28You would admit yourself an unusual personality.
02:34Depends.
02:35Well, let's say you're different.
02:38As compared to what?
02:39As compared to most people in, let's say,
02:41show business, you're an unusual person.
02:43Most people don't get famous with one name
02:45and then change it.
02:47Right, would you say?
02:48What's the story of that, by the way?
02:50Well, I had searched deep within my heart and
02:56spirit and I wanted to make a change and move
03:00to a new plateau in my life.
03:02And one of the ways in which I did that was
03:04to change my name.
03:05It sort of divorced me from the past and all
03:08the hang-ups that go along with it.
03:10This was, as it's been well chronicled,
03:15in deep dispute with my record label.
03:19Which is Warner Brothers, right?
03:21Yeah.
03:22Which owns this network, I might add.
03:24Oh, they do?
03:25Yeah.
03:26We had some issues that were basically about
03:31ownership of the music and how often I was
03:34supposed to record and things like that.
03:37We got along otherwise.
03:39We just came to a head in those types of situations.
03:45So there was no clash over what you would record
03:47or what kind of music you were singing, etc.?
03:49No.
03:50None of that?
03:51No, no creative issues whatsoever.
03:53And they were gracious enough to allow me
03:55a very wide palette to put colors onto.
04:00But about the highest risk one would think
04:02someone who gets famous would take is to drop
04:05the name that got them famous.
04:08Well, that was one of the things that I dealt with
04:11is that I really searched deep within to find out
04:17the answer to whether fame was most important to me
04:20or my spiritual well-being.
04:23And I chose the latter.
04:25Was it difficult to not be what you had become known as?
04:33You mean...
04:34I think, well, let's say a famous...
04:36A famous person I know who did this was Cassius Clay.
04:38He's a dear friend.
04:39And he changed his name to Muhammad Ali
04:41as heavyweight champion of the world.
04:43It was incredible to change your name.
04:45That was due to a faith belief.
04:47But he wasn't selling records.
04:48He was in the ring, and as long as he won, it sold.
04:51You, though, a person in show business,
04:53is almost dependent on recognition.
04:56You stopped being Prince.
04:58Well, I...
05:00That's a good point.
05:01I pretty much wanted to be dependent upon God.
05:05And when you get the inner calling to do something
05:09and you know that you're being inspired by God,
05:13you pretty much know you better answer that call
05:17or suffer the consequences.
05:18Do you think this was God-inspired as well?
05:20I do believe, yes.
05:22Why, then, did you choose the artist formerly known as?
05:25Well, I didn't choose that.
05:27That was chosen.
05:28Chosen for you.
05:29Yeah, pretty much.
05:30What would you have chosen?
05:32I...
05:33I mean, did you think of a name?
05:34What is your name at birth?
05:35My name at birth was Prince Rogers Nelson.
05:38So did you think of Nelson?
05:40No.
05:41Rogers.
05:42No.
05:43Were you thinking of a name?
05:44No, it didn't come to me like that.
05:45So how did the artist formerly known as come about?
05:48Well, that came up through people's problem with,
05:54mainly the media's problem with
05:57not having a pronunciation for the symbol.
06:00So they had to come up with something, I guess.
06:02So the artist formerly known as is a media invention.
06:05Yes, sir.
06:06Not your invention.
06:07No, sir.
06:08You're a symbol.
06:09Okay, how do you promote a symbol?
06:12Well, what we found is throughout the world,
06:17if you hold this up and show it to people,
06:20what they think of, they will say Prince.
06:24Obviously.
06:25Yeah.
06:26So you obviously made it famous.
06:27Yeah, I think so, yeah.
06:29Could you tell us what it signifies?
06:31Me.
06:32No, but I mean how you chose it.
06:34You designed it?
06:35It's sort of come about over time.
06:39I've always morphed the female and the male symbol together.
06:45Show it again. Let me see that.
06:51Yeah, and it works.
06:52It's pretty cool, ain't it?
06:54It makes for great jewelry, too.
06:56Has it been copied?
06:58Oh, yeah.
06:59Do stores sell this everywhere?
07:01Well, a lot of times you'll find, like I say,
07:04so-called fans on the Internet,
07:07which is kind of a problem sometimes
07:10because once they use the symbol,
07:12it's as though I've endorsed whatever it is that they have for sale.
07:18Can you copyright that?
07:20It is copyrighted.
07:21So you can't be ripped off by it?
07:23No.
07:24We've been showing it on the bottom of the screen
07:26so that people tune in, they know who we're watching here.
07:28There it is. Look at that. See that?
07:30Now, all right.
07:31That's cool, right?
07:32It's a class act.
07:33Hey, this is CNN, man. We don't fool around.
07:36We'll be right back with the artist formerly known as Prince.
07:39We're going to talk about his album, His Extraordinary Life.
07:41We'll be taking your phone calls as well.
07:43He's got a concert coming up,
07:45and the album Rave Unto the Joy Fantastic is now out.
07:49Don't bootleg it, buy it.
07:54We're back with the artist,
07:55and the new album is Rave Unto the Joy Fantastic,
07:58and he now calls himself the artist.
08:00In print, however, it is just a symbol.
08:02We gave him the name.
08:03He wanted to trace his early life, an incredible story.
08:06But you live in Spain, right?
08:08I like to say that I live in the world, but I'm not of it.
08:12I travel a lot.
08:13I call Spain home now.
08:16I also have a home in Minnesota.
08:18Still in Minnesota?
08:19Yeah.
08:20Roots?
08:21Yeah.
08:22Why Spain?
08:24What I found that I like most is from 2 to 5,
08:30everything just shuts down.
08:32Siesta?
08:33Yeah, siesta.
08:35Everybody just chills,
08:36and they take a moment to just gather their senses.
08:39I think we probably need to do that here in America sometimes.
08:44So at 2 o'clock every afternoon, you stop doing whatever you're doing?
08:49There's no stores and shopping and things like that.
08:54All that shuts down
08:55and just allows everybody a chance to just regroup and think about life.
09:01Do you still have a fondness for Minneapolis?
09:03Oh, absolutely.
09:05What was it like growing up there?
09:07There aren't many blacks in Minneapolis.
09:09I was talking to Dave Winfield the other night.
09:11There was about 1% maybe.
09:13Yeah.
09:14It was interesting for me because I grew up getting a wide array of music.
09:23I grew up with Santana and Larry Graham and Fleetwood Mac,
09:28all kinds of different things.
09:30So that was very cool.
09:33Good place to grow up?
09:34Yes, sir.
09:35Well, you had a rough childhood, didn't you?
09:38In some respects.
09:40Did that affect your music?
09:43I don't think so.
09:45I think it probably helped me to look inside to know that I had to do for self.
09:55You had a rough time with parents.
09:56I mean, that's all resolved now, but you had a rough time with your father, right?
10:00I wouldn't call it rough.
10:01I mean, he was a very strict disciplinarian, but all fathers were.
10:10I learned the difference between right and wrong.
10:14So I don't consider it so rough.
10:17Would you look back and say you were glad he was that way?
10:20Well, you know, as I go through this journey, I don't look back much at all.
10:27I try to stay in the now and live in the now.
10:30I think it keeps you young.
10:32So you're not a reminiscencer?
10:34No.
10:35When did you—
10:36Is that a word, Larry?
10:37No, I invented it.
10:38Maybe it's my new symbol, inventing words.
10:41It's hipper, brother, so I know.
10:43I like to learn, but you know.
10:45Good point.
10:47When did you decide music would be a career?
10:52Well, I learned early on this was what I wanted to do, maybe about 12 years old.
10:59I knew that this is what I'd want to do the rest of my life.
11:02You knew it then?
11:03Yeah.
11:04And what burst you on the scene?
11:07How did the world get to know Prince, the then Prince?
11:11Well, by the way, I'm still Prince.
11:15I use a different sound for my name, which is Nun.
11:21But it's hard not to refer to you.
11:22It's hard to call you, oh.
11:24It's cool.
11:25Your understanding of this plight we are faced with.
11:28Oh, yeah, no problem.
11:31What was the question?
11:32The question was—
11:34Good.
11:35You threw me.
11:36I forgot the question.
11:38What was the question?
11:40I just asked the question.
11:41I forgot the question.
11:42You were saying how much you loved live television.
11:45Yes.
11:46That wasn't the question.
11:48No, the question was how did you get famous?
11:50How did you, how did the world get to know you?
11:53What happened?
11:54Was it a record, an appearance, something?
11:58It started with a lot of appearances I was doing in and about Minneapolis.
12:03And word just spread about—
12:05So you were a local then?
12:06Yeah, what I could do.
12:08And then I was taken out to Los Angeles by my first manager, whose name escapes me.
12:16And other people started getting to see what I could do.
12:21And then did you have a hit record?
12:23No, we were just talking about making one right at that point.
12:27And what burst it for you?
12:29What did it for you?
12:30The song?
12:31Yeah.
12:32The song was called Soft and Wet.
12:34And that immediately became a hit and you were known?
12:39Quietly.
12:41But a lot of people knew about me because I used Stevie Wonder as an inspiration,
12:47whom I look up to a great deal,
12:51for the way that he crafted music and his connection to the spirit.
12:58And boy, back then I used him as a role model in trying to play all the instruments
13:07and be very self-contained and keep my vision clear.
13:11So word spread very quickly about what I could do.
13:14A lot of people knew about it, yeah.
13:16How would you describe your music?
13:21What idiom would you put it in?
13:24The only thing I could think of, because I really don't like categories,
13:27but the only thing I could think of is inspirational.
13:29And I think music that is from the heart falls right into that category,
13:33people who really feel what it is that they're doing.
13:37And ultimately all music is or can be inspirational
13:46and that's why it's so important to let your gift be guided by something more clear.
13:52And the thing is, you think you know where that gift comes from.
13:55Oh yeah, absolutely.
13:57We're going to talk about that in a minute.
13:59We're going to see as we break.
14:01Here's a portion of a video from that brand new album,
14:03Rave Unto the Joy Fantastic.
14:05Our guest is the artist. Watch.
14:08The greatest romance
14:14Ever been so
14:19Oh, I know you feel me
14:22I know that you can dance
14:25But what do you know about
14:27The greatest romance
14:29Not what you think, but what you believe
14:32What was the real reason that Adam never left Eve
14:36If the truth sounds like a memory
14:38Then you know it was meant to be
14:41Leave your inhibitions behind
14:44Come on, come on and see
14:47This is where you end it
14:50This is where you end it
14:55By the way, all those things that you just saw, the videos they do,
15:00you do in your own studio in Minneapolis, huh?
15:02A good portion of it.
15:03We don't think of L.A., Nashville, all these hot spot New York places.
15:06Minneapolis gets it done, too.
15:08Minneapolis has always been the bomb.
15:10You don't have to go outside of that.
15:12Where does your inspiration come from?
15:16I like to believe that my inspiration comes from God.
15:19Did you always believe that?
15:23No, as you grow older, you learn and you start to
15:33you get smarter, yeah.
15:35Because you were once kind of raucous, right?
15:38I mean, right?
15:39You would say you were not anti-spiritual.
15:42You certainly would not think of you as a great believing soul.
15:46Well...
15:47True or not?
15:48No, I don't believe that to be true.
15:50Always were.
15:51Oh, I've always known that God was my creator
15:55and that without him, nothing works.
16:03It works to a point and then it just kind of deteriorates.
16:07Entropy takes place.
16:09When bad things have happened to you, do you blame him?
16:12Absolutely not, no.
16:14How do you resolve it in yourself?
16:17I learn from it and I don't wallow in it.
16:21I don't spend time in a place.
16:23I let myself move on.
16:27Right today, I could sit and say I have animosity towards...
16:33A crooked company.
16:34Yeah, a company that owns the rights to my work.
16:38They're businessmen.
16:39They're doing what it is that makes their business successful
16:43and I'm also allowed to do things that make my business successful
16:47and for me, that would be to own my work.
16:49So I just chose to step away from that
16:51and knowing that, I sent a nice letter to the president,
16:55then president, because they changed a lot weekly during that time
16:59and I told him that I loved him
17:01and that I was glad that I had this experience.
17:05So you would say, even though we don't like to look back,
17:08that dispute turns out now to be an experience that worked for you.
17:13Well, I think my understanding of it is what worked for me.
17:21I don't consider it proper that my creations belong to someone else.
17:27I can go up to a little kid on the street and say,
17:30do you know that I don't own Purple Rain?
17:33And they're appalled by that.
17:35So my understanding of it is what pretty much...
17:39Do you still not own Purple Rain?
17:41No, I'll have to re-record it to own a new master copy of that.
17:46We've done that with the song 1999.
17:48There's a new master recording of it.
17:51I want to ask you about that and how you looked ahead.
17:541999 came out in the early 80s.
17:57We'll be right back with the artist formerly known as Prince.
18:00We'll be including your phone calls at the bottom of the hour.
18:02Don't go away.
18:04I know you're going to do a pay-per-view special the year 2000.
18:08It's going to air New Year's.
18:10You say that's the last time you're ever going to play 1999, right?
18:13Yes, sir.
18:14Tell me the origin of that.
18:16What were you thinking in 1980?
18:18What was it, two?
18:201982 I wrote that.
18:23We were sitting around watching a special about 1999,
18:28and a lot of people were talking about the year
18:31and speculating on what was going to happen.
18:35I found it real ironic how everyone that was around me,
18:40whom I thought to be very optimistic people,
18:44were dreading those days.
18:47I always knew I'd be cool.
18:50I never felt like this was going to be a rough time for me.
18:55I knew that there were going to be rough times for the earth
18:59because this system is based in entropy
19:02and it's pretty much headed in a certain direction.
19:07So I just wanted to write something that gave hope.
19:14What I find is people listen to it,
19:17and no matter where we are in the world,
19:20I always get the same type of response from them.
19:23Dick Clark just rated it one of the ten great songs of the millennium.
19:27Great records of the millennium.
19:29Do you think it would be as one prophetic as it was
19:32and as successful as it was?
19:35Not to sound arrogant, but there was a point during rehearsal
19:38we were working on it,
19:40and the song was going to be sung in a three-part harmony
19:45like a Sly and the Family Stone song.
19:52We all got together and we started singing it,
19:54and it wasn't really working.
19:56So what I did is I said,
19:58I'll sing the first part, and you sing your harmony for the second part,
20:01and I'll sing my harmony for the third.
20:03When that breakup happened like that
20:05and everybody got their parts separated,
20:08then I knew we had something real special.
20:10Are you surprised at how long it has been around?
20:14Well, I've been around a while.
20:16But I mean, now 1999 is here. Were you right?
20:20Well, when you listen to the music,
20:22there are a lot of people running around kind of Y2K-ing it,
20:25and we're just kind of chilling and studying it.
20:28Were you worried about Y2K?
20:29No, sir.
20:30Not at all?
20:31No.
20:32Some computer's going to go wrong, you'll fly.
20:34I don't worry about too much anyway.
20:36You don't?
20:37No.
20:38Did you ever?
20:40When you had disputes,
20:41arguments with record companies, taking a stand,
20:44were you a worrier?
20:46No, I think once I started writing Slave on my face,
20:49I pretty much knew the outcome.
20:52And you have to understand that that word on one's face
20:57pretty much changes the dynamic of any meeting that you're in
21:01when they see it.
21:02And how did people react to you when they did see it?
21:05Well, the record company didn't really say too much.
21:10They just kind of...
21:16All right, what's the business at hand today?
21:19And that was it.
21:21We'll take a break and we'll come back with the artist,
21:24the artist formerly known as Prince.
21:27You got a concert coming up?
21:28Yes, sir.
21:29Where?
21:30It's going to be from our soundstage at Paisley Park.
21:33You need to come.
21:34When is it?
21:35It's going to be off the chart.
21:37Well, it's going to be on the 18th.
21:41Why do we have to, we can't announce when it is?
21:44No, because it's going to air on...
21:46Oh, it's going to air, I see.
21:48For a secret, I feel like I'm doing the old game show.
21:51We'll be right back with the artist formerly known as Prince.
21:54Don't forget the concert, it's on...
21:56Don't go away.
21:58This pay-per-view concert will air New Year's Eve for only $19.99.
22:02It's as low as you get in pay-per-view.
22:04And you can order it from In Demand.
22:06A lot of guest stars in this too?
22:08Oh, yeah, I just spoke with Lenny Kravitz,
22:10he's going to come jam with us.
22:12We got Maceo Parker, Larry Graham, the Family Stone.
22:16We're trying to get Sly out of his crib, so he'll come down.
22:22Who else? Mavis Staples.
22:24She's going to do a couple of numbers.
22:26The great Larry Graham's going to join us at the end of the show.
22:28He's maybe the great bass player in the world.
22:30Certainly one of the best.
22:32Well, if you ask me, that's it.
22:35Legends live.
22:37You are now, what, 42 years old?
22:40So they tell me.
22:41Do you feel 42?
22:43No, I don't count birthdays.
22:45You don't celebrate them either?
22:46No.
22:47No happy birthday, though?
22:48No.
22:49Right, okay.
22:50Let's take a call, St. Louis,
22:52for the artist formerly known as Prince.
22:54Hello.
22:55Hi, how are you?
22:56Hi.
22:57Good.
22:58I've been a friend since 78.
23:00My favorite cut on the Rave album is So Far, So Pleased.
23:03And I wanted to know, what inspired you to add this to Rave?
23:06Because it seems like it's really different from the rest of the cuts.
23:09So I just wanted to know.
23:12I think my love of rock music,
23:17and living in Minneapolis,
23:19I'm always going to have my guitar in the mix somewhere.
23:23And the chance that I got to work with Gwen Stefani,
23:28I wanted something that she sounded really cool on,
23:30so I put that on there.
23:32Has a lot of music affected you?
23:34Do you like jazz music?
23:36Oh, yes, sir.
23:37Miles Davis, I learned a lot from.
23:39I learned a lot about space from Miles.
23:41Space is a sound, too,
23:43and can be used very inventively.
23:46He was also technically a great player, was he not?
23:49So they say, yeah.
23:51The Purple Rain concept, autobiographical?
23:56Semi, yeah.
23:59Albert Magnoli wrote the script for that.
24:03My whole thing was to,
24:05I really wanted to chronicle the life I was living at the time,
24:08which was in an area that had a lot of great talent
24:13and a lot of rivalries.
24:17The Time and I, I forgot to mention,
24:19they will be on the pay-per-view special.
24:21You've got to see them now.
24:22They're crazy.
24:24So I wanted to chronicle that vibe of my life.
24:28Were you surprised at its success?
24:33Just kind of pop as maybe you weren't.
24:34Maybe you knew you had something.
24:36Well, you can kind of get a feel.
24:38There was no movie out like that at the time.
24:41That's what I tend to do in all the things that I do.
24:45The idea with art and inspiration
24:48is to try to let it grow and move forward.
24:51If there's stagnation, you can always come with something
24:54and cut through the maze.
24:55So do you sense that you're different in that regard?
24:59Certainly you're unique.
25:01Yeah, my music, I think, is different, yeah.
25:03Cambridge, hello.
25:04Hello.
25:05Hi.
25:06Hi, what a pleasure it is to see you
25:07in an interview situation.
25:08What a pleasure to be seen.
25:10He doesn't do many.
25:11I know, I know.
25:12It's great.
25:13I'm having a great time watching this.
25:15I'm a huge fan, and I have been for a long time.
25:19Since you've been called Prince
25:20and the artist formerly known as
25:22and the artist and the symbol,
25:24and I can't help but wonder,
25:25what do your friends call you?
25:27What do your closest friends call you?
25:28Good question.
25:29Meet you on the street.
25:30Okay, what do they say?
25:32Let's see.
25:33Larry calls me baby brother.
25:36Mighty calls me honey.
25:40Let's see, my enemies call me squiggle
25:44and all kinds of crazy.
25:47What do you call your, let's say you call me.
25:52Hello, what do you say?
25:54This is who?
25:56I don't say that too much.
25:58What would you say?
25:59You must make some, do you ever call anyone?
26:01Very seldom.
26:02I don't like telephones.
26:03You don't?
26:04No.
26:05So it's rare that you hit a button and dial a number.
26:09Usually the people I call are people that I'm close to,
26:14and they know my voice.
26:16What does Mighty call you?
26:18Honey.
26:19She never really called me Prince.
26:21She never, even when you were Prince?
26:23Yeah, she never used that.
26:24There she is.
26:25How is she doing?
26:26Oh, perfect.
26:27She is in Spain?
26:28No, she's in Miami now.
26:31She's visiting her mother.
26:33So on the Purple Rain thing, you could say you expected it,
26:37not surprised that it went as well as it did.
26:41I expected it, I think, because there was, like I said,
26:45there was nothing like it at the time.
26:48And if only for Morris Day's performance,
26:51I thought he was incredible in it.
26:55When it came to music, we were at a very good place musically.
27:00Right today, I feel like I could put together something
27:05equally as interesting, and it would be as successful
27:10if the right people are getting paid.
27:13That may sound strange, but this is a business,
27:17and when people are involved in it, you have successes.
27:21And I understand that.
27:23I knew there would be times where records wouldn't sell as much
27:26when I got away from those particular people,
27:28but I was cool with that because success pretty much
27:31is what you make it to be.
27:32So you're saying then you do need the suits, so to speak.
27:36It depends on what you gauge success to be.
27:40What do you? Is financial your gauge word?
27:43No, not so much, because once I do the music,
27:47it's a success there.
27:49I mean, that's it for me.
27:51On the selling tip, for example, if an album goes down the chart,
27:56that isn't something I can control.
27:58I just did the music.
28:01But you want people to tune in New Year's Eve,
28:04you'd like to have a lot of people call in demand
28:06in order to see you.
28:07You're an artist, you want to be seen.
28:09Yes, but if it's an auditing situation where I don't know
28:13how many people are actually tuning in,
28:16that's not something I can control.
28:17They can actually say anything to me, right?
28:20Correct.
28:21And you have to go trust.
28:24That's why contracts don't work.
28:26They're not based in trust.
28:28Do you therefore, have you lost,
28:30even as a spiritual person, lost trust in people?
28:34Oh, no, no. I've lost trust in contracts.
28:36I don't believe in contracts.
28:38Do you have a contract for the pay-per-view night?
28:41Or a shaking hand?
28:43I'm not certain. I can go check.
28:46But you're not into them?
28:47I'm not into them, really.
28:49Our guest is the artist.
28:50We'll be back with more phone calls at the end of the program.
28:52We're going to meet the great bassist, Larry Graham, as well.
28:55Yay!
28:56Sorry.
28:57The is applauding.
29:00He never calls anybody.
29:02Hello? No one's here.
29:06We'll be right back with more phone calls.
29:08If we take two or three more, we'll break a record here.
29:10Don't go away.
29:15A lot of people were telling me today,
29:16I was just telling the artist,
29:17boy, you're going to have the artist on for now.
29:18It's going to be very hard, of course.
29:20He's very hard to talk to.
29:21Now, you're not hard to talk to.
29:22Where did this reputation begin, that you are difficult, do you think?
29:26You're not hearing it here for the first time.
29:29Probably where all reputations begin.
29:32I think the media plays a big part in one's perception of me.
29:39Until one sits down and actually talks to me,
29:42they can't really know me.
29:44Well, should you have been more public?
29:46Should you have done more of things like this?
29:51No, I kind of did what I wanted to do.
29:54I wanted my music, as even now, to speak loudest for me.
29:59But you're not uncomfortable here, are you?
30:01No, not at all.
30:02But the reputation is that you would be.
30:05How do you fight that other than by counteracting it?
30:10I don't think in terms of fighting.
30:16I don't think that you win anything by fighting.
30:20I'm the type of person that likes to look at things for exactly the way they are.
30:26Do you get angry?
30:29You're a perfectionist musically, right?
30:31You must get angry then.
30:33I use my anger with humor.
30:38I have a way of being very stern, but I always find the irony in it,
30:43and I always make it funny.
30:45I make it funny for myself and the person that I'm...
30:48So the person you're directing at is not humbled
30:50or made to feel less than a human.
30:54Well, no one can make you feel anything.
30:56You pretty much are going to fall in there if you aren't spiritually based.
31:01How do you handle that aspect of the media
31:03which has often given you trouble, the tabloids?
31:06I don't have trouble with anybody.
31:09Do you read them?
31:10No.
31:11Do you hear about them?
31:12Very seldom.
31:13Do you think any part of a personality's private life is our business?
31:19Do you think your marriage is our business?
31:22Well, you know, I'm like this.
31:26My music is my music.
31:28That's pretty much what you come to the party for.
31:32Naturally.
31:33If I give you something else, that's me giving you something else.
31:36If you seek something else,
31:37then there's something inside of you that's lacking, I would think.
31:41So I think that personal actually means personal.
31:46But do you wonder why the public wants to know?
31:50Don't wonder.
31:51Are you interested in the personal lives of other people?
31:55See, Michael Jordan?
31:58Yeah, are you interested in Michael Jordan?
31:59You're a big fan of Michael Jordan.
32:00Big fan of Michael Jordan.
32:01Are you interested in how his marriage goes?
32:03No.
32:04No.
32:05Interested in how he gets along with his children?
32:06Nope, no.
32:08I'm just interested in how he gets along with that ram.
32:13Well said.
32:14We'll be back with more of the artist formerly known as Prince.
32:18This is Larry King Live, Ted Turner Monday.
32:20Don't go away.
32:26We've got New Year's Eve, special with the artist on pay-per-view.
32:30Before we take a break and meet Larry Graham,
32:32let's take another call.
32:33Houston, hello.
32:34Hi.
32:35It's a pleasure to talk to you, sir.
32:37I've always known you to be a spiritual and God-loving person,
32:43and I've always respected that in your music.
32:46I've known that you've always thanked God on every one of your CDs,
32:49and that has inspired me all my life.
32:51I love God myself.
32:52Well, that's why your inspiration is becoming a bitch.
32:55I can't.
32:56We lost that what?
32:59I'm sorry, we lost the call.
33:01I can finish it for him.
33:02What was your earliest inspiration, she's asked.
33:08I was discussing this with Larry today.
33:10We were just discussing the word inspiration
33:14and where we think it originated from.
33:20Ultimately, if you go back, your father may inspire you,
33:26and then your father, his father inspired him,
33:32and his father may have inspired him.
33:35Eventually, we get to Adam.
33:37Eventually, Adam had a father.
33:41Inspiration comes from God.
33:43That's the original source.
33:45To use your gift in a creative fashion,
33:47that's the best thing you can do.
33:49We're going to take a break and come back,
33:51and we'll be joined to finish the program
33:53by one of the great bassists of all time.
33:55That's the bassist with the artist.
33:57The great Larry Graham will join us right after this.
34:02You'll see the artist in a great concert,
34:04an all-star concert on New Year's Eve,
34:06and in that concert will be his bassist,
34:08the great Larry Graham.
34:09How did you hook up with this?
34:11Why are you part of the concert?
34:14We got a new name.
34:16Wait a minute now.
34:18What are we going to call it?
34:20Go to media again.
34:22Okay, you name it.
34:24Tune in for what?
34:26How did you hook up?
34:27Raven to the Joy 2000.
34:29How did you hook up with him?
34:31Well, actually, just let me say something right quick
34:34before we get into that.
34:36Thank you for having me on the show,
34:38and I've watched many of your shows,
34:40and I think you're a great person.
34:42The picture you just showed me, your little baby,
34:44just blew me away.
34:45Congratulations on that.
34:46Little chance.
34:47Yeah, but thanks for having me here.
34:49I've watched many of your shows,
34:50and I think you're wonderful.
34:52So I thought about what am I going to wear?
34:54So I think I'll let Larry King inspire my attire.
34:57This is my Larry King look.
34:59The King look.
35:00But we're close on time,
35:01so tell me how you got together with him.
35:03We were in Nashville,
35:04and I was playing a concert at the smaller venue,
35:06and baby brother was playing the concert at the larger venue,
35:09and he found out I was there, called me,
35:11and said, hey, we're going to have a jam session
35:13tonight after the show.
35:15Would you like to come?
35:16And so I went, and we walked into the club.
35:19My wife reached in her purse
35:21and got my fuzz pedal and my cards.
35:23That love.
35:26And hooked me up,
35:27and that was the first time we got a chance to play together.
35:30And that night we said everything that we never got a chance to say
35:34to each other over the years.
35:35We talked through our music.
35:37And when that night was finished,
35:38I knew so much more about him,
35:40and he knew so much more about me,
35:42and we connected from then on.
35:44And after that, you know, he said, well,
35:46I'm going to be going on tour.
35:47Would you join me?
35:48And we did one show, then another show,
35:50and then another show.
35:51How important is the bass?
35:52Oh, man.
35:53The bass is, that's it.
35:55It's B-A-S-S-E, not B-A-S-S.
35:58That's a fish.
35:59B-A-S-S-E.
36:01Yeah, good point.
36:02How good is he?
36:03No, man, he's taught me so much about respecting one another,
36:08musicians listening to one another,
36:11and just the sound of his bass, it's undeniable.
36:15How good?
36:16What are you putting in your jacket?
36:17You're cold, huh?
36:18Yeah, it's cold.
36:19It's cold in here.
36:20This is above and beyond.
36:21It's Purple Heart Night.
36:22I don't want my voice to start shaking.
36:24Forget Purple.
36:25We're almost out of time.
36:26How great is he?
36:28Well, I'll tell you this.
36:30The greatest musician that I've worked with,
36:33because I've worked with other musicians that were great,
36:36but they didn't allow me to really have the freedom
36:41that I needed to be able to give them all that I could give them.
36:46With Baby Brother, he allows me the freedom to give all that I can give,
36:51and as a result, what we're doing now, when you hear it,
36:54you can see that it's coming from the heart,
36:56which is why we're touching hearts.
36:57Unselfish.
36:58Totally unselfish.
36:59Great pleasure meeting you.
37:01I'm honored and widowed.
37:02I'm going to show you this ring, folks.
37:04Put the ring up there.
37:05Look at that ring.
37:07It says Graham.
37:08That's in case I forget my name.
37:09I know it's a diamond.
37:10And thank you, little brother.
37:13Baby Brother.
37:14Baby Brother.
37:16We hope you enjoyed tonight's edition of Larry King Live.
37:18We certainly did.
37:19Thanks for joining us.
37:20We're going to leave you with a nice shot here.
37:21Watch.
37:23War is all around us
37:24My mind is just prepared to fight
37:30So if I've got to die
37:31I'm going to listen to my body tonight
37:36Days of 18 to 2000
37:38Somebody always had a time
37:44So tonight
37:45You'll find I can't stop tonight
37:49Days of 18 to 2000
37:51Somebody always had a time