Capitol NashvilleKeith Urban was in the middle of two days of interviews promoting his new album Ripcord on Thursday, when he learned that iconic pop, rock and funk superstar Prince had passed away at the age of 57.
“The very first time I saw him was on MTV, you know? ‘1999,’ I guess, was the song and the video,” the Aussie native recalled. “That period you saw so many artists come and go, one-hit wonder sort of thing, but there was something immediate about that track and about him and the way he performed. It was no surprise that that was going to be something of legend. That catalog of his is just mind-blowing,” he adds.
For students of the six-string like Keith, the artist who will forever be known as Prince means something special.
“You kind of have to ask guitar players about Prince, because most other people don’t seem to know,” he muses. “But every guitarist I’ve ever talked to knows that he was a monster on guitar. Certainly when you went and saw him live, you’re just like, ‘Omigod! That’s you! You played on the records? Omigod!’”
You can check out Keith’s own guitar-playing when his new release, Ripcord, comes out May 6.
Copyright © 2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
