Yesterday we reported on Tuesday night’s Prince concert in Tempe, Arizona which featured a guest spot from legendary Sly and the Family Stone bassist Larry Graham. Well, Prince returned to the Marquee Theatre again last night and once again Graham emerged to jam with The Purple One.

Larry Graham teamed up with Prince and 3rdEyeGirl to perform a reggae version of Joy In Repetition off The Purple One’s Graffiti Bridge LP as well as the Sly and the Family Stone classic Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) on Wednesday night. You might recall that Graham, Prince and 3rdEyeGirl performed Sex Machine and Sing A Simple Song on Tuesday. As we mentioned, Prince is extremely litigious when it comes to video, so while there’s nothing on YouTube from either night, you can watch Prince sit in with Larry Graham’s band in 2010, which is somehow still on YouTube, above.

Here’s last night’s setlist thanks to Dr. Funkenberry…

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Thanks to his work laying down the grooves in Sly and the Family Stone, bassist Larry Graham influenced generations of musicians who followed in his footsteps. Graham has a long history of performing with Prince and is even said to have introduced The Purple One to his current faith – Jehovah’s Witnesses. Last night the pair collaborated once again when Graham sat in with Prince and 3rdEyeGirl at the Marquee Theatre in Tempe, Arizona.

[Photo by @serpan99]

Graham first emerged in the middle of Prince and 3rdEyeGirl’s set for takes on Sly and the Family Stone classics Sex Machine and Sing A Simple Song. The legendary bassist also helped out on Prince’s Alphabet Street during The Purple One’s Sampler Set. Outside of the Graham appearance, Prince and his all-female backing band mixed new material with classics such as I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man and Purple Rain. We’d hip you to videos, but this is Prince – he’d just take them down.

Check out the full setlist from last night thanks to Dr. Funkenberry…

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When Prince appeared on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon earlier this month, the talk show host mentioned that The Purple One would be embarking on “West Coast Tour.” This morning we’ve got some details on Prince’s West Coast jaunt thanks to members of his 3rd Eye Girl backing band who revealed the info on a Dr. Funkenberry podcast.

Prince and 3rd Eye Girl will play a total of 28 shows at smaller venues in seven West Coast cities between April 15th and May 8th. The Purple One also has a number of European festival appearances set for this summer. Here’s the full list of Prince tour dates…

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Legendary performer Prince and his perfectly coiffed afro visited NBC’s Late Night with Jimmy Fallon last night, where he performed his new single (Screwdriver) along with a song from his second album (Bambi) backed by his all-female 3rd Eye Girl ensemble.

In Fallon’s introduction of Screwdriver he mentions Prince will kick off a West Coast Tour starting in mid-April which was news to us. If you missed last night’s episode, we’ve got you covered. Watch Prince and 3rd Eye Girl perform Screwdriver and Bambi…

Late night talk show host Jimmy Fallon and the drummer in his house band, Questlove of The Roots, have never hid their love for legendary performer Prince, so we can only imagine how excited they must be that The Purple One will appear on Friday night’s episode of Late Night.

Prince is slated to perform two songs on Friday and we’re hopeful that not only will The Roots back him, but that the singer will also appear in a skit or two.

As previously reported, impresario Michael Dorf is putting together a tribute to Prince that will be held at Carnegie Hall on March 7th. Today, a number of additional acts set to join house band The Roots in performing at the event have been revealed. Elvis Costello, Amos Lee, D’Angelo, Bhi Bhiman, Citizen Cope & Alice Smith, Princess (feat. Maya Rudolph and Gretchen Lieberum) and Sandra Bernhard will join previously announced acts Blind Boys of Alabama, Bilal, Booker T, DeVotchka, Living Colour, Madeleine Peyroux, The Waterboys and Talib Kweli in covering The Purple One at the iconic venue.

Also of note, Prince collaborators Eric Leeds, Wendy Melvoin, and Suzannah Melvoin will augment The Roots as the house band. As with previous Dorf-produced tributes, all proceeds will go to charity. This year’s beneficiaries are the American Symphony Orchestra’s Music Notes, Church Street School of Music, Young Audiences New York, FIKS (Fixing Instruments for Kids in Schools), Little Kids Rock and the Center for Arts Education. Tickets are on sale now.

[via Pitchfork]

Legendary performer Prince has recently launched a new website at http://20pr1nc3.com that he’s loading up with fresh content slowly but surely. There are nine spaces on the site that almost seems like an Advent Calendar of sorts and so far three of the boxes have been filled.

One of the boxes features links to the new album by The Purple One’s latest protege, Andy Allo. Another box contains a trailer for what appears to be an official release of Prince’s performance at the 2009 Montreux Jazz Festival, while the third is a lyric video for his new single Screwdriver. Screwdriver has a rock edge we haven’t heard from Prince in quite some time and shows he’s still capable of producing and recording killer tracks. Check it out…

In what should come as a surprise to no one considering Questlove’s well-known love for The Purple One, The Roots have signed on as the house band for the Prince Tribute that will be held at Carnegie Hall on March 7th. The benefit concert is part of a series of annual tributes put on at the legendary venue by impresario Michael Dorf.

In addition to The Roots a number of other bands have been announced for the tribute. Blind Boys of Alabama. Booker T, DeVotchka, Living Colour, Madeleine Peyroux, The Waterboys and Talib Kweli will all perform at the event. More bands will be announced soon. Tickets are currently available now.

Early each year impresario Michael Dorf  puts together an impressive lineup of acts to pay tribute to a legendary rocker or rock band for a benefit concert held at NYC’s iconic Carnegie Hall. Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Elton John, R.E.M., Neil Young, The Who and The Rolling Stones have been feted at past sold-out Carnegie shows. For the 2013 event, the 20+ as-of-yet-unnamed acts will honor the music of Prince on March 7th.

So far, the nine installments of Dorf’s shows have raised over $700,000 for music education programs that benefit underprivileged youth. “Prince is one of the most prolific songwriters in my collection,” says Dorf in a statement, “and he makes my Top 10 when I think about the artists who have truly shaped modern music. In re-listening to his repertoire I realized how relevant, amazing, and danceable his work is. Carnegie Hall is going to party!”

Tickets are available now at carnegieprince.com. Who would you like to see on the bill for the March 7th performance and which of The Purple One’s classic songs should they play?

• Previously: Videos From This Year’s Rolling Stones Tribute

While Prince’s three-night stand in Chicago may have gotten off to a rough start on Monday, he came through in big ways on Tuesday and Wednesday. At Wednesday’s United Center finale, Prince was joined by Janelle Monae and saxophone legend Maceo Parker at various points during the 135 minute performance. Later, at the House of Blues after-party, both Parker and Monae sat in at various points during that 120 minute set.

Monae had been announced as the warm-up act for the United Center finale and treated fans to a brief set before Prince took the stage with his New Power Generation. Maceo sat in on Cream and returned for Joy In Repetition as well as the Glamorous Life that brought the show and run to an end. Monae shared vocals with Prince on Take Me With U. At the House of Blues, Maceo came out for a brass jam while Prince backed Monae on a series of Janelle’s songs.

United Center Setlist:

Set: Controversy, Lets Go Crazy, Delirious, 1999, Little Red Corvette, Take me With U (with Janelle Monae), Raspberry Beret, Cream (with Maceo Parker), Cool/Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough, Joy in Repetition (with Maceo), The Ryde Dyvine, Let’s Work, Extralovable, U Got the Look, Everyday People, Mountains, Dance Electric, Purple Rain

Piano Set: How Come You Don’t Call Me Anymore/Do Me Baby/I Wanna Be Your Lover

Encore: The Bird/Jungle Love/Love Bizarre/Glamorous Life (with Maceo & Ledisi)

House of Blues Setlist:

Set: When Stars Collide, We’re A Winner > I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You) > Satisfied > I Don’t Want Nobody To Give Me Nothing > Housequake, People Pleaser, Brown Skin, Brass Jam (w/ Maceo), Electric Lady (w/ Janelle), Unidentified Janelle Monae Song(s) (w/ Janelle), Tightrope (w/ Janelle)

[Setlists via Prince Vault]

Prince has brought his act to The Windy City this week for three performances at the United Center which were each followed by aftershows at the more intimate House of Blues. The week got off to a rough start for The Purple One whose set at the United Center on Monday was marred by sound issues. Then, at Monday’s aftershow, Prince wound up not playing a note for those who had stood around for hours awaiting his arrival. Prince said the police shut down the show, while the cops said a 4AM curfew was agreed upon beforehand.

Obviously those in attendance at the House of Blues on Monday were pissed off and according to Time Out Chicago started yelling “we’ve been had!” and “we want refunds!” To Prince’s credit, he did actually show his head on Monday and explained his side of the situation. Now, after more apologies, Prince will offer free tickets to tonight’s show at the United Center to those who attended the aftershow on Monday. Not only that, by all accounts last night’s performances at both the United Center AND House of Blues were fantastic. Jennifer Hudson even sang Nothing Compares 2 U with Prince on Tuesday at the United Center.

For those who attended Monday’s show, head to Dr. Funkenberry for more details on how to get your free ticket for tonight’s performance at the United Center.

Prince, aka The Purple One, wasn’t content to play three shows at Chicago’s United Center next week, so he’s added three after-party shows at the more intimate House of Blues in The Windy City on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Billed as “The Official Purple After Jam,” these sure-to-be-special performances are scheduled to begin at 11:59PM each night. Tickets just went on sale via Ticketmaster, so go get ‘em as we bet they’ll sell out quick.

Last night at Brooklyn Bowl, comedian/actress Maya Rudolph, vocalist Gretchen Lieberum and The Roots teamed up for a set of Prince classics. Rudolph and Lieberum, who go by the name PRINCEss, were clearly living out a dream and seemed to relish every moment.

A number of videos from the performance have surfaced so far via Brooklyn Glutton…

First, here’s the ensemble’s take on Purple Rain…

PRINCEss w/ The Roots – Purple Rain

Next, check out the group’s versions of Controversy and Dirty Mind…

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The Purple One is getting ready for his three-date Welcome 2 Chicago residency at the United Center on September 24th – 26th and has prepared by visiting The View and unveiling a new song yesterday.

The track, which debuted on Clear Channel radio stations, sounds straight out Prince’s hey day and borrows some synth lines from 1999. Check it out…

And watch Prince’s appearance on The View…

[via Consequence of Sound]

[Originally Published - October 11, 2011]

Whenever I tackle a song by The Beatles for Cover Wars, I like to head on over to see what Alan Pollack has to say on the song’s topic and the in-depth musical analysis he provides on his website, a must-bookmark site for any Beatles fan or musician. The absolute basics: Released on The White Album, written by George Harrison and Eric Clapton guests on lead guitar.

This Cover Wars has been a long-time coming as I have started compiling it at least once in the past but did not complete it as there is such a large number of exceptional covers of the tune. But today, I present to you these 14 covers of While My Guitar Gently Weeps.

The Contestants:

Artist: Jake Shimabukuro
Album: Gently Weeps
The Skinny: Leading off this week is ukelele extraordinaire Jake Shimabukuro who consistently wows audiences everywhere he plays. Shimabukuro’s cover is well known and is the inspiration for his 2006 album Gently Weeps.

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There are no shortages of live performances from Shimabukuro of this song on YouTube with multiple clips having 1,000,000+ YouTube views. This one is the most popular, shot in New York City’s Central Park:

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