Revisit a painfully awkward interview between 19-year-old Prince and Dick Clark
By the 1980s, Prince was a household name known for his flamboyant performance style and outfits, which blurred the gender lines with unrelenting confidence. Like his predecessors, Little Richard and David Bowie, to name just a few, Prince embraced androgyny, indulging in feminine aesthetics while commanding the stage with fearlessness. This courage was reflected in his music, which traversed genres and defied categorisation, inspiring almost every pop star that came after him.
The singer, multi-instrumentalist and producer was born in 1958 in Minneapolis, and by the age of seven, he’d written his first song, ‘Funk Machine’. In 1975, he played the guitar with Pepe Williams’ band 94 East, co-writing their song ‘Just Another Sucker’. After he left school, Prince recorded a demo tape, leading him to sign a contract with Warner Bros. By 1978, he’d released his first album, For You, which was almost entirely created by Prince, with the liner notes even stating that he played every instrument.
The following year, the musician released his sophomore self-titled album, with critic Robert Christgau writing in Christgau’s Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies, “This boy is going to be a big star, and he deserves it”. Like his debut, Prince created the record entirely by himself, demonstrating his musical independence and singular artistic visions from an early age.
To promote the album, Prince appeared on the popular American music show American Bandstand to perform two tracks, ‘I Wanna Be Your Lover’ and ‘Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?’. The appearance also marked his first live television interview, with Dick Clark asking him questions about himself and the band.
Despite Prince’s future reputation as a bold musical icon, when he was 19, he appeared a lot less confident, and the interview segment of the clip demonstrates just how nervous he was. When Clark jokes, “Where did you learn to do this in Minneapolis?” Prince simply replies, “Where?” before the interviewer says, “Yeah, this is not the kind of music that comes from Minneapolis, Minnesota.” Prince only utters one word in response: “No”.
Soon after, Clark asks the singer how old he is – “19”, before asking him how long it’s been since he turned down a record deal when he was 15. Instead of using words, Prince awkwardly holds up four fingers. “You were 15 at the time. Did they think you didn’t know what you were doing?” prompts Clark. Of course, Prince struggles to find more than a few words in reply, answering with, “don’t know”.
Clark also probes Prince on how many instruments he can play, with the musician stopping to count before revealing, “Hmmm… thousands”. Although many people might perceive Prince as difficult and rude from the short clip, it’s arguable that he was incredibly nervous, even if his music suggests otherwise.
During an interview with The Star Tribune in 1980, Prince shed some insight on the awkward exchange. “That tripped me out when Dick Clark asked how I come from Minneapolis, of all places,” he said. “That really gave me an attitude. TV personalities are hard to talk to. They come out of certain bags. Music is music. A place is a place.” Clark also spoke to The Star Tribune about the incident, stating: “I’ve always said that was one of the most difficult interviews I’ve ever conducted, and I’ve done 10,000 musician interviews.”
He continued: “That’s the nature of the man. He’s an extraordinary performer and not a particularly verbose one in public conversation. Though once you’re off-camera, he’s like everybody else – very normal.”
Watch the clip below.
