BY MELISSA RUGGIERI/AJC Music Scene
MINNEAPOLIS - By his own account, Jon Bream has “books worth” of Prince stories.
And he should, considering he’s written about the pop icon for 40 years.
As the music critic/editor at the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Bream began following Prince’s career in 1976, and over the decades, their careers ran parallel – albeit with Bream’s in journalism and Prince’s in pop music domination.
“We bonded because neither one of us made the starting lineups at our high school basketball teams,” Bream, a native of St. Paul, Minn., joked about his long relationship with Prince.
Over the years, Bream visited the star’s Paisley Park compound more than 100 times, with “dozens and dozens” of them tied to late-night performances.
He’s also been on site for the four-day Celebration 2017, the gathering of fans from around the world to celebrate Prince’s music and mystique on the first anniversary of his untimely death.
Bream, who credits Prince for making Minneapolis a cool place and putting it on the map, will maintain his steadfast coverage of the deceased star.
“I have an obligation to continue to cover him and hopefully get the true story out there, because there are a lot of unanswered questions and a lot of mysteries,” he said. “There will probably always be unanswered questions and mysteries because of the kind of person he was. I feel a professional obligation, and in a sense a personal one, to get the truth out there.”
Hear more from Bream about Prince:
RELATED >>
The Revolution memorializes Prince at Celebration concert
Inside Paisley Park on the anniversary of Prince's death
Members of The Revolution reflect on Prince's death, talk tour
Prince remembered throughout Minneapolis
Prince’s estate halts release of new EP
FunkJazz Kafe founder Jason Orr talks Prince’s influence on Atlanta music
Kristian Bush talks Prince’s musical influence
Mastodon’s Brann Dailor talks “Purple Rain”
Follow the AJC Music Scene on Facebook and Twitter.
About the Author
