THE ‘80s A Special Report :...

Sex and God. God and sex. It’s the best fight/fusion in pop, and few have pursued it as intensely and rewardingly as Minneapolis’ Prince Rogers Nelson. Like Jerry Lee Lewis and Al Green, the farther Prince explores that duality, the more erratic his art and the more steeped in mystery his persona become. But unlike Lewis and Green, Prince has used it as the foundation of his own musical kingdom, which ranks among the most prominent in pop music history.

The breakthrough came in 1984, as the “Purple Rain” movie made him one of pop’s most recognizable stars, and its sound-track album sold more than 10 million copies. Suddenly, the term Princely became synonymous with the whole range of contemporary funk. Even when Prince’s own record sales dipped a few years ago, it was hard to turn on the radio without hearing his sound, often in the hands of the many artists he guided (Sheila E.) or wrote songs for (the Bangles and countless others, frequently under pseudonyms), but usually in outright imitations.

Prince shrewdly baited it all with a sometimes Garbo-like reclusiveness, cloaking himself in his favorite colors (first purple, then peach), and lately hiding in a Batman-derived character more complex than Bruce Wayne at his darkest.

Always at the forefront, though, was the sexuality--ambiguous, androgynous, salacious sexuality--and, increasingly, his search for God. He’s pursued both with equal obsession, no matter how much they seem at odds. Why? Because both provide the one thing that has always driven the top artists in any field: the quest for liberation.

The Taste Makers project was edited by David Fox, assistant Sunday Calendar editor.