Minnesota (Part 4)
Paisley Park
Well, it’s been 2 weeks as of today since we were actually there, but on our final full day in Minnesota, we went to Paisley Park, which is Prince’s home and recording studio turned museum.
Outside of Paisley Park
Raspberry Beret
Growing up, my grandparents had a record player in their house along with my mom and her sisters’ records. We would often play these records. One of them was Prince’s Around the World in a Day, which featured one of my favorite songs, “Raspberry Beret”. That’s the first song I learned all of the lyrics to. Did I understand the lyrics? No. But I knew them.
I always found this album cover to be kind of odd.
Tour
We had to sign up for our tour time ahead of time. We got there moments before our tour started. We had to lock up our phones so we couldn’t take any pictures. That was actually kind of nice because it allowed me to concentrate more on taking things in than worrying about what to take pictures of.
We saw his living room, hang-out spot, a couple of recording studios, his shoe room, an entire room that was dedicated to Purple Rain, that could be converted into a small basketball court, and a couple of rooms I can’t really define. We even got to play on his ping pong table that is set up in one of the recording studios.
We also got to see the ballroom where he would perform concerts or rent out to other people for concerts or filming projects. We got our phones unlocked and were allowed to take pictures at this point.
Shoes
I knew Prince was a small man, but seeing his clothes and so many of his shoes…damn he was tiny!
His shoe room was super cool. There was an entire wall of shoes on lit-up shelves. Such small shoes with heels made custom for him. And those damn heels made his hips hurt, which led him to use pain pills, which ultimately led to his death.
Recommendation
I was surprised that Paisley Park wasn’t more hidden. Its located right at an intersection of a fairly busy road. I would have thought he would want more privacy than that, but what do I know?
If you ever have the chance to go to Paisley Park, I recommend it. Even if you aren’t a huge fan. He is interesting to learn about.
