In 1984, Prince recorded a song called “Paisley Park” about a personal utopia – one that became a reality a few years later. And there’s a good reason why the pop superstar never left. The singer/songwriter, who died there in 2016 at age 57, is the subject of a new photo book, “Prince: Icon.
” It looks back at his decades-long career through the lens of 17 photographers, from the earliest days in his native Minneapolis to touring the world. The book was curated by Steve Parke, who was Prince’s art director at Paisley Park for several years. “He was comfortable with the area,” Parke told Fox News Digital about why Prince chose to stay in Minnesota even after skyrocketing to fame.
“I also think it kept him away from, frankly...
you go to a city like New York or LA, there are so many things that would try to pull you out,” he shared. “Instead, he wanted to focus on his creative juices in one place instead of hopping around.” “And he could afford to do that.
.. Taking the money he must’ve made.
.. and then investing it in a studio space was.
.. incredible for someone of his age.
A lot of people would be like, ‘I’m buying new cars.’ ‘I’m buying this.’ ‘I’m going to do this.
’” “He invested in himself, which I think is pretty incredible,” Parke continued. “And I do think that that was what it came down to – investing in himself, being comfortable in the area, and also knowing he wasn’t going to have a lot of temptation to go ou.