He may have been one of the greatest artists of all time, but did Prince Rogers Nelson actually suffer from purple pain? The year 1984 was one of the most important moments in an extraordinary career. The film’s album and soundtrack to Purple Rain topped the charts worldwide and the star embarked on a major tour, with trio Appolonia 6 and percussionist and singer Sheila E as supporting acts. Prince would often invite both to join him for up to 30 minutes of jamming sessions on songs I’m Die 4 U and Baby I’m A Star. The star rather became so taken with manager Sheila E who revealed how diminutive the diva was on her own.
David Lippert had his own music career in the late 1960s with The Happenings before moving into artist management. He was Alice Cooper’s tour manager during the bands heyday in the early 1970s and opened his own agency in 1976. He also wrote music for The Chiffons and Gerry and the Pacemakers.
Perhaps his most famous client was founding father George Clinton – who was also an idol to Prince himself. In a wonderful peek behind the velvet curtain, Libert describes how incredibly difficult it can be to have the diminutive star around, but somehow he’s made exceptions for him.
In his new book Rock and Roll Warrior, Lippert writes, “I loved Prince. He was a tough guy to deal with, but not for me.”
“He was very nice to me. Prince was very antisocial; he was awkward in social situations. He didn’t really know how to deal with people on a certain level, so he just pretended he was angry all the time. He’s kind to me because, I think, he’s not He wants to look stupid in front of me, which is amazing that Prince even cared what I was thinking.
“But I was much older than everyone else in his inner circle, and because I worked with George Clinton, that gave me some respect.
The band was over by 1975, and couldn’t find a balance when their brand began to promote Alice himself and his stage performances above everyone else.
“I started to realize there was a kind of wedge growing between Alice and the rest of the band. I’d say to them, ‘Look, let Alice be the star,'” says Lippert. It is good to work. You all make a lot of money. But they had a hard time dealing with it, and started to resent all the tricks and props on stage, which is why people came to the Alice Cooper show. The rest of the band felt that this type of music took them away from the music. It was an unbearable situation.”
But Lippert admits that it was the larger-than-life Clinton who was his biggest challenge: “If you throw anyone under the bus in this book…I suppose it would be George, as much as I compliment him on a lot of things,” Lippert explains. “Let me describe it. For you this way: When I worked with Alice Cooper I had a lot of thick hair. I’m totally bald today, and I blame George.”
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