BEST books about prince

"Wally Where'd You Get Those Glasses?"  book is unavailable for now, until further notice, HOWEVER, please see the author's interview below with Dr. Margena Christian, co-author.

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"Purple Rain" Defined an Era

Originally posted 9/7/2021 by Afriware Books.

This post details the expanding literary legacy of the artist forever known as Prince.  The books on the first list are all published in the years 2019 (because that's the year the pandemic was all we remember) thru 2022. The remaining lists include books written by Black people, Audiobooks, and finally, we share Afriware Books' closest connection to the artist through his bodyguard's interview at the store.

Years after the music giant made his transition April 21, 2016 brought a myriad of creative literary insights.  The author Toure has put pen to paper for the second time to reveal his unique perspective of “the artist formerly known as” Prince in his, "Nothing Compares 2 U."  Our first list includes one title outside of the year 2019-2022 because what list would be complete without at least one title referencing “Purple Rain.”

1. Prince:   All the Songs  Pub Date: November 08, 2022
2. Prince:  Little People Big Dreams
3. Prince:  The Last Interview
4. Prince: A Portrait of the Artist Sexton, Paul
5. Nothing Compares 2 U: An Oral History of Prince Touré ; Melvoin, Susannah
6. Prince and the Parade and Sign O' the Times Era Studio Sessions: 1985 and 1986 Tudahl, Duane ; John, Elton
7. Fame: Prince Frizell, Michael ; Lovera, Ernesto
8. This Thing Called Life: Prince's Odyssey, on and Off the Record Karlen, Neal
9. Biographic Prince Flavell, Liz
10. Prince FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Purple Reign Lizie, Arthur
    Continued Thanks: True Stories of How Prince Changed People's Lives
11. Continued Thanks Hart, Marco 't ; Adonis, Patia
12. Where's Prince?: Search for Prince in 1999, Purple Rain, jigsaw puzzle
13. Let's Go Crazy: Prince and the Making of Purple Rain

BOOKS BY AND ABOUT PRINCE BY BLACK AUTHORS

1. The Beautiful Ones
2. Nothing Compares 2 U
3. Wax Poetics Issue 50 (Paperback) includes Questlove's commentary "33 Reasons Why Prince Is Hip-Hop."
4. I Would Die 4 U: Why Prince Became an Icon
5. Diamonds and Curlz
6. Wally, Where’d You Put  Those Glasses Wally Safford - Unavailable until further notice
7. My Life in the Purple Kingdom Brownmark
8. I Wonder U: How Prince Went Beyond Race and Back Nama, Adilifu (backorder)

Audiobooks on Prince

• Prince The Beautiful Ones
• Dig if you Will the Picture
• Prince and the Purple Rain Era Studio Sessions
• Prince and the Parade and Sign O' the Times Era studio Sessions
• Prince in the Studio
• Nothing Compares 2 U
• The Most Beautiful

I remember sneaking off to see the movie. 

 knew if I mentioned where i was going to my parents directly, they’d have plenty to say about it, so instead I think I said I was going to one of my friends’ houses.  Thankfully they didn’t check because I’d completely forgotten the world while watching it.  Afterward I was in a daze and then realized very vividly why my parents would have been livid if they knew where I was.  I felt that I’d come of age after watching it.  I somehow felt older, but not so much wise, but like I’d experienced something outside of my age group.

I was happy to learn that Prince was in the process of writing a memoir to be published by Penguin Random House before his transition.  The name he chose was “The Beautiful Ones.”
He also interviewed and selected journalist Dan Piepenbring.  The two worked together for 3 months and Prince had already wrote about 50 pages himself.  Piepenbring stated in “Prince Wanted To 'Break The Mold Of The Memoir,' ...” was meant to address the music industry and injustices of racism.

Wally Safford receiving the only raffle prize of the evening which of course "just happened" to be wrapped with PURPLE colored packaging.

Prince former bodyguard, Wally Safford interviewed by Dr. Margena Christian at Afriware Books Kwanzaa event 2019.

Morris Day's brother (David Day) and sister were surprise guests at Afriware Kwanzaa event with Wally Safford and Dr. Margena Christian.

Thankfully, the part of "The Beautiful Ones" that Prince wrote himself was reproduced in full so adoring fans will get what they were clamouring for, Prince unedited.

In a 2014 interview with Arsenio Hall, Prince answered the question,, “What song turns you on no matter how many times you do it?”  Prince said that he usually just responds with “the next one” but that he really liked one he already wrote called, “Breakdown.”  It is beautiful!!!  Listen on youtube here. 

​I found it interesting to note that of all the books written in 2019-2022, only 1 was published that was written by a black person.  Because of this, I’ve added a list of books about Prince written by Black authors.

​The closest I ever got to Prince was an epic Kwanzaa event my bookstore, Afriware Books, Co hosted in 2019.  We had a crew of volunteers, and Prince’s former bodyguard Wally Safford gave the  Keynote address.  Dr. Margena Christian interviewed him and co-authored his new book, “Wally Where’d You Get Those Glasses” with  Dr. Margena Christian (author/publisher/teacher).  Sadly, Safford passed on Sept. 10, 2022 at the age of 63. 

Safford explained that his book was named after the song Prince wrote for him by the same name. Here’s the Youtube video of the song digitally remastered in 2020. Safford was a delight to listen to.  He mentioned how the "Detroit Crawl" was started from Safford being on the floor and kicking his legs.  Here's a video that features the "Detroit Crawl."  He has endless stories and anecdotal wise sayings.  His 6th and seventh senses are what he said bonded him closely with Prince.  He’d have a premonition about scenes that played out in actually life.  Safford writes that Jerome told him years after Prince dismissed him from the group that he was with Prince in his prime and that he was the closest person to Prince.

Final Thoughts

​As always, I appreciate that you have read through this blog post.  I hope that you’ve become curious to read more books about the artist known forever as Prince.  We ask that you consider purchasing your books from our Black owned bookstore, Afriware Books, Co.  If there is a title you’d like to purchase that is not mentioned here, or could not be found on the website, feel free to email us at:  [email protected]

Blog Notes

Youtube interview Author Touré Discusses Revealing New Book About Prince
Youtube documentary, “Prince: Last Year of a Legend - full version”
Youtube interview with Wally safford