Well, Prince included a decade that includes himself, of course. Mick Jagger agrees with him, but the reason being that the period coincides with a window within which the landscape of recording technology and merchandising allowed artists to vastly profit from their work on a mass market scale. With the introduction of digitization, it’s no longer possible and artists today, like in the 30s, 40s, early 50s, etc must tour and perform live to generate most of their income. Except for the infinitely small few who break through with tens of millions of video views, YouTube doesn’t provide a sustainable income.
I see how this shift has affected my daughter who is a professional singer songwriter performer.
This window not coincidentally coincides with a certain generation. The one that includes those obsessed with audiophile quality…us here on audiogon.
I agree that it’s three decades but I’d move the needle: mid 50s to mid 80s. Some good stuff in the 50s.
Anyone who thinks Prince is overrated does not know what they are talking about. Prince is by no means a personal favorite of mine, but his genius is impossible to ignore. Lyrically, maybe meh, but the music is dense, textured, complex. And he played all the instruments himself, did his own engineering, etc. A formidable talent in any generation.
I see how this shift has affected my daughter who is a professional singer songwriter performer.
This window not coincidentally coincides with a certain generation. The one that includes those obsessed with audiophile quality…us here on audiogon.
I agree that it’s three decades but I’d move the needle: mid 50s to mid 80s. Some good stuff in the 50s.
Anyone who thinks Prince is overrated does not know what they are talking about. Prince is by no means a personal favorite of mine, but his genius is impossible to ignore. Lyrically, maybe meh, but the music is dense, textured, complex. And he played all the instruments himself, did his own engineering, etc. A formidable talent in any generation.