“The Artist Formerly Known As Prince”

Hey Steve, I’d like to learn more about your experience working with the late Prince on “Muppets Tonight” – back when he was simply “The Artist FKA…”, or O(+>. From what you remember, how did it feel to meet him in person?  What exciting moments, funny stories, favorite memories, or even challenges went down behind the scenes?  How hard was it to avoid saying his “real” name around him (,lol)? Also, if you don’t mind sharing, how and when did you become a fan of his music (…favorite Prince album/song)? Naturally, the image of the “Purple Rain” film’s White Cloud guitar and the same-named title song’s gripping, otherworldly intro (and solo!) come to mind as I write this…Looking forward to your response – Thanks!  Saba Khan

I first recall becoming aware of Prince around the time I joined “The Muppets”, after being introduced to his music by a friend.  Remember this would have been during the early ’80s, a far more ‘conservative’ era, especially in the south where I was based.

Prince felt a little like the ‘bad boy’ version of Michael Jackson.  Michael was initially more well known and popularized, and Prince was more cult and underground at the time.  That made knowing Prince’s music more socially dangerous and, therefore, much cooler!  I have searched online for a quote from the time, but cannot find the source for who said, ‘1980 was the year every white teenage boy wanted to be black or gay…“.  Obviously an exaggeration, but Prince certainly contributed to opening the eyes of white male youth to ‘black’ and the feminine side of males. 

“1999” happened as Prince gained more notoriety and popularity, and it played regularly as a part of my playlist of favorites during those years, especially “Little Red Corvette” and the title track, “1999”.  That timeframe also netted what is maybe my favorite album of Prince’s work, “CONTROVERSY”, and the title track is one of my favorites of his songs.  I sincerely think that those two albums are brilliant.  The style was new and novel for the times, a sound that I, for one, hadn’t heard prior.  The tracks were filled with lyrics that were true to the album’s title, controversial.

 

It was during our “Fraggle Rock” years when the “Purple Rain” phenomenon happened. I loved the music, and recall equating the film to a feature length music video.  I was able to get two tickets for Jim (Henson) and me to go to the “Purple Rain” concert as it passed through Toronto, but at the last minute Jim had to cancel, so on the day of the concert I asked Phil Balsam (who wrote all of the wonderful music for “Fraggle Rock”) if he would like to go in Jim’s place.  

The thing I remember most about that concert is that it was the first time I ever wore earplugs when listening to loud music.  The volume was so loud that it sounded like an inaudible ‘splattering’ noise with nothing being distinguishable, and wearing high-grade earplugs made it only barely possible to make out what the band was playing…truly uncomfortable!

While in Toronto, we were all staying at the Yorkville ‘Four Seasons’ Hotel, and the next morning to my surprise I wandered downstairs to the lobby just at the moment when Prince’s band, “The Revolution”, were all checking out of their rooms and heading for the airport.  I spoke to them briefly, saying who I was and telling them how much I enjoyed their work and the concert the night before.  They were all very gracious nice people who loved the Muppets! 

Fast forward ahead about fifteen years, and we’re all in Los Angeles shooting “Muppets Tonight”.  When we heard that  had been booked to be a guest on the show we were told some guidelines we had to follow, things like ‘don’t get too close to him on set between takes’, ‘don’t talk to him directly’, ‘don’t look him in the eyes’…The whole scene was set up to make sure no one had any contact with him other than just doing our work.

One of the first things we did on every episode was to go into the studio the day before shooting began and pre-record any musical numbers for the show, but for this one we were told that we would be recording the night before we started shooting the next day.  That was really unusual, and besides breaking all kinds of union rules, it meant being fully rested and ready for the first day of shooting with a guest star wouldn’t quite  happen.  

But, none-the-less, due to ’s schedule, that was just how it had to be.  He would be arriving from the east coast very late in the day and would come straight to the recording studio.  Incidentally, over the years it was not uncommon for musicians to want to start work in the evenings and go all night, sort of the opposite of a standard production schedule.  We all waited as it got later and later into the evening, our energy slowly dissipating, but still enthusiastic about working with our guest star.  And, finally, he arrived with a small entourage.

Physically,  Prince was a petite person with a rather perfectly proportioned frame.  One of the first things I remember noticing about his appearance was how precise his dark facial hair was trimmed as though it was drawn on his skin like a graphic tattoo.  He was very reserved and quiet, keeping anything he had to say to a minimum with the subject matter being primarily about the work we were doing at the moment.  Even though he was seemingly ‘all business’ I tend to suppose that working with the Muppets was something he chose to do because he thought it would be fun, and he maintained a reserved smile in his eyes throughout his time with us.

One thing I found over the years is that there is nothing in this world like the feeling of being in the presence of a musical star as they perform their own hit music.  Elton John, Lady Gaga, Debbie Harry, Paul McCartney – whoever – it’s like going to a private concert and being in the wake as they generate an enormous energetic force around them through their performance, literal ‘vibrations’ felt within my body.  It can be a truly spiritual experience to be in the presence of an artist doing what they are so good at doing.  

Prince was no exception.  I always considered him to be one of the most talented musicians and song writers ever, and I can only imagine that for someone like Prince to hear their music “Muppetized” through our character’s voices must take a little getting used to.  But, there we were, standing side-by-side with him as we added background vocals to his lead tracks, and trying to adhere to the ‘speak only when spoken to’ mandate…

The next day we began shooting the episode.  As was usually the case, we would come onto the set, do a rough rehearsal without the guest star (who would be in hair & makeup) to find the problems that needed to be solved, and the crew would set things up while I did my own private rehearsing going over the scenes to come.  So, the point is that we generally had no real contact with the guest star on the morning of the shooting day until everyone walked on set to do final rehearsals before shooting.  

That meant the mystique surrounding Prince continued right up to the moment he entered the stage.  But by the end of the first scene together it was clear that he was willing to have a good time.  Despite any preconceived notions he loosened up and laughed along with us in every moment as we shot the show.  This lead to a bit of a risky overture as the day went on.

Normally, a guest star would leave the stage between shooting scenes and go to their dressing room trailer. But after a rehearsal for an upcoming scene there was a particularly long reset, one of those meant to be quick that turned out not to be, so Prince stayed on set.  He was seated in a director’s chair right in the middle of all the hubbub, alone and quiet doing nothing, with the crew moving around him while giving him a wide berth.  

As per the norm, Dave Goelz and I were grazing around the craft services table and both noticed this odd scenario, a guest star seemingly being ignored.  I remember our saying that this distance was so NOT the atmosphere of a Muppet set.  So, we took a chance and approached him.  As we broached a ‘how’s it going’ conversation, out of the corner of my eye I caught sight of several cast, crew, and producers noticing our approach with horror on their faces – ‘did they not get the memo?!?!’.  

I can’t recall the words that were spoken between the three of us in that moment as we began making small talk, but what I do recall is that Prince was more than gracious, and completely willing to engage in conversation.

Later that day, Dave and I found ourselves under a grand piano with two puppets for “She Gave Her Angels” as Ƭ̵̬̊  sat at the keyboard.  This piece had a complicated lighting set up that took a lot of tweaking, so the three of us, once again, found ourselves together for an extended period of set up time.  Even with the previous icebreaker between us, Dave and I still tried to make some effort to respect giving the guest star some space.  So, we sat there a little isolated from the distant noise of a busy set, with a massive concert grand piano-on-risers barrier between us, Dave and I in the Muppet “basement”, Ƭ̵̬̊  noodling on the piano waiting on the “ground floor” above – talk about a private concert!

But after only a few minutes of hearing frilly variations on the intro of the song to come, there was a familiar double octave , ‘Dah, dah, dah, DUM’ – ‘Dah, dah, dah, DUM’ – ‘Dah, dah, dah, DUM’, ‘Dah, dah, dah, DUM’, ‘Dah, dah, dah, DUM’.  It was the well known riff from “The Adams Family” theme song, just about as polar opposite from “She Gave Her Angels” as a tune could get!  That became our invitation to laugh and begin another on-set conversation about life.