San Francisco music community mourns death of Prince

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- From the Hard Rock Cafe to the Bay Area, fans are remembering Prince after he died at his home in Minnesota Thursday morning.

The tributes and testimonials poured in when fans heard the news that one of the greatest musical artists of all time passed away.

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Fans gathered at his home to remember the music superstar and it was no different in the Bay Area where fans saw him perform recently in Oakland. In San Francisco, Prince held early morning post concert parties and sang in more intimate venues.

Among the mourners, is Sterling James from 102.9 KBLX. She was sad and nostalgic. "I just met him, I just met him," she said.

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James is a huge fan and plays a lot of Prince on her show. "Dearly Beloved" in fact was her wedding song. "I've seen him 30 to 40 times since 1986 to just a few weeks ago," James said.

James was emcee for his show at the Great American Music Hall on O'Farrell Street in San Francisco.

After an Oracle performance in the early morning hour, Prince sang there. "The set he put on was funky, fun. He was bathed in purple light," Great American Music Hall House Manager Tricia Powell said.

Powell was the house manager at the Great American Music Hall that night. "He had shoes that light up, but he seemed normal," Great American Music Hall Production Manager Scott Singh said.

Singh was in charge of production.

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The two said Prince was cool, super nice and he kept the night sweet and simple. "It turned out it was just Prince, his keyboard and a microphone. He didn't have his own sound guy. He didn't have a lighting guy," Singh said.

To his fans, Prince was supposed to be immortal. He was eclectic, a musical innovator. "He was funk. He was pop, he was rock. He melted those all that together in a way that really no one had until he came on the scene," San Francisco Giants Public Address Announcer and former radio personality Renel Brooks-Moon said.

They said Prince was worth every drop of "Purple Rain" and today was when doves cried.

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