Reader's Digest: Life with an icon

Prince's longtime bassist, Mark Brown, on what it was like to play, laugh and work with The Purple One. Mark Brown went from playing bass to 50 people in the local bars and clubs of Minneapolis, to being renamed “BrownMark” by Prince, and supporting The Rolling Stones on his debut.

From the young Black teenager who built a bass guitar in woodshop to the musician building a solo career with Motown Records—Prince’s bassist BrownMark on growing up in Minneapolis, joining Prince and The Revolution, and his life in the purple kingdomPrince's longtime bassist, Mark Brown, on what it was like to play, laugh and work with The Purple One. Mark Brown went from playing bass to 50 people in the local bars and clubs of Minneapolis, to being renamed “BrownMark” by Prince, and supporting The Rolling Stones on his debut. He was onstage when “Purple Rain” was first played live, before being swept along by a purple pop phenomenon. On the fifth anniversary of Prince’s passing, Sam Bleazard spoke to him at home in Atlanta.

Interview at Reader's Digest.