Ultimate Prince: My Life in the Purple Kingdom

Interview with BrownMark author of My Life in the Purple Kingdom

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 kingdom

In his long-awaited new book, bassist BrownMark talks about being the only other black man in Prince's Revolution, and how the duo dealt with changing audience demographics as their fame grew.

Written with Cynthia M. Uhrich and published by University of Minnesota Press, My Life in the Purple Kingdom captures the man born Mark Brown's journey from being confined to the “Chitlin’ Circuit” of local black clubs to playing arenas with the Purple One as BrownMark. He officially joined Prince’s band in 1981, replacing bassist André Cymone, and left at the end of the Parade tour in 1986. He provides his account of noteworthy moments in Prince’s career, from getting booed opening up for the Rolling Stones in 1981 to enduring Purple Rain mania.

 

Listen to the whole interview.