by Duff McKagan
First published 2021
Prince stands at the height of his fame, but his world is falling apart. The Revolution, his band, is fracturing. His relationship with Susan Melvoin, his fiancée, crumbles. He responds the only way he knows how: by disappearing into the studio. Across 1985 and 1986, Prince throws himself into a creative frenzy, recording album after album, launching side projects, and pouring his pain into music. More than 260 recording sessions capture his struggle to transform personal devastation into art. The studio becomes his refuge as he battles to prove that genius can survive any darkness. Through the voices of those who witnessed his isolation and obsession, we see an artist using music as both weapon and salvation during his most turbulent years.
Genres: biography, psychology, 20th-century, non-fiction, music, 21st-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: artist-struggle, creative-process, personal-transformation
Period: 1985, 1986
620 pages · Hardcover · Rowman & Littlefield Publishers