This Rare Footage of Prince, James Brown and Michael Jackson Performing Together Is Incredible
Just…wow.
Everyone has a favorite Prince performance. Maybe it’s his legendary 2007 Super Bowl spectacular, where the the iconic pop star delivered a stunning performance in a literal cloud of purple rain. Or perhaps you’re one of the lucky few who snagged a final glimpse of His Purpleness before his death at age 57 on Thursday.
For anyone who happened to be in attendance at a random James Brown concert in 1983 it’s probably the moment the Godfather of Soul called Michael Jackson and, subsequently, Prince on stage to join him in a troika of soul power captured in rare, grainy footage and uploaded to YouTube in 2009.
The footage (we’re not sure which concert it’s from exactly) is absolutely delightful. Glistening from one of his signature frenetic performances, James Brown invites Jackson — newly crowned the King of Pop are dropping Thriller the previous November, as Slate notes — to join him for a few bars before Brown’s legendary band kicks things up a notch. After wowing the crowd with a few of his legendary dance moves, Jackson pleads with Brown to call up another attendee: Prince.
It’s a bit of a weird moment. “He just insisted that I invite Prince on up here,” says Brown, before looking bewilderedly into the crowd.”Prince? Prince?” It sounds like a scene from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, but way funkier.
Prince makes his way to the stage, and that’s when shit pops off. Together, the trio deliver one of the most energetic few minutes in musical history. If you ever wake up and feel like you need a soul vaccination, this is it.
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