(Credits: Far Out / Alamy)
Sat 20 September 2025 0:00, UK
Sometimes you just have to admit that there’s someone out there who is better than you at your craft, and even if you’re considered to be up there with the best, like Prince, it’s good practice to acknowledge that there are people capable of knocking you down a few pegs.
A multi-instrumentalist, producer, songwriter, and phenomenal vocalist to boot, there wasn’t much standing in the way of Prince Rogers Nelson when it came to flexing his musical abilities, and throughout his life, his accomplishments were reflective of his multitudinous talents. Across a career filled with glory, with plenty of critically acclaimed albums and awards, how could one possibly admit to not being good enough with a resumé as stunning as his?
One thing he was known for was recording virtually everything on his records himself, although in his later years, this strict policy was relaxed a reasonable amount, and he began to invite plenty of other performers to collaborate with him on records. There are plenty of potential reasons as to why Prince wasn’t exactly forthcoming with the idea of having session musicians, and while there’s perhaps an element of him being protective over the end product, his personality suggests that he may not have been the easiest person to work alongside.
That said, one player whom he did invite into his Paisley Park residence and studio was bassist Larry Graham, best known for having been a former member of Sly and the Family Stone, and also having led his own ensemble, Graham Central Station. It wasn’t until the late 1990s that Graham would come to work with Prince, contributing to both Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic in 1999 and The Rainbow Children in 2001 and touring with him from 1997 to 2000, but he made such a significant impact on Prince during this time that his departure from the group left a gaping hole.
Of course, no longer having a bassist in his band would have been no skin off Prince’s nose, as he was more than accomplished enough on the instrument himself to have survived without the services of Graham, but no longer having him on board to play in his live band led Prince to feel as though his abilities on the instrument were no longer sufficient enough.
Before Graham’s stint with his backing band, Prince would spend a few songs per live show on bass rather than guitar in an effort to show off his abilities on various other instruments, but he’d refrained from doing this once he’d worked with Graham. “I can’t even physically reach for it anymore,” he claimed in a 1999 interview with Bass Player Magazine. “I don’t know. I hope it’s out of respect for Larry, and not because I feel inadequate compared to him.”
Even after Graham’s departure, he still stopped himself from picking up the instrument during live performances, and while Graham was a phenomenal player in his own right, who could have potentially put Prince to shame, it’s more likely that Prince came to the realisation that he would never have it as good as he did with Graham.
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