A view from the glittery ‘Purple Throne’
Caribbean Life, December 11-17, 2020 27
By Terri Schlichenmeyer
You had every intention to
stand still that night.
Nice try. Your shoulders
were shimmying 10 seconds
after you stepped to a beat,
left foot, right foot, through a
wall of thump that came from
speakers taller than you. You
stopped, and it was as if your
behind had its own mind. In
those days, you couldn’t stop
dancing, and in “My Life In the
Purple Kingdom” by Brown-
Mark with Cynthia M. Uhrich,
one man couldn’t stop guitaring.
Before he was even old
enough for school, Mark Brown
decided that he wanted to be a
guitar player some day. Growing
up in Minneapolis, he
remembers listening to the
radio because the family didn’t
have a TV, but he was thrilled
to hear music by “people who
looked like me…” When television
finally came to the Brown
household, seeing musicians
on the small screen solidified
his dream.
By then, Brown was eight
years old, and because his
mother didn’t have money to
buy him a guitar, he figured
he’d have to earn the money
himself. Ultimately, that led to
a well-earned instrument and
work-for-lessons from a proprietor
of a local music store but
Brown struggled with school
and patience. Once transferred
to a new area school for his
own good, he found a way to
play and it helped his self-confidence.
Success, though, was an
uphill road. Racism was a problem
with local bars and clubs
then, and getting a toe onstage
took effort, which Brown
was willing to put forth to make
himself a rock star. He was still
in high school, still held down
outside jobs and interests, and
yet he found time to rehearse
with the series of bands with
which he performed.
It was at one such rehearsal
Book cover of “My Life in the Purple Kingdom” by Brown-
Mark.
that someone said there was a
phone call for him. That was
unusual so, intrigued, he took
the call and answered curtly.
Prince was on the other
end of the line…
Reading “My Life in the
Purple Kingdom” feels somewhat
like attending your high
school class reunion: there’s
always that one guy there who
made it big but rather than
quietly accepting kudos, he
feels the need to humble-brag
instead. His story is interesting
and you can’t resist it, but
you really could do without
the faux bashfulness.
Indeed, according to his
own book, author BrownMark
(who changed his name while
with Prince), worked himself
ragged to be a professional
musician, and that perseverance
should be lauded. Despite
storytelling irritations and
cutesy-purposeful misspellings,
this memoir could be a
real inspiration to someone
with dreams.
While the story (with Cynthia
Uhrich) is mostly about
BrownMark’s life, there’s
enough Prince here to attract
Prince fans. Just beware that
although there’s a happy-ish
ending to this book, its author
isn’t generally complimentary
to his former boss and
for that, and because Prince
isn’t alive to offer contradictions,
“My Life in the Purple
Kingdom”could be somewhat
controversial. Still, if you’re a
concert-goer, nostalgic, clubber,
or you need motivation,
you should have every intention
to read it.
“My Life in the Purple
Kingdom” by BrownMark
with Cynthia M. Uhrich,
foreword by Questlove
c.2020, University of
Minnesota Press
$22.95 / $31.99
Canada
159 pages
“My Life in the Purple Kingdom” author BrownMark. Demetrious Williams of Rious Photography
The lyrics go: “People of a
Different color praying to a different
name, let’s find a way to
get along with each other.”
Pressure BussPipe said he
was “blessed to be a part of this
project with Third World.”
He said “’People of a Different
Color’ shines a light on
what we can be as a people if
we put our differences aside no
matter religion, ethnicity or
nationality.”
Pressure BussPipe said “People
of a Different Color” provides
“music that should help
to heal the world from now and
years to come.”
“People of a Different Color”
is the fourth track from the
critically acclaimed GRAMMY
nominated ‘More Work to be
Done’ album produced by multi
Grammy-award winning artist
and producer Damian “Jr.
Gong” Marley.
Continued from Page 25
Members of the Reggae band, Third World. Radiant Sun
REGGAE
JOURNEY