‘There will never be another Prince’

In the 1990s, Calvin Brown cruised the streets of Fort Worth in a purple jeep emblazoned with the symbol for Prince.

“I was his No. 1 fan. For me, Prince was the most iconic, innovative and baddest guitar player who ever walked this Earth,” Brown said. “There will never be another Prince.”

Brown was among nearly 100 people who gathered Monday night outside the Tarrant County Courthouse in downtown Fort Worth to celebrate the artist and performer. Mourners, many of whom dressed in purple or old concert T-shirts, shared stories of how Prince and his music changed their lives.

Prince, 57, was found unresponsive in an elevator Thursday at Paisley Park, his estate in suburban Minneapolis. Authorities have not released the cause of death. He was cremated Saturday, and there was a small, private service, his publicist said.

As a young man, Brown said, the song and movie Purple Rain made him feel less alone.

“When you’re young, you don’t think anyone is going through the same thing as you,” he said. “That movie changed everything for me.”

For Essence Jones, Prince provided a sort of soundtrack to her childhood and teenage years, and she recalled listening to his records in secret before her parents allowed her to do so. When the Euless woman learned of his death last week, she felt loss.

“He made me feel so free to express myself. He was genius, brilliant, magical,” Jones said. “The world has lost something big.”

In recent days, Jones has listened to Prince’s music on repeat. She said she asked herself if it was silly to cry so much for someone she never met.

“But he was so special to me. It felt like he was part of my family. A cousin, a brother, maybe a should-a-been husband,” she said to laughs.

Donnell Ballard, one of the organizers, said he wanted to give people in Fort Worth an opportunity to say goodbye, even if they lived hundreds of miles from Minnesota.

“I loved Prince,” he said, “and I felt like this was something I had to do.”

Before it grew dark, purple balloons were released as people danced and swayed to When Doves Cry.

This story was originally published April 25, 2016 at 4:21 PM with the headline "‘There will never be another Prince’."