Legendary GRAMMY® Executive Producer Ken Ehrlich Sits Down With AXS TV To Talk About His Experience With The Late Music Icon Prince In A Candid Interview

In this clip, Ehrlich recalls Prince's unmatched work ethic and commitment to his art, while preparing for a PURPLE RAIN medley with Beyonce at the 2004 GRAMMY® Awards. Ehrlich says:

"He was in L.A., and he said, 'Can you come out to center staging at about 8:30, 9:00 tonight'… So, I go out there and I walk into the studio, and it's a performance look… and all of a sudden I realize the band is there, they're all in position, they're quiet. And he greets us… and then he says, 'Ok', and he walked away, strapped on [his guitar], and then went through, note-by-note, that six, seven-minute piece that we did with them that opened the show. In one day, he had written the arrangement, worked with his band so that they knew it and could play it down, and did it…."  

Clip: http://bit.ly/Ehrlich_Prince_Beyonce

In this segment, Ehrlich explains how vital Prince's audience was to him, saying:

"We've just lost a great artist… in a way, Prince was sort of a throwback artist, [the fans' enjoyment] was so important to him."  

Clip: http://bit.ly/Ehrlich_Prince_Fans

In this sound bite, Ehrlich offers an amusing anecdote illustrating Prince's propensity to do what he wanted when he wanted, saying:

"It wasn't really until 1984 that we had him on the GRAMMYS® for the first time, and he did "Baby, I'm A Star," and it turned out to be really great. But, what we didn't know was that when he finished his performance on the show, he walked offstage, walked through the house, walked out. Never saw him again. He was always interesting."

Clip: http://bit.ly/Ehrlich_Prince_1984GRAMMY

And, Ehrlich puts the spotlight on one of the more underrated aspects of Prince's musicianship—his guitar playing—saying:

"He was always a great guitar player, but I think because his composing, his writing was so strong… and that dynamic performance… some of that guitar playing was lost on people, because there was so much else. After 2005, 2006… that was a dominant part of his persona."  

Clip: http://bit.ly/Ehrlich_Prince_Guitar

For the fourth consecutive year, AXS TV is official broadcast home of the 47^TH Annual New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival Presented by Shell, airing 20 hours of footage covering both weekends, starting today and tomorrow and April 29-May 1. Jazz Fest expert Amanda Shaw hosts AXS TV's broadcasts, which start at 5pE/2pP and end at 9pE/6pP nightly.

ABOUT AXS TV
AXS TV is the cable industry's leading general entertainment network for live event programming. Launched in July 2012 by visionary entrepreneur Mark Cuban, AXS TV is dedicated to providing groundbreaking music programming, stand-up comedy performances from today's top comedians, and hard-hitting mixed martial arts promotions. The network's franchises include THE X FACTOR UK and NASHVILLE; as well as original programs such as THE BIG INTERVIEW with Dan Rather; ROCK & ROLL ROAD TRIP WITH SAMMY HAGAR; THE WORLD'S GREATEST TRIBUTE BANDS; GOTHAM COMEDY LIVE; AXS TV FIGHTS; and INSIDE MMA. 

AXS TV is a partnership between Mark Cuban, AEG, Ryan Seacrest Media, Creative Artists Agency (CAA) and CBS. The network is available in the United States via AT&T U-verse, Charter, Comcast/Xfinity, DIRECTV, DISH, Suddenlink, Verizon FiOS, and other cable, satellite and telco providers, including members of the National Cable Television Cooperative. The network is also distributed in Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. For more information, visit the website, www.axs.tv; go to the Facebook page here and follow the company on Twitter, @axstv; on Instagram; Tumblr; Cyber Dust and YouTube.

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