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Prairie Prince

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Prairie Prince
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Prince in 2016
Background information
Birth nameCharles Lempriere Prince
Born (1950-05-07) May 7, 1950 (age 76)
Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S.
GenresRock
Occupation(s)Drummer
Years active1970s–present
Websiteprairieprince.com

Template:Infobox musical artist/tracking

Charles Lempriere "Prairie" Prince Jr.[8] (born May 7, 1950[9][8]) is an American drummer and visual artist. He came to prominence in the 1970s as a member of the San Francisco-based rock group The Tubes, was a member of Jefferson Starship from 1992 to 2008 and has worked with a wide range of other performers as a session musician.

Early life

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Charles Lempriere Prince was born in Charlotte, North Carolina and grew up in Arizona.[9][8][10] His mother, Louise, was an artist.[9] His father, Charles, played snare drum in high school.[8] He has two older sisters, who gave him "a constant source of musical influences, including swing, jazz, blues, and early rock and roll".[9]

When Prince was three years old, he banged his hands on the side of the washing machine, and by the time he was five or six was given a pair of bongos.[8] In the third or fourth grade he got his first snare drum, joined his school band.[8]

His drumming influences include Gene Krupa, Buddy Rich, Stevie Wonder, Clyde Stubblefield, Sandy Nelson, Dick Dale, Ringo Starr, Charlie Watts, Mitch Mitchell, Keith Moon, Ginger Baker, John Bonham, John French, Billy Cobham, Lenny White, and Jack DeJohnette.[9]

Career

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Performing

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In 1972, he travelled to England to record drums for Nicky Hopkins' solo album The Tin Man Was a Dreamer.[8]

Prince is a member of The Tubes and was a founding member of Journey along with Neal Schon and Gregg Rolie. However, he quit Journey after a few months before they made any recordings.

In 1974, he was introduced to the newly made Yamaha Drums by Takashi "Hagi" Hagiwara, and has since endorsed the manufacturer.[9]

He has subsequently worked with Chris Isaak (on his first four albums), Todd Rundgren, Brian Eno, David Byrne, XTC, Tom Waits, Paul Kantner, George Harrison, Dick Dale, Glenn Frey, Richard Marx, Bill Spooner, Neil Hamburger, John Fogerty, Nicky Hopkins, Tommy Bolin, Phil Lesh, Chris von Sneidern, John Ferenzik, Singer at Large Johnny J. Blair, The Gilmour Project, Negativland and former Tubes and Grateful Dead keyboardist Vince Welnick.[11][12]

Prince collaborated with Ross Valory, bassist and founding member of Journey, on a line of patented[13] eco-friendly, US-made hoodie shirts called MouthMan, where graphic designs of jaws and teeth on the sleeves form a mouth when the wearer "hugs himself".

He was an original member of the reformed Jefferson Starship, known as "Jefferson Starship – The Next Generation" in 1992 and appears on both that band's studio albums (the 1999 release Windows of Heaven and the 2008 release, Jefferson's Tree of Liberty), along with numerous live albums. Prince announced in early 2008 that he was leaving the band on amicable terms and remains available for international performances.

In 2006, he toured with The New Cars including Todd Rundgren, bassist Kasim Sulton (Rundgren's Utopia bandmate), and original The Cars guitarist Elliot Easton and keyboardist Greg Hawkes.[8]

Prince is a session musician[citation needed] and played drums and percussion on all tracks of Chuck Prophet's 2012 release Temple Beautiful and seven of 12 tracks on Prophet's 2014's Night Surfer.

He continues to play with The Tubes and Todd Rundgren. On March 20, 2026, Prince released his first solo album, Colours and Passions.[9][14]

Artwork

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As an artist he designed the album cover artwork for many artists including The Tubes, Todd Rundgren (1981 album Healing), Journey, Lyle Workman and Vince Welnick's 1998 album Missing Man Formation, among many others.[citation needed] Along with his creative partner and fellow former Tube Michael Cotten,[15] he has created numerous set designs for major artists including Michael Jackson, Billy Joel, Bette Midler, N'Sync, Shania Twain, Styx, The Tubes and Todd Rundgren.[citation needed]

Prince and Cotten have teamed up with choreographer Kenny Ortega on several special events including the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, the Super Bowl XXX halftime show (which featured Diana Ross singing "Take Me Higher" as she was lifted from the field in a helicopter), Michael Jackson's "This is It" concert, and Shania Twain's residency, Shania: Still the One, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada.[9] Cotten/Prince released a book with most of their works between 1969 to 2019.[16]

Personal life

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Prince lived with fellow Tubes member Re Styles from 1973 until the early 1990s. In a 2006 interview with Modern Drummer magazine's Billy Amendola, he referred to singer Diana Mangano as his wife, adding they were not formally married but had been together for a decade.[8]

The nickname "Prairie" is based on a mispronunciation of his middle name Lempriere, originating from his father's childhood nanny (the drummer and his father share the same name).[8]

Band history

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See also

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References

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  1. ↑ Drummer, Modern (May 1, 2006). "Prairie Prince: An Interview". Modern Drummer Magazine. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
  2. ↑ Prairie Prince – Journey's Forgotten Founder, July 5, 2020, retrieved February 3, 2023
  3. ↑ Bergman, Jeff (April 17, 2009), Prairie Prince, retrieved February 3, 2023
  4. ↑ "Bio – Prairie Prince". Prairieprince.com. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
  5. ↑ "English: Prairie Prince performs with The New Cars at the Nokia Theater in Dallas on May 14, 2006". Commons.wikimedia.org. May 14, 2006. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
  6. ↑ "Neil Hamburger: Western Music and Variety". TVGuide.com. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
  7. ↑ "Release "Richard Marx" by Richard Marx". Musicbrainz.org. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
  8. ↑ 8.00 8.01 8.02 8.03 8.04 8.05 8.06 8.07 8.08 8.09 Drummer, Modern (May 1, 2006). "Prairie Prince: An Interview". Modern Drummer Magazine. Retrieved April 17, 2026.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 9.7 "Prairie Prince — Prairie Prince Biography". Retrieved April 17, 2026.
  10. ↑ "Chalkhills: XTCFans: Prairie Prince remembers 'Skylarking'". chalkhills.org. Retrieved April 18, 2026.
  11. ↑ [[[:Template:Allmusic]] Prairie Prince credits] at AllMusic
  12. ↑ updated, Mark Blakelast (August 29, 2016). "The Tubes: They came, they outraged, they conquered". Louder. Retrieved April 17, 2026.
  13. ↑ "Novelty shirt". Patents.google.com. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  14. ↑ Colours and Passions - Prairie Prince | Album | AllMusic, retrieved April 17, 2026
  15. ↑ "Prairie Prince — Cotten/Prince". Retrieved April 17, 2026.
  16. ↑ price, Michael Cotten This is the price your customers see Edit list (September 2, 2019). MC PP MURALS by Michael Cotten | Blurb Books.
  17. ↑ Daniels, Neil (April 10, 2012). Don't Stop Believin': The Untold Story of Journey. Retrieved 17 April 2026
  18. ↑ Moskowitz, David V. (November 10, 2015). The 100 Greatest Bands of All Time: A Guide to the Legends Who Rocked the World. Retrieved 17 April 2026
  19. ↑ "KANTNER HIJACKS STARSHIP FOR A NEW GENERATION". Hartford Courant. February 11, 1992. Retrieved April 17, 2026.
  20. ↑ "RESTRUCTURED STARSHIP STILL HAS SOME MILEAGE LEFT FOUNDER PAUL KANTNER HAS GIVEN STARSHIP A LITTLE MAINTENANCE, AND THE BAND IS READY TO ROLL FOR A FEW MORE YEARS". Sun Sentinel. July 3, 1992. Retrieved April 17, 2026.
  21. ↑ Tribune, James Bennett III Kokomo (June 30, 2022). "Jefferson Starship's David Freiberg still loves performing, looking forward to Friday show". Kokomo Tribune. Retrieved April 17, 2026.
  22. ↑ Pete (August 12, 1999). "1999. June 4th & 5th. Phil Lesh & Friends. "And Love Will See You Through"". PETE SEARS. Retrieved April 17, 2026.
  23. ↑ Phil Lesh and Friends (June 4, 1999), Phil Lesh and Friends Live at Warfield Theater on 1999-06-04, retrieved April 17, 2026
  24. ↑ Smith, E. "Doc" (October 28, 2005). "Chet Helms Tribal Stomp Memorial Concert". Beyond Chron. Retrieved April 17, 2026.
  25. ↑ Selvin, Joel (October 29, 2005). "Chet Helms may be gone, but enough hippie rockers are left to throw a Final Tribal Stomp". SFGATE. Retrieved April 17, 2026.
  26. ↑ "Blue Cheer Setlist at Golden Gate Park, San Francisco". setlist.fm. Retrieved April 17, 2026.
  27. ↑ "Prairie Prince — "Todd 'N Me" A Timeline by Prairie Prince". Retrieved April 17, 2026.
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Template:Cc

Preceded by
none
 Journey drummer
1973 		Succeeded by

Template:Journey Template:The Cars Template:Blue Cheer Template:The Tubes

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