Don't Try This At Home!

I don't mean to spoil the Prince pity party, (You've probably either read my tribute or you're about to.) but one possible cause of death is drugs, and if you remember the tragic end of Michael Jackson, you'll remember he was prescribed a lot of painkillers by a well-meaning doctor, and those hastened a tragic ending. That, and his reputation with young boys, did not exactly contribute positively to an otherwise sterling reputation as an artist. Similarly, Prince is also known for his affairs with stars such as Charlize Theron, who, reportedly was working on a new album with His Royal Badness. (Did anybody see that SNL musical number when the entire cast sang that while Charlize can slip out of different accents and play different characters, she COULDN'T sing? What's up with that?)

Many talented people, such as my CWPF Judy Collins, country legend Larry Gatlin, and Paul McCartney, have broken the grip of drugs over their lives. Others such as Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin weren't as lucky. If only Prince had joined the latter camp and had lived to be as old as Merle Haggard and Sonny James (ATTENTION PEOPLE WHO THINK NASHVILLE IS ONLY THE NAME OF A GREAT TV SHOW AND, THEREFORE, HAVE HEARD THOSE NAMES FOR THE FIRST TIME: Click over to http://www.welcometostevecountry.com for complete details on their wonderful lives and a few more surprises.), he would truly deserve all the adulation what a certain Ms. Palin calls the "lamestream media" has been giving him lately. (Guilty, your honor!)

So, all you budding musicians out there, it's OK if you want to be the kind of humanitarian/ pop powerhouse Michael Jackson was (Heck, you can be all that PLUS a better dad!) or rock-soul star Prince was sans all the erotic lyrics and don Juan reputation, but do not, and I mean DO NOT, try to emulate the kind of lifestyle they lived when the lights went down and the cheering stopped. I don't mean to trivialize the death of somebody who touched a lot of lives, but it would have been a whole lot better if he improved his own life first!

UP NEXT: Belated congratulations to Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump (Grumble,grumble.) on winning New York State. As the primaries move to Pennsylvania and Connecticut, I will share my favorite tourist places in the Keystone State and the Nutmeg State. (Hill won when I recommended my faves in NYS. Coincidence? I think not.)

Steve