Prince: The Essential Reading List

Club, 3121 Two decades after his heyday, here’s what going to a Prince concert is really like. The musician occupied the Rio Club in Las Vegas for a residency that turned the whole place into a club named after his lesser-known 2006 album 3121.

Last Days There had been a concert at Paisley Park and bike rides around a local Office Max and no apparent signs of ill health.

Lovesexy The 1988 Prince tour at the center of Hilton Als’s Harper’s essay, a memoir and exploration of Prince and performance.

Mind, Dirty A look back at the making of Prince’s breakthrough 1982 record.

Park, Paisley A week in Prince’s inner circle, just ahead of the Diamonds and Pearls release. Between 1984 and 1991, Prince answer questions publicly just five times. This is one of those times.

Prince, Revealed The musician breaks a three-year silence in a hybrid profile and interview for Rolling Stone — and it reveals a Prince at the peak of his craft, and his fame.

Questlove The Roots bandleader is full of excellent Prince anecdotes — so much so, that in 2013, he led a Prince tribute at Carnegie Hall.

Rain, Purple In the desert. With Tuareg rock stars. The Artist Formerly Known As Prince’s reach was far and wide.

Rain, Purple (Addendum) The real deal. This oral history of the making of the famed soundtrack to Prince’s screen debut features interviews with members of the Revolution, his band at the time, as well as the filmmakers and Questlove.

3RDEYEGIRL A second act for the legendary musician, who joined forces with a new band — 3RDEYEGIRL — in 2014. Vanessa Grigoriadis got the scoop for V Magazine.

Watch W’s most popular videos here: