"Little Red Corvette" Prince and John Lennon have several things in common with my father, who would have loved to see my Corvette. All three were musicians. All three enjoyed cars, but I'd bet only one changed his own oil. Two were famous world-wide, and two would have had birthdays today if they were still alive. This a historic story about Prince and a remembrance of my dear departed father.
Prince was booed when he was the opening act for a Rolling Stones show at the Los Angeles Coliseum...
...which happened on October 9th (today).
Just a few months later, "Little Red Corvette" was released.
I was in the Marine Corps, stationed in CA, when I went to the concert. The Stones were backed up by The J. Geils Band, George Thorogood and the Destroyers, and Prince was the opener.
This is the unpronounceable symbol Prince used as a stage name, 1993 to 2000, due to a contract dispute.
Prince was not well-received. In fact, the people in front forced him off the stage by throwing things at him. If you search online for "prince rolling stones los angeles coliseum" you'll find a bunch of articles about what happened that day.
I didn't know who Prince was at the time, but eventually I grew to like some of his songs. He was a gifted musician and performer. Coincidentally, that October 9th concert was on the birthday of both John Lennon and my father. Dad's gone now (may he rest in peace), but he was also a singer, played multiple instruments (like both John Lennon and Prince) and was a "car guy" who instilled a love of all different kinds of music and cars in me at a young age.
At home, my father listened mostly to classical music, and I'm not sure if he ever became aware of Prince or his "Little Red Corvette" song, but John Lennon and The Beatles had been around a lot longer, and I know dad used some of their songs in music lessons he taught.
My father was the one who changed his own engine oil, of course, but he'd also tackle bigger jobs, and I was his helper. Eventually, I had some adventures in his '69 Pontiac Grand Prix, but at 14 years old I can't say it was particularly fun to be under that car for hours at a time on a frozen dirt driveway, replacing its timing chain.
While there was something else that I would rather have been doing that winter, my father taught me a lot about cars that has served me well throughout my life, so I'm not complaining, and I didn't complain then either (too much). But you know what they say, "You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometime you'll find, you get what you need." So, I guess in this case, "they" are The Rolling Stones!
My 2021 Stingray was the best car I've ever owned, by far, and I expect that my ERay will be even better, but you could also say I started out as a "GM guy" because my first two cars in high school were a Camaro and a Pontiac GTO. I bought them with money I'd earned myself, beginning work when I was 13 years old.
You can see that back then I didn't care about colors or paint — or even matching wheels. My Camaro was primer gray the entire time I owned it until I sold it to a guy who totaled it soon after by wrapping it around a telephone pole. My GTO was about four different colors, but it had been worked on by the local hotrod mechanic that I bought it from, and for back then, it was fast! That's all I cared about. Oh, the stories I could tell... but won't here. I'm much more particular about the paint on my Corvette!
My father didn't live long enough to see me own a Corvette, and I think he would have been happy for me and as flabbergasted as he was when I showed him the computer work I had taught myself to do — launching my first real "career," which was cut short before I planned.
Anyway, Dad, this page is for you. Thanks for giving my brothers and me an upbringing that instilled a work ethic in all of us. Without that, I'd never have been able to buy a Corvette Stingray, much less an ERay.
I miss you, Dad, and I'm sorry I didn't always appreciate you as much as I should have when you were alive. Life can turn on a dime; you can lose everything in a split second, and then it's too late. I probably pushed you to the edge a lot when I was a kid, and maybe you didn't know what to do with me at times, but I want you to know that I appreciate the way you handled it. By following your example, I've managed to become a relatively good human. I think about you often and know that you did the best you could with me, and it's up to me to make the most of it — Every Single Day — because... "life can turn on a dime."
Happy Birthday, Dad.
You were taken from us entirely too soon.