Dearly Beloved: Prince, Spirituality, and This Thing Called Life

When Prince spoke those words over celestial organ sounds in the opening moments of "Let's Go Crazy," he wasn't just inaugurating yet another Billboard Hot 100 hit--one of forty-seven in his career; he was also giving voice to the deep-seated and richly complex spiritual underpinning of his art. Prince is beloved by millions worldwide, and a true legend of the pop genre. Yet most of his fans don't recognize the spiritual messages coded within his work, nor understand the connections between Prince's own religious devotion--which evolved over time--and the sexualized messages of his music. Prince was beguiling and used his seductive and mysterious charm to draw his fans into his spiritual and cosmic worldviews, often without their knowledge.