Bruce Springsteen, Elton John, ‘SNL’ and more pay tribute to Prince

From Bruce Springsteen to “Saturday Night Live” to the Moontower Comedy Festival in Austin, Texas, artists over the weekend paid tribute to Prince, who died Thursday at age 57.

Prince was found dead Thursday in an elevator at Paisley Park Studios in Chanhassen, Minn. A week before, he had sought medical treatment in Illinois after his plane made an emergency landing for what his representative said at the time was the flu, which he had been battling for weeks.

Below are some of the tributes over the weekend for the much-loved artist:

‘Saturday Night Live’

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The comedy sketch show remembered the “Purple Rain” star with an hour-long episode titled “Goodnight Prince.” Shown were all the musician’s “SNL” performances as well as sketches he inspired.

“Prince has been a special presence here at ‘Saturday Night Live’ for the last four decades, from his debut on the show as a 22-year-old in 1981 to his surprise performance at the after-party for the ‘SNL’ 40th anniversary,” Jimmy Fallon said at the start of the show. “Tonight we wanted to pay tribute to him by looking back at his performances on the show over the years and by remembering what he meant to us.”

The episode featured Prince’s first “SNL” appearance, where he played “Party Up,” his 2006 performance of 3121’s “Fury” and “Beautiful, Loved and Blessed” as well as his final “SNL” performance, an eight-minute medley in 2014 of Art Official Age’s “Clouds” and Plectrumelectrum’s “Marz” and “AnotherLove.”

The special also ran video of Prince’s surprise performance at the show’s 40th anniversary after-party last year. The episode ended with “The Prince Show” sketch featuring Fred Armisen as Prince and Maya Rudolph as Beyoncé.

Bruce Springsteen

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As the opener for a show in Brooklyn, Springsteen and his E Street Band performed a rendition of Prince’s iconic “Purple Rain.” The entire stage was covered in purple lights

“Prince forever. God bless!,” said Springsteen at the end of the tribute at the Barclays Center.

Elton John

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During a sold-out show at Las Vegas’ Caesars Palace on Saturday, John shared a story about Prince, whom he called a “purple warrior.” He recalled that during the time when the two both had Vegas shows, they would often cross paths in the hotel lobby as Prince was getting home from a club and John was going to play early-morning tennis.

John then sang “I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues” as a slide show of photos of Prince played in the background.

Maya Rudolph

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As she took the stage of Austin’s Paramount Theatre, “SNL” veteran Rudolph invoked the memorable words of Prince, with a twist.

“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here to celebrate the one-of-a-kind, most brilliant, most special, most magical, most .... incredible Prince Rogers Nelson,” she said. “He was our hero. We loved him. And he has completely shaped our world.”

Rudolph, along with musician Gretchen Lieberum make up Princess, their 5-year-old Prince cover band. During their gig at the Moontower Comedy Festival, which was already scheduled before Prince’s death, the duo, backed by an all-male five piece, led the sold-out crowd through 90 minutes of Prince tracks.

Fantasia

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During a concert she co-headlined with Anthony Hamilton in Atlanta, Fantasia performed an emotional rendition of “Purple Rain.” The audience screamed in affirmation throughout the performance.

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