Prince's Cousin Discusses His Musical Roots
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Prince's cousin, Charles "Chazz" Smith, was not only family; he was a bandmate from the very beginning.
"He's entered in the encyclopedia of rock," Smith said.
Long before he was a rock icon to millions around the world, Prince was just a kid who wanted to play music -- for anyone who would listen.
"We'd beg anyone that we knew, 'Can we play at your party?' And some people would say, 'No.' Some people would say, 'Yes.' And we'd say, 'We don't even want to get paid,'" he said.
Smith and Prince teamed up around 8- or 9-years-old to help form the band Grand Central. Smith was on drums and Prince was on keyboard, until Prince's dad bought him his first guitar.
"He played 'Black Magic Woman' by Santana note for note," Smith said.
They played for talent shows and battle of the bands. Smith recalls one battle against their rival, Flyte Tyme -- which featured a young Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis and Jellybean Johnson.
Prince closed with the "National Anthem," and they won.
"Older dudes tripped out. The rock group tripped out, because we played stuff they didn't even really know that these little guys like us could really play," Smith said.
When they got to Minneapolis Central High School, they would often skip class to practice.
"We said, 'We're doing this for a living,'" Smith said. "We made a pact with each other. We said whoever makes it, if we don't stick together, you come back and get the other guys."
The one who made it -- The Purple One -- kept his promise.
"I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for Prince Nelson," he said.
Smith says Prince's support of the old bandmates and local artists shows he never forgot where he came from.
"I know that he was just music, period," Smith said.
Smith would later choose to play sports in high school, and he was replaced by drummer Morris Day.
But he says because of Prince and that time they had together, he has been able to perform with several artists throughout his life.
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