major problem. >> mayor turner, our thoughts are with you as we look at the pictures and hear such a dire pdire -- >> people from volunteers, faith based communities, the county has done an excellent job and police and fire and others in the city of houston have really stepped up, organizations all different levels. we will get through it. we are dealing with it but there are a number of resources being made available. >> do appreciate it. i'm flat out of time. i wish you well. continue watching cnn. you can stay right here or go online to watch live. please stay tuned for "wolf" he starts right now. >> i am wolf blitzer in

washington. we want to welcome viewers in the united states and around the world. >> this is cnn breaking news. >> breaking news we are following. a death investigation going on right now at the singer prince's estate in minnesota. we don't have any information at this point who has died or any specifics about the investigation but we are going to bring you more information as soon as it comes into cnn. let's get to presidential politics here in the united states right now. in just five days voters in five states head to the polls. the presidential candidates are fanning out. the three republicans have stops in indiana, pennsylvania and maryland. on the democratic side bernie sanders and bill clinton have stops in pennsylvania while hillary clinton is in connecticut. for the democrats 384 delegates are up for grabs in connecticut, delaware, maryland, pennsylvania and rhode island. for the republicans 172 delegates are at stake.

senator ted cruz concedes he won't get the 1,237 delegates needed to win the nomination but says donald trump won't get them either. at a rally earlier this morning senator cruz told supporters trump can't be hillary clinton in a general election. >> as we stand here today there are two and only two candidates who have any plausible path to winning the republican nomination. me and donald trump. and what we're seeing in maryland and across the country is 65% to 70% of republicans understand that donald trump is not the best candidate to go head to head with hillary clinton. >> senator sanders is brushing off calls to soften his attacks against hillary clinton vowing to stay in the race for the democratic nomination even if hillary clinton builds an insurmountable lead.

joining us from hartford, connecticut where secretary clinton wrapped up a campaign event. the event focussed on gun violence. tell us about it. >> reporter: i'm going to speak in hush tones because this is an event ongoing as we speak. we are hearing from hillary clinton now. she is addressing questions from the audience. these are people who feel as very passionately and deeply sandy hook massacre happened 3 1/2 years ago but people here in the audience and people on the stage with her it is just like it was yesterday. these people are talking about their family, their relatives and the friends who have been victims of gun violence. one person in particular the daughter of the principal who was killed at sandy hook elementary has become a very strong advocate feeling she is the only person fighting for gun control. there was an ad released yesterday that she says is the only candidate strong enough and

hillary clinton reminds her very much of the mother she lost. i want you to hear something she said moments ago. >> the reality is my mom was murdered and she is not coming back no matter how hard i fight and how much i put into activating local networks and how much i organize. there is nothing i can do to bring her back. what i can do is stand up and use my voice and use my story to motivate other people to get up and use their voice and share their stories and come together around this issue. >> the clinton campaign feels thissan issue that resonates in connecticut as in new york because of differences between hillary clinton and bernie sanders namely legislation that allows families of victims to sue gun manufacturers. bernie sanders said previously that he believes he has a good

gun record, a d minus by the nra and does believe in supporting that ban against assault weapons and that this is something that he thinks is a false contrast, a false narrative. he is in pennsylvania today, three stops where he is going to be addressing that, as well. >> reporting from hartford, connecticut coming up on tuesday. let's get insight into bernie sanders' campaign strategy from someone who probably knows him better than anyone his wife jane sanders joining us now from burlington, vermont. thanks for joining us. >> thanks for having me. >> let me get your immediate reaction to what we just heard. this is a gun control event in connecticut, home of newtown that hillary clinton is trying to promote her record. clearly her campaign believes senator sanders is vulnerable in connecticut and elsewhere given

his record on gun control. i wanted to give you a chance to respond to that. >>. >> i guess i hate to see the tragedy, the families that have had such tragedy. i think that secretary clinton focussed in on this one bill. as suzanne said he has a d minus voting record and voted against the assault weapons ban since 1988. unfortunately, in 2013 it was defeated in the senate. we need to ban the assault weapons which include the bushmaster ar 15 that was used in this terrible massacre. i think that i just don't like to see it be politicized. i think that secretary clinton's gun record is a lot more spotty than bernie's. bernie has been consistently

supportive of instant background checks opposed to assault weapons, sale and manufacture of assault weapons for ending strawman problem. that has been since 1988 when secretary clinton ran for the senate in new york she was very pro gun control. when she ran for the presidency against barack obama she was very antigun control in 2008. and now that she is running against bernie she is back to for gun control. i think the problem is that we all agree that this is a real issue and that we need to have common sense gun control legislation. the remedies are maybe where we disagree. i think that we need to ban the sale and manufacture of assault weapons. that is what bernie has voted for time and again.

we need taget to get the senate the house to do that. >> let's talk about what will happen on tuesday. a new poll shows secretary clinton with a 25 point lead over senator sanders in maryland 57 to 32. this is the poll 57-32. how concerned are you given what happened in new york potentially there could be a repetition in maryland, pennsylvania, maybe connecticut, elsewhere. >> i hope there isn't a repetition in a number of ways. we would like to win in five of the states or three of the states. we also don't want to see repetition of the real voting irregularities that occurred in new york. i know the mayor has spoken out about it, the attorney general is looking into it. we are really concerned that that had happened and the closed primary system. we are doing everything we can to bring people into the

democratic party and what is happening at the primaries is the door is being shut on them. so people are excited about bernie. they are ready to vote and they are being told in a number of states that they can't. we hope that nationwide we can change this in the long run, that there can be same day registration and open primaries so as new people become interested in politics they can participate and as people who were really turned off by politics and have stayed out of the system and coming back in they they are allowed to participate. i think he looks very good in pennsylvania, rhode island and we are looking at connecticut. so i think as you have seen, wolf, the polls leading up to the race have always been a lot wider in terms of a difference between secretary clinton and bernie. and in a number of cases he has

overtaken them, michigan miracle as they called it. there have been a number -- he has always gotten closer and closer. >> that didn't happen in new york. let's talk about something the clinton campaign is suggesting. senator sanders attacks on secretary clinton in the words of the communications adviser. >> the exit polls, the question was put to them as to how has this contested election played in the democratic party? has it energized it or po pollerized it. 60% say it energized. that's just in the tail end. let me take issue with what you are saying. bernie has not run a negative campaign. he has run a positive issue-oriented campaign. he talks about contrasts.

the fact that secretary clinton supports fracking and bernie does not. i won't go into all the things that are issues that divide him but that is what he is focussed on. >> he has suggested she doesn't have the judgment to be president of the united states given her record on several issues including her vote for the iraq war. >> that's an answer in response to the demeaning things that secretary clinton and her campaign consistently are saying about him that he is not qualified. he hasn't studied up on the issues. all of these different things that they have been saying and they are continuing to say. last night she says or the night before, well, we need to bring the party together. but the comments from her surrogates about bernie have been anything but positive. so it's hard for our supporters.

we hear it all the time. we agree with you. we want an issue-oriented campaign. why are they attacking him in terms of his credibility, in terms of his qualifications over and over and over again? and then, you know, wolf, politics 101 they do that and then they say the other candidate is doing it. i think if you look at it you will see we have been extremely positive. >> let's talk about the path to the democratic nomination that your campaign manager, other strategists say that bernie sanders still has mathematically the assumption is that he can't get enough pledge delegates to get the nomination. the only way he can get the nomination is if he convinced a lot of those so-called superdelegates about 15% of all delegates, more than 700 to come around and leave hillary clinton and join him. is the working assumption the path for the nomination the only

path you have is if he convinces superdelegates to support him? >> i think that time will tell. we have five states up, 384 delegates this tuesday. we have oregon and california. some of the -- before new york he had won eight out of nine contests, some of them by 82%, 74%. so if we see those kinds of margins in places like oregon and california then we will be doing quite well. the important thing is that we recognize it's not just math. anything can happen in politics. it's also what are we talking about? what are the issues that are important? we need to give every single person the opportunity to vote for bernie sanders or hillary clinton. and we need to continue the discussion on the issues because there are very, very real differences between the two

candidates. we need to go into the convention with a clarity of senator sanders stands here, secretary clinton stands there on these issues. and then let people decide. the other thing, wolf, is that for the last two months it's been consistent. bernie is a better candidate against the republicans, all of them. secretary clinton loses to kasich, barely beats cruz and beats trump by eight points less than bernie does and bernie wins all three by handy margins. >> wife of senator bernie sanders. thank you so much for joining us. >> thanks for having me. good to be here. >> thank you. we are also following another story, breaking news of a death investigation at the singer prince's recording studio in minnesota. we will bring you the latest right after this. morrow... ♪ for people with heart failure,

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quick update. we are following, there is a death investigation going on right now at the singer prince's recording studio in minnesota. we do not have information who has died or any specifics about

the investigation. we will bring you more information as soon as we have it but there is a death investigation underway right now. let's get back to the race for the white house. when it comes to young voters bernie sanders has had a leg up on hillary clinton this primary season. hillary clinton is expressing optimism that they will coalesce behind her campaign if she wins the democratic presidential nomination. listen to this. >> senator sanders and i, we want to tackle inequality. we want to raise the minimum wage. we want to make sure that people who are putting our economy at risk are regulated, no bank is too big to fail. no executive too powerful. we share the views. i believe once the nominating process has concluded there is a great reason to come together. >> call for unity a couple of days after hillary clinton's communications director accused

sanders campaign of destructive behavior and engaging personal attacks. joining us now chief strategist for clinton campaign. thank you for joining us. you want to take back the word destructive behavior or is it still applicable? >> i was out saying that the issue here was if the personal attacks would continue it wouldn't be helpful and would be destructive to the democrats chances of winning in november which is the most important thing here. we are trying to run a campaign on the issues. we had a very vigorous campaign in new york. we had a very vigorous debate. you were hosting it with that crowd that night. we came out winning by 57-42 building up a pledged delegate lead to just shy of 250 pledge delegates now and about 2 1/2 million more votes than senator sanders. we are going forward to next week campaigning on the issues.

we are going to keep piling up pledged delegate lead hopefully and the real estate is simply running out here and making for senator sanders and making our lead virtually insurmountable. >> he does have a lot of money. take a look at fundraising numbers. your campaign outraised by sanders campaign. that is a sign that he has the cash to continue and continue all the way through california and to the convention if he wants. >> there is no doubt he has fundraising prowess and used it. he outspent us on the air in virtually every state we campaigned in. the states with the highest turnout. we won 18 out of 23. as i said, 2 1/2 million votes. i think the real enthusiasm here we have more than 10 million votes in democratic primaries.

real enthusiasm for people vote frg secretary clinton. we are being outgunned and outspent. we have to keep working hard for every vote. that is what we are going to do next week on tuesday where there were five states including maryland and pennsylvania, connecticut, delaware, rhode island. we want to keep building that lead. >> here is what senator sanders campaign manager jeff weaver said about your candidate's chances of clenching the nomination. senator sanders has a strong run of wins at the end of the process. if we substantially close the gap in pledge delegates or ov overtake they have to look at polling that bernie sanders is a much stronger candidate and general election than secretary clinton. >> your reaction? i think that jeff were to take a look at who his own voters thought in wisconsin, state one

of the biggest wins in the exit polls would be a bigger candidate against donald trump. 56 to 23. they said it was primary voters said it was hillary clinton. i think there is a path here for hillary clinton to be the nominee. when jeff talks about super delegates. this is completely contradictory to where the superdelegates are and where they have been and what the sanders campaign said about them. i don't know the story but what would be the possible rationale for super delegate shifting when secretary clinton would have won more primaries and the popular vote by 2 1/2 more million votes. i'm surprised to hear jeff weaver saying superdelegates should overturn will of the voters. >> what he is saying is if he winds up after california june 7

if he winds up with more pledge delegates he is suggesting that the 700 plus super delegates many might leave hillary clinton, might go to his campaign to senator bernie sanders especially if polls show that he potentially could be a stronger democratic nominee. they are projecting some

scenario. i don't see that changing at all. i don't think they do either. i think they are trying to construct rationale to keep going. >> from your perspective he is going to keep going. there is no -- you see no desire to quit. >> no. we have said all along this decision is up to him. the reality among the number of primaries won, advantage aren't going to go away and are not going to go away through june 7 when california votes. we are going to be ahead in delegates and in the popular vote and that is why hillary clinton is going to be the nominee in this primary when it is over. >> thank you for joining us. >> thank you, wolf. we are following breaking news out of minnesota. there is a death investigation underway. we are going to update you on that, what is going on, much more right after this.

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according to a family member who does not want to be named. several members close to prince have reported to other news organizations that he has died. police in that area just west of minneapolis have been investigating it since this morning. they are making next of kin notifications. news like this is very, very difficult to keep close to the vest. last thursday we know he performed in atlanta. his plane landed an emergency landing on his way back to minneapolis, a spokesperson at the time said he was recovering from a flu and was fine. he went on to perform a concert the next day after that. it seemed like he was rebounding and doing fine. he was saying he was rejuvenated and doing better and tweeting until a couple of days ago. i can tell you the news of his death is getting out there, the internet has just exploded with shock and grief over the fact

that this person, the number of songs, 30 nominations, number of songs touched people's lives throughout his career. this is going to be very, very hard news to take. >> only 57 years old obviously a great artist, a great performer, a great singer. it is pretty shocking especially since earlier in the week we have heard he was suffering from the flu but a spokesperson said he was fine doing just fine. all of a sudden confirmation that he has died. we don't know the cause of death. cnn senior media correspondent joining us from new york. i want all of our viewers to listen to a little bit of prince singing "purple rain" on arsenio hall years ago. listen to this. ♪

♪ never meant to cause you any pain ♪ ♪ only to see you in the purple rain ♪ ♪ purple rain, purple rain ♪ purple rain, purple rain ♪ purple rain, purple rain

♪ ♪

a great talent, the music legend unfortunately has passed away at the age of 57. we just received official statement from his publicest saying this, it is with profound sadness that i am -- that prince rogers nelson has died at his residence this morning at the age of 57. no further details as to the cause of death at this time. that is the official statement. prince's real name prince rogers nelson. with us from new york. really sad moment, great artist, great talent. people are going to be pretty sad when they get the word. >> you are absolutely right. this is one of the pop music geniuses of all time, one of the most influential musicians, one of the most innovative with the

ways he would combine funk and pop and rock and other types of music. we were listening to purple rain. in some ways this 1984 movie and sound track catapulted. he won an oscar and grammys and that 1984 movie, 1985 really helped him reach an even greater level of fame. he is, of course, born in minneapolis and died in minnesota, was so well known for his paisley park studio and home and had an event there over the weekend. this afternoon i'm seeing many people sharing lyrics. i think the 1984 song let's go crazy which begins with the words dearly beloved we are gathered here today to get through this thing called life. today everyone i see gathering, talking about prince and his contributions to the world of

music. >> seven grammy awards, earned 30 nominations, prince unfortunately dead at the age of 57. larry king is joining us on the phone right now. larry, i know you spoke with him many times over the years. very sad moment for all of us who admired and enjoyed his work. give us your reaction. >> i'm very shocked. i had no idea there was anything wrong. he was home over the weekend. i remember when i first -- i believe -- i was told he was difficult and didn't like doing interviews. i found him very, very enjoyable. he wasiesy to approach, a lot of fun over the years. i only interviewed him that one time but i would run into him and he remembered me and very kind. i thought he was extremely generous to his fans. he was a great performer.

this is a shock. there is no indication of what caused it, right? >> no. earlier in the week they said he was suffering from the flu. he was taken to the hospital but then a spokesperson said he was doing, quote, fine and was at home. that's all that they said earlier. and then all of a sudden today we got these initial indications that there was a police investigation underway to see what happened. there was a death at his estate and the studio in minnesota. he was born in minnesota and official word from his public t estist that he has passed away. of course, we have clips, when you spoke to him in 1999 was he on for a long time, for the hour or brief interview? >> he did the whole hour and he was amazing and wonderful. >> people telling me he is

difficult. i found him completely the opposite. >> and a very nice guy to you? >> very nice guy. i never heard anything bad about him at all. >> a great music legend and performed. people loved prince and they still do. his music is iconic and will always be remembered. when you spoke with him, larry, did he give you indications of like side lights of his life? did he perform on your show? >> he talked about how he took the name prince and used the one word. remember that time when he didn't use the name and the "new york times" with like symbols. >> his birth name was prince

rogers nelson. his first name is really prince, middle name rogers and last name nelson. he went by the name prince. everybody knew him as prince. >> there were times they wouldn't print his name but just print he performed last night and then symbols or didn't want his name printed. that was many years ago. but i can only remember this that i enjoy very much, a lot of people asked me about him after i interviewed him. really wasn't in front of the public a lot except for his music. a lot like michael jackson. he was much more open than michael was in the interview. i knew michael. michael was extremely shy. i would not call prince shy. he was a lot of fun. >> his first album debuted back in 1978 but all these years he has been active and performing and he certainly has been making

a lot of fans happy, the music that he created, a real great talent, a final thought from you before i let you go. >> i would just say this is a very sad day in the music world. very sad day in the pop world around the world. he will long be remembered. this is one of those sad moments. they say some people are irreplaceable. there will never be another prince. >> truly a multi talented entertainer with his provocative lyrics and amazing singer. very sad to learn the legendary artist prince has died at the age of 57. thanks very much, larry. our studio contributor is on the phone now, what are you learning? we are just getting word he died. he had been sick earlier in the week supposedly with the flu. now we are getting official word that he has died. >> when i say this is shocking,

it is one of the biggest under statements i think i have made. "rolling stone" did this kind of introspective of music and said that prince was number 27 on the greatest artist list, 100 greatest artist list. for me and for a lot of people in my generation he is the sound track of our lives, one of the top five. purple rain, he played a little bit of him doing that on arsenio. that album for many people is top three of all time. he is just that much of a musical genius. so this has taken everyone by surprise and shocked and saddened. talking about how twitter just went crazy with celebrities reacting, fans reacting. i have been getting call after call after call from people this morning saying please tell me this is not true. and in fact, we have gotten word and confirmation from his

publicist that it is true. it happened around 9:45 -- >> hold on for a moment. i want to remember some of his great music. listen to a little "red corvette." ♪ you're the kind of person who believes in making out once ♪ ♪ love and leave fast ♪ guess i must be dumb ♪ pocket full of horses ♪ it was saturday night guess that makes it all right ♪ ♪ what have i got to lose ♪ red corvette ♪ baby you're much too fast ♪ you need a love that's going to last ♪ ♪ guess i should have closed my

eyes when you drove me to the place where your horses run free ♪ ♪ i felt a little eerie when i saw the pictures of the jockeys ♪ ♪ believe it or not i started to worry ♪ ♪ wondering if i had enough class ♪ ♪ it was saturday night i guess that makes it all right ♪ ♪ you say baby i ain't got enough gas ♪ ♪ red corvette ♪ need to find a love that's going to last ♪ ♪

back in 1982, 1983 was with the hit album 1999. a lot of us remember the music that he performed and it was amazing when you think about "purple rain." not only won two grammys but won the academy award for best original song score in 1985. you're getting more information with us more reaction is pouring in, the tragic death of prince. >> watching this video from mtv i thought it would be nice to share a message from mtv. the music video network lifted up prince and prince lifted up mtv with video music and with performances like this one. mtv saying in a statement the network is heart broken and utter disbelief. prince was a once in a lifetime artist who transcended every

medium and genre he touched and created music that inspired multiple generations. hearts and prayers to family, friends and millions of fans. we are hearing that from many artists, many celebrities reacting online of all stripes. we will share some of those with you coming up, as well. >> it's hard to believe that he is dead and at only 57 years old given the career over 30 years he really did perform brilliantly and so many people not only in the united states but around the world clearly enjoyed his music. >> one of the comments that was made about david bowie's passing earlier this year is equally accurate to say today about prince is he was able to remain relevant and inspirational across decades. i was thinking back to last year in the wake of unrest in baltimore the disturbance around freddie gray's death, prince

went to baltimore and performed there and released a song called "baltimore" he was able to speak to the times and remain current and speak out on current events all throughout the years. i think we can share comments we are seeing from many artist whose are reacting. billy idol on twitter saying -- oh, my god, i can't believe that prince has died. he was a great, great talent. we are hearing from so many different pop stars. here is katy perry reacting on twitter writing and just like that the world lost a lot of magic. rest in peace, prince, thanks for giving us so much. comments from spike lee and gene simmons and practically every musician and public figure. >> his music appealed to so many different generations. i remember the 2007 super bowl he was halftime performer.

it was amazing. >> some tv critics even now say that was the best super bowl halftime performance in history, that it was so memorable with the performance of "purple rain" and other songs. it is a very high bar that he has set for every other performer about ten years ago. >> i want you to listen. i want viewers to listen. here is a clip from prince's interview with larry king back in 1999. >> i use stevie wonder as an inspiration whom i look up to a great deal just for the way that he crafted music and his connection to the spirit. and, boy, back then i used him as a role model in trying to play all the instruments and be very self-contained and keep my vision clear. word spread very quickly about what i could do. a lot of people knew about it.

>> how would you describe your music? >> what idiom would you put it in? >> the only thing i could think of because i don't like categories, the only thing i can think of is inspirational. i think music from the heart falls right into that category. people really feel what it is they are doing. and ultimately all music is and/or can be inspirational. that's why it is so important to let your gift be guided by something more clear. >> important interview with larry king back in 1999. don lemon joining us on the phone. only 57 years old. what a great talent. i know he inspired you as so many millions around the world. >> he certainly did. i think about when i first heard going to school i was in grade

school in 1978 and my sister was in college. and she introduced me to prince because she would play him on the cassette tape. and his first album "for you" was very controversial. his lyrics were shocking to people. now it is nothing. back then it was a big deal with "soft and wet" and a song called "head". he was to me inspiring because he taught you that it was okay to be different. he certainly because different with a big afro and then straightened his hair and had this androgynus look. he made music interesting. he was a pop star wrapped in a rock star and punk all of that rolled into one. that is what made him interesting and a muzical genius. he went on with his album and then in the early days great song controversy that topped the

charts. i remember that going to listening to him over and over and over as my family would drive to bayou classic games back in the '70s and '80s. it is a real loss. going all the way into the year i graduated high school was the year he came out with "when doves cry". we would play it over and over. my heart and prayers go out to his family and fans. >> huge loss indeed. he was a great guitarist. he wasn't just a great singer and a great musician. >> speaks for itself. not only that, he was a great dresser. he was a great fashion icon. look at him. look what he is wearing on cnn. the man could rock heels and a pant suit. i want to give him his due.

we are sad but we are celebrating prince as a musical genius and legend that he is. we often -- of course, we have to mourn. as you and i know so well it is tough to report these things. you are reporting for cnn as was i for michael jackson and james brown and whitney houston. we have to remember how much someone like prince contributes to a society and changes society. so while i am sad and mourn for him i celebrate his legacy and genius. >> as we all do. latoya jackson. you can see over there what a sad day today. terribly sorry to hear that prince has passed. what an incredible talent from latoya jackson. it is only just beginning, the reaction beginning to set in that prince is dead that he will not be around. he has been so active over all of these years writing music,

performing, sound tracks for major motion pictures. all of us remember "purple haze" and what that did for the world of music. >> if you want to know what prince did all you have to do is look at his biography and look at "poor you" which started with the hit "soft and wet" and then prince and dirty mind and controversy and 1999 and on and on and new albums which you know the music. and what was interesting about prince is that he wasn't caught up in the whole record industry thing where he had to change himself or be something to be a commercial success. he was an artist in the true form and essence of the word artistry when it comes to music. just recently we have the 1980s documentary and the producers asked me for my favorite '80s

song. many of them were prince songs. you can't find them on some of the music outlets like it wasn't about the money for him. lots of artists all over the music platforms, prince reserved the music for his fans and if you wanted to listen to presence and appreciate prince, you needed to go to a record store or find it the old-fashioned way which i really appreciated. >> releasing the first album in 1978, he was only, get this, only 19 years old. he was the youngest record producer in the history of warner brothers at time. can you imagine, 19 years old and producing that album? that was his debut album as you recall. clearly, it had a huge impact on you, right? >> i can't imagine. can you imagine having that much success at 19 and he was a complete individual.

he was not a conformist which is something that appealed to me early on and to my cry si sister back then in college. i was, what, 12 years old when that first album came out and listen it on the bus and the driver trying to turn it down. my mom saying what are you listening to? it was racy then. like i said, now it's nothing. you could play his music anywhere now because the lyrics are so different, culture changed. he really was, you know, ground breaking and broke barriers because listen. it was back then it was r&b and soul. and then it was burgeoning, burgeoning hip hop. hip hop didn't really start yet but most of the male artists were hyper masculine. a man and sang love songs and prince came along and his

falcetto. michael jackson was more pop and prince was good and he was androgyno androgynous. some of the lyrics am i black or white, am i straight or gay. controversy. his life and people wonder if he was straight, gay, black, white. what was going on with him? he didn't care. so for many of us who sort of emerged out of that prince era who, you know, don't really conform to society and so he sort of told us it was okay to be an individual and i will always respect him and i thank him for that. >> yeah. "purple rain," though, stands out in everyone's mind. >> amazing. >> remembering that song. we played it earlier. don, i want to play another song. "johnny b. good."

this is 1999. listen to prince. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> and you know, don, it underscores s the incredible re of his performances. you saw that. you saw "purple rain." you see what he's done and the impact on all of us.

>> he influenced me and a lot of people. look at him with himself. come on. who does that? you have to love it. you have to love the glasses, the hair. listening to prince's muse, everybody's inspired by someone, right? what i'm seeing a lot of and everyone says and you see in prince is little richard. someone heavily influenced by little richard and he was doing it in the late '50s and '60s and it was really tough to be an dod androgynous and then prince took it on in ode to little richard and i think prince gave him his due but if you look at prince then, looking at little richard, still alive and living in georgia, prince is little richard personified and little richard did it on the piano.

prince did it at the guitar and the studio. i can sit and listen to his music, you mentioned "purple rain." when that movie came out, he had beautiful women over him and vanity and vanity recently passed but he had all these beautiful -- he never left home. without a beautiful woman. and so, you know, he was so multi-faceted with as i say fashion, with the guitar. with his music. with his hair. he truly was a barrier breaker and icon. an icon that will, you know, that won't be repeated. someone may take on the mantle but there will never be a prince. >> people will be playing that music just to remember the impact that he had. don, hold on for a moment. our entertainment analyst chris witherspoon is joining us right now from new york, as well. reflect a little bit on the

impact of this sad loss, chris. >> yeah. wolf, looking on twitter and seeing celebrities react, all over the world reacting to this musician who impacted everyone. like don said, i think every music artist sort of wanted to be prince. do what he did. want to get a guitar and rock a cool look an perform the way he was able to do and looking at billy idol. he said i can't believe that prince died. i had a personal story in 2006. i was a page for nbc working for "saturday night live" and prince coming on to perform and he was doing dress rehearsal and i was watching him and he came over and pointed at the uniform and said cool suit. i said it's a uniform. he was a kind of guy that, you know, he had a magnet energy. he allowed people to take it in and we were lucky to do it. >> we have live pictures to show our viewers. people beginning to gather outside of the recording studio

in minnesota. right now. i'm sure the crowds will get bigger and bigger and bigger as word spreads that the artist, prince, unfortunately, has died. the impact that he had on -- in the '80s, '90s and now, all these years, going back to 1978, chris, when his debut album "for now" came out it's been enormous. >> i think that prince owned the music. prince was one of the first what i would call an artist's artist for music and did things in his own way. lying at beyonce and kind of the it girl right now an influenced by someone like prince and navigated the industry, a framework for others to dpol low, for sure. >> he really was amazing. and you have no indication of what was the cause of death? are you getting any information along those lines, chris? >> you know, we don't have a cause of death. when's kind of shocking is we're

hearing that he might have passed away from flu-like symptoming or knew phone yeah. he was on tour last week and brought the plane down, emergency landing in i believe illinois after an atlanta concert with the symptoms. he was hospitalized last friday. later released. we don't know the cause of death today. >> stand by, chris. brian sett brian seltser joining us. >> there's a long line of cars outside that paisley park location of a moment ago. according to local media. people lining up wanting to drive by, wanting to see the scene outside. as everyone curious about what his last days were and what could have caused his death. of course, enormous tragedy to listen to someone like don lemon describe the personal influence of prince on so many people and wanted to reflect he was an

iconoclast and someone who inspired, of course, so many younger artists. justin timberlake saying he's numb and stunned saying this can't be real. here's latoya jackson on instagram saying a sad day. terribly sorry to hear prince passed. what an incredible talent we have lost. another one gone too soon. the music is not necessarily available on pandora or spotify or pandora. some radio stations devoting to prince songs. he spoke briefly last year presenting an award saying albums still matter like books and black lives. albums still matter. he has a number of unreleased songs, a number of songs recorded never seen the light of day. even more another example of the incredible amount of work that he produced over the years.

>> very sad moment, indeed. all of us will remember prince. we loved his music. very, very sad. deepest, deepest condolences to his family. brooke baldwin will continue our special coverage right now. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ can't believe it today. continuing our special breaking news coverage. i'm brooke baldwin. a massive loss in the world of music. pop culture. art. superstar, music pioneer,