Happy Birthday Prince: 3 Memorable Purple One Sit-Ins

Prince Rogers Nelson was born in Minneapolis on this day in 1958. Known around the world simply by his royal first name, the multi-talented musician sadly died at the age of 57 last year following an accidental pain medication overdose. The Purple One was never shy about taking the stage with fellow performers and in celebration of what would have been his birthday, here’s a look at three times Prince made a memorable sit-in appearance.

First up is the late great Sharon Jones with her funky backing group The Dap-Kings performing in Paris in 2011. Following Prince’s death Jones described being surprised to find him onstage with his guitar while she and the band were performing “When I Come Home.” Prince makes his crowd-roaring, ultra-cool entrance with The Dap-Kings at approximately 6:30 in the video below:

Renowned bassist Larry Graham was a frequent Prince collaborator, touring and recording with The Purple One in a number of settings. Graham was on the lineup for the 2013 North Sea Jazz Festival held the Port Of Rotterdam, Netherlands. While in the midst of a medley Prince once again slid onstage to jam on “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin),” which Graham recorded with Sly & The Family Stone in 1969. The collab goes down at approximately 10:45 in the video below:

This final collaborators don’t have the illustrious resume that Graham boasts, but nonetheless Nikki Leonti and Ryan Edgar had the honor of sharing the stage at the W Hotel on Hollywood Boulevard back in 2014. Prince took the lyrics to a cover of The Beatles’ “With A Little Help From My Friends” literally and joined the vocalists during the Jazz Night session. Watch Prince setting the stage on fire with six strings in this clip: