Prince's c. 1995 Andy Beech Custom Yellow Cloud
Musician
Prince
(American, 1958 - 2016)
Maker
Andy Beech
Datec. 1995
ClassificationsMusic
DescriptionPrince's c. 1995 Andy Beech Custom Yellow Cloud guitar, with Paisley Park inventory control number neck plate on back reading "Property of / PRN MUSIC CORP. / PM 16644" and case with matching inventory number plate. Prince first commissioned a Cloud guitar from local Minneapolis music shop Knut Koupee in 1983 as he was preparing to film Purple Rain. Knut completed this first instrument, Cloud #1 in November 1983. Prince commissioned Knut Koupee to build two additional Cloud guitars, #2 and #3, in 1984 for touring and live performances. In 1985, Warner Bros. commissioned Cloud #4 as a prize in a promotional contest. Knut Koupee continued to repair and refinish Prince's instruments until they had a falling out in 1991. At that time Prince began sending his instruments to Hoffman Guitars in Minneapolis.
Prince then commissioned Andy Beech to build three new Cloud guitars in 1992 to replace his original three instruments that had been broken and repaired a number of times. Prince ordered a few additional batches of Cloud guitars and by January of 1995, an inventory of the Paisley Park collection lists thirteen Andy Beech Clouds with another three, two yellow and one blue "on the way" at that time. The inventory number of this guitar is not on this January of 1995 inventory listing but it was most likely one of the guitars listed as "on the way."
Zeke Clark, Prince's longtime guitar technician, performed repairs on this guitar due to damage. Clark installed a Floyd Rose tremolo and locking nut system. The body of the guitar may also have been broken because the entire body was re-done and re-routed moving the input jack from the front body scroll to the side of the body. These two modifications make this guitar unique compared to all other Cloud guitars. The instrument was likely retired soon after these repairs, as no footage or photographs of Prince playing the guitar after the Floyd Rose hardware had been installed have yet surfaced.
Prince (1958-2016), born Prince Rogers Nelson, was an American musician, singer, producer, and actor. Prince was known for his flamboyant personality and dress, and is considered one of the best multi-instrumentalists in popular music. His music featured elements of R&B, rock and roll, funk, soul, jazz, and electronica.
Prince was a proflic songwriter, releasing over 40 albums, with his first album For You (1978) released when h was just 19 years old. His most popular albums, including 1999 (1982), Purple Rain (1984), Around the World in a Day (1985), Batman (1989), and 3121 (2006), topped the Billboard 200 charts throughout three decades.
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