Prince Rogers Nelson credited me for influencing him with three things in his young life– drums, basketball, and girls. These sentiments were shared during the late music icon’s eulogy on August 13, 2016 at Paisley Park in Chanhassen, Minnesota.
I am the founder, original drummer, and lead vocalist of Grand Central, the band that spawned Morris Day, Andre Cymone, and Prince Rogers Nelson. We attended Lincoln Junior High School together. My cousin and I decided to expand and to start looking for a bass player. Prince said he would show Andre how to play the bass after he joined the band because at the time Andre played the saxophone at school.
Grand Central consisted of Linda Anderson, Andre Anderson, Terrance Jackson, William “Hollywood” Doughty, Prince Nelson and myself. Together we collaborated and formed the roots of what Prince would later define as the “Minneapolis Sound.” William initially played rhythm guitar and Terrance & William played percussion. Grand Central was one of the only black groups in Minneapolis that fused both rock and funk together and the name was inspired by our fascination with the band, Grand Funk Railroad. Frank Jackson was our manager and Spike Moss (who referred to our band as Electric Kool-Aid) had the connections. Grand Central and Flyte Tyme were two of the most electrifying rival bands in Minneapolis and both consisted of all self-taught musicians.
I met Morris Day in my 9th grade photography class at North High School. Our band was amazing which is why Morris wanted my spot. There are a lot of stories and rumors on why I left Grand Central, but I played sports my whole life starting with Minneapolis Park board and was trying to balance both. Shortly after Morris replaced me their band Champagne (not Grand Central) disbanded altogether.
Prince was auditioning musicians for his first U.S. tour and Owen Husney rented out a space at a warehouse called Del’s Tire Mart in Minneapolis. I brought my keyboardist, Gayle Chapman over to Prince’s house in Edina, a suburb of Minneapolis at 5215 France Avenue South. He needed a keyboardist for the first tour. Gayle auditioned and was selected to go on his first tour in the U.S. I had been slated to be the drummer, but my cousin was told he needed more of a “multi-racial band.”
In 1986 I collaborated with writer Steven Ivory on the first published biography about Prince. Later that same year, I signed a solo record contract with A&M Records in Los Angeles. Since then, I’ve worked on projects, live sessions and assisted writers and journalists seeking information on our family and Prince.
Today I reside in Minneapolis, Minnesota with my wife of 30 years. We have four children together plus our two Yorkshire Terriers.
Thank you for all your love and support.
– Charles “Chazz” Smith –