Prince (November 10, 1996) – “Whatever-his-name Celebrates ‘Emancipation’” Feature - The Plain Dealer

Published nine days before Emancipation was due for release, this Plain Dealer column by Michael Norman reports that Prince had declared November 19 his personal “Emancipation Day”. The piece captures the end of the Warner Bros. relationship and the anticipation surrounding a vast new three-CD collection of 36 songs.

FEATURE HIGHLIGHTS

FEATURE	DETAILS
Artist:	Prince
Publication:	The Plain Dealer
Publication Date:	November 10, 1996
Location:	Cleveland, Ohio, USA
Section:	Rock ’n’ Roll
Writer:	Michael Norman
Headline:	Whatever-his-name celebrates ‘emancipation’
Album:	Emancipation
Release Date Given:	November 19, 1996
Format:	Three-CD set
New Songs:	36
Label Mentioned:	NPG Records
Principal Theme:	Prince’s post-Warner Bros. freedom and the forthcoming release of Emancipation

ORIGINAL SOURCE MATERIAL

ORIGINAL NEWSPAPER CUTTING

THE PLAIN DEALER, NOVEMBER 10, 1996 – “WHATEVER-HIS-NAME CELEBRATES ‘EMANCIPATION’”

INTRODUCTION

EMANCIPATION DAY	BACK IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Michael Norman’s November 10 column reports that the artist then widely referred to as the Artist Formerly Known as Prince had declared November 19 his personal “Emancipation Day”.	The article presents the occasion as Prince stepping decisively back into the spotlight following the conclusion of the long and contentious Warner Bros. relationship.

THE WARNER BROS. BREAK

SEEKING FREEDOM	THE WORD “SLAVE”
Norman describes Prince as having spent much of the 1990s trying to free himself from his Warner Bros. recording agreement.	The cutting recalls the highly visible period in which Prince appeared publicly with the word “slave” written across his face, making the dispute part of the public presentation surrounding the artist.

EMANCIPATION

NOVEMBER 19	36 NEW SONGS
The forthcoming release is identified as Emancipation, scheduled for November 19.	The article describes the project as a three-CD set containing 36 new songs, making its unusual scale one of the most important facts in the announcement.

NPG RECORDS

THE LABEL	THE NEW PHASE
Norman states that the triple album would be issued on Prince’s own NPG Records imprint.	Within the article’s central narrative, releasing the project through NPG Records represents a sharp contrast with the Warner Bros. arrangement Prince had been attempting to leave behind.

PAISLEY PARK

PRIVATE RELEASE PARTY	CONCERT
The article announces a private record-release party and concert at Paisley Park Studios in Minneapolis.	The event was scheduled for the Tuesday associated with the album’s November 19 release, tying the physical release directly to a celebration at Prince’s own creative base.

BETCHA BY GOLLY WOW!

FIRST SINGLE	TELEVISION & RADIO
“Betcha By Golly Wow!” is identified in the cutting as the record’s first single.	Norman reports that portions of the Paisley Park event and material connected with the single’s video were due to reach radio and television outlets by satellite at midnight.

THE MEANING OF EMANCIPATION

ALBUM TITLE	PERSONAL FREEDOM
In this contemporary newspaper account, Emancipation is presented as more than simply the title of a new album.	The title is directly connected with Prince’s declared freedom from the previous recording arrangement, giving the November 19 release a strongly personal context.

THE HEADLINE

WHATEVER-HIS-NAME	CELEBRATES ‘EMANCIPATION’
The Plain Dealer’s headline uses “Whatever-his-name”, reflecting the difficulty mainstream newspapers sometimes had in referring concisely to Prince during the Symbol-name period.	The second half of the headline identifies the much larger story clearly: “celebrates ‘emancipation’”. The forthcoming album and the idea of Prince’s professional freedom are deliberately joined together.

THE PHOTOGRAPH

MICHAEL NORMAN COLUMN	PAGE PRESENTATION
A small monochrome portrait accompanies Michael Norman’s byline at the beginning of the Rock ’n’ Roll column.	The Prince item occupies the opening section of a much wider music-industry column rather than appearing as a standalone illustrated feature.

MORE THAN A PRINCE STORY

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN	OTHER MUSIC NEWS
After the Prince item, Norman moves into other music news, including a substantial section concerning Bruce Springsteen.	The same column also contains shorter contemporary industry items, meaning the Prince story functions as the lead item within a broader weekly rock-news roundup.

WHY THIS CUTTING MATTERS

BEFORE THE RELEASE	CONTEMPORARY CONTEXT
The feature appeared on November 10, nine days before the November 19 date advertised for Emancipation.	This makes it a useful companion to the contemporary Star Tribune advertisement from the same date. The Star Tribune advert reduces the message to the three-CD format, 36 songs and three hours of music, while Norman’s column supplies the record-company and personal-freedom context surrounding the release.

NOVEMBER 10, 1996

STAR TRIBUNE	THE PLAIN DEALER
The Minneapolis advertisement announces “Coming Nov. 19th” and sells the sheer scale of Emancipation.	The Cleveland feature explains why the release was being treated as an act of emancipation, concentrating on the Warner Bros. break, NPG Records and Prince’s planned Paisley Park celebration.

WHAT THE CUTTING DOCUMENTS

THE ALBUM	THE WIDER STORY
Emancipation November 19 release date Three-CD set 36 new songs NPG Records “Betcha By Golly Wow!”	Personal “Emancipation Day” End of the Warner Bros. deal Earlier “slave” protest Paisley Park release event Satellite promotion

CONTEXT AND NOTES

HISTORICAL CONTEXT	ARCHIVAL SIGNIFICANCE
Documented by the supplied cutting: Prince had declared November 19 his personal “Emancipation Day”; the new release was described as a three-CD set containing 36 new songs; and Norman linked the occasion directly with Prince’s release from his Warner Bros. recording agreement.	The cutting is especially valuable because it predates the album. Rather than interpreting Emancipation years later, Norman captures the way the release was being presented immediately before it became available.
The feature also documents the planned Paisley Park celebration and identifies “Betcha By Golly Wow!” as the first single.	Preserved alongside the November 10 Star Tribune advertisement, the two sources provide complementary contemporary views of the campaign: one as concise advertising, the other as explanatory music journalism.

CONCLUSION

WHATEVER-HIS-NAME	EMANCIPATION
The Plain Dealer’s deliberately cheeky headline belongs unmistakably to Prince’s Symbol-name period, but the underlying story is considerably more significant. A major recording relationship had ended and an unusually large new project was about to appear through NPG Records.	On November 10, 1996, Emancipation was still nine days away. Michael Norman’s column therefore preserves the release at a particularly useful moment: announced, explained and loaded with the promise of freedom, but not yet available to the public.

SOURCES

SOURCE MATERIAL	ARCHIVAL VERIFICATION
The Plain Dealer November 10, 1996 Michael Norman Original supplied newspaper cutting	Original November 10, 1996 newspaper scan

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