Source: Prince's Secret Vault Drilled Open

It's believed to hold hundreds of unreleased songs
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 30, 2016 7:47 AM CDT
Source: Prince's Secret Vault Drilled Open
People stand outside entertainer Prince's Paisley Park compound last week.   (Jim Gehrz/Star Tribune via AP, File)

Prince's vault is rumored to hold enough music to keep fans happy for decades—and they may soon discover if the rumors are true. Sources tell KSTP that the bank recently hired to safeguard the late star's estate has drilled into the vault at Prince's Paisley Park estate to take inventory. Bremer Bank had to hire a locksmith because only Prince knew the code to open it, the sources say. Susan Rogers, Prince's former recording engineer, tells ABC that the shelves of the vault, which was sealed with a large wheel, were filled with music from the days when they could "put out more work in a month than most people could do in a year or more." By some estimates, there could be 100 albums' worth of material in the vault.

Prince experts believe the vault contains hundreds of unheard Prince songs from many different eras, including his mid-1980s peak, when bandmates estimated he recorded a song a day. "I think there will be re-workings of familiar songs that will put Prince's released albums in context, and there will be songs that will be a complete surprise," music writer Stephen Thomas Erlewin tells the AP, adding that he is hoping for a live album. "We really don't have any live recordings of Prince at his peak." The bank declined to confirm any details about the vault, telling Entertainment Tonight that it will not "reveal the names of our customers or information related to requests for services." (Prince once wrote a song about Donald Trump.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X