Prince Rogers Nelson may have never performed in West Palm Beach, but a local attorney shares a strong connection with the pop artist. Attorney Patrick Cousins represented Prince for 6 years. He said he was shocked to receive a phone call this afternoon telling him his former client, friend, and music idol has passed away.
"I don't know why he passed away, but it was definitely a shock," said Cousins.
Cousins started representing Prince in 2004. He was talking to a Mr. Nelson on the phone, offering him legal advice.
"I said okay Mr. Nelson that’s about all the time I have for today, but you can call my office on Monday I’m going to give you my phone number so I’ll let the office know who is calling, can I get your first name and he said Prince and I just looked at the phone and pointed to my wife, I said 'it’s Prince' and she was like no," reminisced Cousins.
From then on Cousins handled the superstar's contracts, copyright cases, and traveled all around the world. He says working with Prince was a thrill.
"I remember one time he flew me from West Palm Beach to Minneapolis to watch him and the band rehearse. I was the only person there watching, he said tell me what you think and it went on and on on, I mean 2, 3 o clock in the morning and I was like okay it’s good" laughed Cousins.
Cousins says Prince was a perfectionist. He says If Prince didn't have 100 percent effort from everyone, he wouldn't do it.
"He was constantly writing, I mean constantly, I mean he has hundreds and hundreds of songs archived I’m sure somewhere," added Cousins.
At age 57, Prince's life was cut short just a week after his jet made an emergency landing in Illinois. Reports say he was battling the flu.
"I remember telling my wife, you know I'm worried that he's really really sick cause he's so private. I can't imagine him wanting to land his jet somewhere that he was unfamiliar with and be seen by doctors that he didn't know," said Cousins.
Cousins stopped representing Prince a few years because of how much traveling it required. He still kept in touch and never imagined Prince would be gone so soon.
"It just goes to show how fragile life is," added Cousins.