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Sheila E Reveals Details About Prince’s Private Memorial, Plans for Paisley Park Museum and Tribute

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Vince Bucci/Getty ImagesSheila E was a close friend, musical collaborator and former fiancee of Prince, who died on April 21 at the age of 57.

The “Glamorous Life” singer  reportedly rushed to Minneapolis to get answers and has also served as a voice for the close knit circle with whom the music legend surrounded himself.

On Saturday morning, a private memorial service took place at Paisley Park, the 65,000 Minneapolis-area compound where Prince made his music and his home.

“It was very somber,” Sheila E told Entertainment Tonight on Sunday afternoon. “It was sad.”

“What was challenging yesterday was listening to his music at a very low soft volume and the room very low in lights and everyone just taking a moment, just sitting there, kind of going, ‘Wow,’ [in] disbelief.”

About 20 of Prince’s closest friends and family were on hand while a number of his classic songs played in honor of his life and legacy.

Sheila E also provided context to rumors that Prince wanted Paisley Park to become a Graceland-style museum of his iconic artifacts.  If she has her way, it will happen.

“We’re hoping to make Paisley what [Prince wanted] it to be,” she said. “[He] was working on it being a museum. He’s been gathering memorabilia and stuff from all the tours, like my drums and his motorcycle.”

“There’s a hallway of his awards and things, which he really didn’t care about too much, but he displayed it for the fans because he knows that they would want to see it,” she added. “There’s pictures of him all down the halls, some you’ve seen before and some never [seen]… There’s a mural on the wall with his hands out and on one side is all the people he was influenced by and the other side is all of us who have played with him… It’s beautiful.”

The California-based multi-instrumentalist also revealed plans to honor Prince at a tribute performance –currently in the works.

“I’m supposed to be the one musical director to put his tribute together with all of the original people and we hope that that happens,” Sheila E. said. “We’re working on it, we’ll see what happens… the plan is to have something here in Minneapolis.”

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