As investigators wrapped their third day looking into the cause of Prince's death, the singer was quietly cremated Saturday evening. Here's what else we know so far:
10:01 p.m. ET: Bruce Springsteen opened his Saturday concert at the Barclay Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., with a cover of Purple Rain. Bathed in violet light, the Boss told the crowd, "Whenever I catch one of his shows, I always leave humble. So, I'm going to miss that and we're going to miss him."
7:28 p.m. ET: Prince was cremated and celebrated afterward in a small, private service by a group of his “most beloved” family, friends and musicians, his publicist, Yvette Noel-Schure, said in a statement Saturday.
It read: "A few hours ago, Prince was celebrated by a small group of his most beloved: family, friends and his musicians, in a private, beautiful ceremony to say a loving goodbye. Prince’s remains have been cremated and their final storage will remain private. We ask for your blessings and prayers of comfort for his family and close friends at this time. The cause of death remains unknown and it will be at least four weeks before we receive the results of the autopsy. An announcement will be made at a future date for a musical celebration."
The Associated Press reported that drummer Sheila E. and bassist Larry Graham were spotted at Paisley Park, his studio compound Saturday in Chanhassen, Minn, and presumably the site of the memorial service. Prince’s sister Tyka Nelson and brother-in-law Maurice Phillips were also seen on the grounds.
7:24 p.m. ET: Comedian Dave Chappelle, who will forever be linked to Prince because of his classic "Game: Blouses" sketch in which he played the singer as a basketball wizard in full Purple Rain-era regalia, said he found out about the singer's death when he began getting calls from the media looking for a reaction quote. According to The San Francisco Chronicle, he said he was tempted to cancel a planned, late-night Friday stand-up gig in San Francisco but reconsidered after his band told him, "Prince would not condone that." He came to the same conclusion, telling the audience, "This is black 9/11. It's so much better that we grieve together."
In a statement to WCCO-TV, Chappelle, said, "As a city, they exported a musical giant. It says a lot about them that at the height of his fame he chose to stay in Minneapolis, His admirers are a community that spans the globe. His legacy is an immense offering of music, love and laughter. And a fight for fairness to artist. Nothing of this world will begin to fill the void of his absence except his memory. Scientifically a memory is almost neurologically identical to an experience. So remember your loved ones often. Forget their faults and remember the best of what they made you feel. In that way… all of us are immortal gifts to one another that keeps on giving."
Chappelle and Prince became friends after the sketch aired. In fact, the singer liked it so much, he used a still photo of Chappelle in a Prince costume presenting a platter of pancakes as the cover for his 2013 single Breakfast Can Wait. Chappelle called the gesture a "Prince judo move: You make fun of Prince in a sketch and he uses a photo of you as his album cover. What am I going to do, sue him for using a picture of me dressed as him? That's checkmate, right there."
4:20 p.m. ET: If Eric Clapton's Purple Rain story has you in the mood to watch the movie this weekend, at least two theater chains can help take you back to 1984. The movie is also available on iTunes.
3:47 p.m. ET: Eric Clapton paid tribute to Prince on his Facebook page Saturday, calling the fellow guitar virtuoso a "true genius." He also shared a personal story about how a chance viewing of Purple Rain helped him begin to emerge from the depths of drug and alcohol abuse. "In the middle of my depression and the dreadful state of the music culture at that time, it gave me hope, he was like a light in the darkness ... I went back to my hotel, and surrounded by empty beer cans, wrote Holy Mother."
3:15 p.m. ET:Saturday Night Live has dug into its archives to put together a Prince tribute show, airing in the show's usual 11:30 p.m. ET time slot, Billboard reports. The singer put in musical guest appearances in 1981, 2006 and 2014.
2:00 p.m. ET: A "stunned and heartbroken" Will Smith revealed that he had spoken to Prince as recently as Wednesday night and lamented losing "a beautiful poet, a true inspiration, and one of the most magnificent artists to ever grace this earth."
12:37 p.m. ET: Digital music sales reports are still coming in but a million Prince songs were purchased Thursday alone, in addition to 231,000 albums. In addition to being the most downloaded album, The Very Best of Prince compilation is expected to top next week's Billboard Hot 200 chart. The most popular song since his death has been the Oscar-winning Purple Rain with 125,800 downloads.
11:30 a.m. ET: Prince's shadow loomed large over the second weekend of California's Coachella Music Festival, where numerous performers covered his hits and fans shared stories of his impact on their lives. He headlined the show eight years ago.
