“Prince told me, ‘You sound so great, man. Keep doing your thing – because when I hear it, it’s such a sound!’”: Cory Wong recalls his encounters with The Purple One – and names the Prince album that every funk guitarist should listen to

Cory Wong in 2026.

If you ask modern funk hero Cory Wong about his biggest influences, Prince’s name will very likely be one of the first to crop up.

In fact, quiz Wong on the albums that taught him the most about holding down the groove and playing in the pocket – the kind of things he’s made a career out of – and he will cite Controversy, Prince’s fourth studio album of 1981, as an academic masterpiece.