Prince (musician)

This article is about the American singer and musician. For other uses, see Prince (disambiguation).

Prince
Prince in 1981
Born
Prince Rogers Nelson

(1958-06-07)June 7, 1958
Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
DiedApril 21, 2016(2016-04-21) (aged 57)
Chanhassen, Minnesota, U.S.
Cause of deathAccidental fentanyl overdose
Other names
  • Logo. Hollow circle above downward arrow crossed with a curlicued horn-shaped symbol and then a short bar
  • The Artist (Formerly Known as Prince) (TAFKAP)
  • Camille
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • musician
  • record producer
  • actor
Years active1975–2016
Spouses
  • ​
    ​
    (m. 1996; div. 2000)​
  • Manuela Testolini
    ​
    ​
    (m. 2001; div. 2007)​
Children1
FatherJohn L. Nelson
RelativesTyka Nelson (sister)
Musical career
Genres
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • guitar
  • keyboards
  • bass
  • drums
Discography
Labels
Formerly of
Websiteprince.com

Prince Rogers Nelson (June 7, 1958 – April 21, 2016) was an American singer, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, record producer, and actor. The recipient of numerous awards and nominations, he is regarded as one of history's greatest musicians.[7] He was known for his flamboyant, androgynous persona;[8][9] his wide vocal range, which included a far-reaching falsetto and high-pitched screams; and his skill as a multi-instrumentalist, often preferring to play all or most of the instruments on his recordings.[10] His music incorporated a wide variety of styles, including funk, R&B, rock, new wave, soul, synth-pop, pop, jazz, blues, and hip hop. Prince produced his albums himself, pioneering the Minneapolis sound.

Born and raised in Minneapolis, Prince signed a record deal with Warner Bros. Records at the age of 19, soon releasing the studio albums For You (1978) and Prince (1979). He went on to achieve critical success with the influential albums Dirty Mind (1980), Controversy (1981), and 1999 (1982). His sixth album, Purple Rain (1984), was recorded with his new backing band the Revolution and was also the soundtrack to the film Purple Rain in which he starred. The album garnered continued success for Prince and was a major commercial achievement, spending six consecutive months atop the US Billboard 200 chart.[11] The soundtrack also won Prince the Academy Award for Best Original Song Score whilst the movie grossed $70.3 million worldwide, against its $7.2 million budget and publications. Critics have regarded Purple Rain as one of the greatest musical films.[12][13] After disbanding the Revolution, Prince released the album Sign o' the Times (1987), widely hailed by critics as the greatest work of his career.

In the midst of a contractual dispute with Warner Bros. in 1993, he changed his stage name to the unpronounceable symbol Logo. Hollow circle above downward arrow crossed with a curlicued horn-shaped symbol and then a short bar (known to fans as the "Love Symbol") and was often referred to as The Artist Formerly Known as Prince (or TAFKAP) or simply The Artist.[14][15] After moving to Arista Records in 1998, Prince reverted to his original name in 2000. Over the next decade, six of his albums entered the U.S. top 10 charts.[16][17] In April 2016, at the age of 57, Prince died after accidentally overdosing on fentanyl at his Paisley Park home and recording studio in Chanhassen, Minnesota. He was a prolific musician who released 39 albums during his life, with a vast array of unreleased material left in a custom-built bank vault underneath his home after his death, including fully completed albums and over 50 finished music videos.[18] Numerous posthumous collections of his previously unheard work have been issued by his estate.

Prince sold more than 100 million records worldwide during his lifetime, ranking him among the best-selling music artists of all time.[19] His awards include the Grammy President's Merit Award, the American Music Awards for Achievement and of Merit, the Billboard Icon Award, an Academy Award, and a Golden Globe Award. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, the U.K. Music Hall of Fame in 2006, and the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame in 2016, and was inducted twice into the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame in 2022.[20][21] Estimates of the complete number of songs written by Prince range anywhere from 500 to well over 1,000.[22] Some of these songs were made popular after being covered by other musicians, including "Nothing Compares 2 U" by Sinéad O'Connor and "Manic Monday" by the Bangles.[23]

  1. ^ Brown, August; Rottenberg, Josh (April 21, 2016). "Prince, master of rock, soul, pop and funk, dies at 57". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 15, 2022. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Brown was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Barclay, Michael (April 21, 2016). "How Prince, rock's effortlessly dangerous superstar, changed the game". Maclean's. Archived from the original on February 19, 2024. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  4. ^ "Prince: A genre-defying master architect of funk, rock, R&B and pop". The Irish Times. April 23, 2016. Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  5. ^ "Neo-Psychedelia". AllMusic. Archived from the original on February 18, 2013. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Himes was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "Prince Tribute: The Greatest Musical Talent of His Generation". Billboard. April 28, 2016. Archived from the original on April 23, 2020. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
  8. ^ "In Prince, an icon who defied easy categorization". The Christian Science Monitor. April 22, 2016. ISSN 0882-7729. Archived from the original on May 7, 2021. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  9. ^ Schonfeld, Zach (June 7, 2015). "Prince's 30 Best Screams, Ranked". Newsweek. Archived from the original on May 7, 2021. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  10. ^ Campbell, Michael (2008). Popular Music in America: The Beat Goes On. Cengage Learning, 2008. p. 300. ISBN 978-0-495-50530-3.
  11. ^ Caulfield, Keith; Trust, Gary (April 22, 2016). "Chart Royalty: Prince's Hot 100 & Billboard 200 Highlights". Billboard. Archived from the original on February 13, 2017. Retrieved February 12, 2017.
  12. ^ "Prince". Rockhall. Archived from the original on August 3, 2009.
  13. ^ "Prince's movie legacy: Will there ever be another like 'Purple Rain'?". Los Angeles Times. April 21, 2016. Archived from the original on August 6, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
  14. ^ "TAFKAP". The Free Dictionary. Archived from the original on November 10, 2020. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
  15. ^ "Prince: 'People hear the sex in my songs much more than I ever write it'". The Guardian. April 24, 2016. Archived from the original on May 25, 2021. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
  16. ^ "Re: Prince Rogers Nelson" (PDF). Mncourts.gov. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 24, 2017. Retrieved March 9, 2017.
  17. ^ "Prince". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 4, 2021. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
  18. ^ "The Artist Formerly Known as Prince". Ebony. January 1997. p. 128. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  19. ^ Hanrahan, Mark (October 26, 2017). "Purple reigns at London exhibition charting Prince's career". Reuters. Archived from the original on December 21, 2019. Retrieved October 26, 2017.
  20. ^ Nazareno, Mia (December 17, 2021). "Smokey Robinson, Berry Gordy, Jr. & More to Be Inducted at 2022 Black Music and Entertainment Walk of Fame". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 29, 2022. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
  21. ^ Aderoju, Darlene (June 13, 2022). "Black Music Month & Juneteenth 2022: Industry Celebrations (Updating)". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 14, 2022. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
  22. ^ "Gold and Platinum Search". Archived from the original on February 25, 2012. Retrieved March 17, 2013.
  23. ^ "InfoDisc : Bilan par Artiste (Ventes Réelles des Singles/Titres & des Albums)". Archived from the original on November 5, 2013. Retrieved November 1, 2013.