Prince

Prince Rogers Nelson, born June 7, 1958, grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His father, John Nelson, was a musician who performed under the stage name Prince Rogers, and his mother, Mattie Shaw, was a jazz singer.^[1][2] He was a self-taught musical prodigy who learned piano, guitar, and drums at an early age, forming his first band by junior high and working as a session guitarist by age 16.^[4]

Prince signed with Warner Bros. Records in 1978 and released his debut album, For You, that same year. The album credits noted it was "Produced, arranged, composed and performed by Prince," showcasing his remarkable multi-instrumental abilities.^[4] He was a rare composer who could perform at a professional level on virtually all the instruments he required.^[2] His early albums, including Dirty Mind (1980), Controversy (1981), and 1999 (1982), established him as a boundary-pushing artist blending funk, R&B, rock, pop, and new wave.^[1]

In 1984, Prince achieved a historic milestone: simultaneously holding the number-one film, album, and single in the United States with Purple Rain, its soundtrack, and "When Doves Cry."^[3] The Purple Rain soundtrack spent 12 weeks at number one on the Billboard album chart and sold 16.3 million copies.^[4] The film earned him an Academy Award for Best Original Song Score.^[3] He is widely credited as the pioneer of the Minneapolis sound, blending funk, soul, disco, jazz, punk, and hip-hop into a style that transcended genre boundaries.^[5]

Prince's later career was marked by both prolific output and battles over artistic control. In 1992, he signed a $100 million deal with Warner Bros., then the largest recording contract in history.^[3] Following disputes over ownership of his master recordings, he changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol in 1993, becoming known as "The Artist Formerly Known as Prince" until reverting to his birth name in 2000.^[2] His 2007 Super Bowl XLI halftime performance, watched by 140 million viewers, is considered one of the greatest ever.^[3]

Over a prolific 38-year career, Prince released 39 studio albums and composed an estimated 900 songs, selling over 120 million albums worldwide.^[1] He won seven Grammy Awards from 38 nominations, a Golden Globe Award, and an Academy Award.^[6] He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004 by Outkast and Alicia Keys.^[5] His influence extends to contemporary artists including Beyonce, Bruno Mars, The Weeknd, and Janelle Monae.^[5]

Prince was found dead at his Paisley Park compound on April 21, 2016, at the age of 57. An autopsy determined the cause of death to be an accidental overdose of fentanyl.^[7] His posthumous memoir, The Beautiful Ones, was published by Random House in October 2019.^[2]