Prince Biography

Prince was one of the most varied and rich musicians in the entertainment world. Constantly writing and reinventing music, he was one the first artists to blend rock & roll with pop, funk, folk, and rock.

Early Life

Prince Rogers Nelson was born in Minneapolis, US on June 7, 1958. Encouraged by a musician father, Prince wrote his first song at age 7 and by junior high he mastered a variety of instruments.

Career Beginnings and Success

At age 17 he made a demo tape with producer Chris Moon, who would manage to get him a record label contract with Warner Bros. Prince was in charge of almost the entire production, writing, recording and arraging of his funk-pop first two albums. Starting 1980s he released the sexually explicit Dirty Mind, followed by Controversy which were both well received by critics and the music market.

Purple Rain and Breakthrough

The 1999 LP proved to be a major hit, selling over 3 million units. However, nothing would compare with the ultimate classic album and movie Purple Rain released in 1984. The album spent 24 weeks at number 1 on the Billboard 200 and sold more than 13 million units in the US alone. Recorded along with his band the Revolution the album was his most pop-oriented album ever. It got Prince his first three Grammys. As the eclectic musician that he was, Prince stirred his musical direction into psycho-psychedelia with Around the World in a Day and Parade which spawned the art rock fun hit song, Kiss. Sign o’ the Times was released in 1987 finding success overseas.

Setbacks and Comeback

Prince planned to release a darker hip-hop inspired album with The Black Album but canceled its release deciding the album would be too evil. Released in 1988, Lovesexy, was a commercial failure as well as Graffiti Bridge released in 1990. He reformed a new and better band with the New Power Generation in 1991, after which revealing the 12th album encrypted with a unique symbol –The Love Symbol – meant to represent his name. After some disagreements with his label, he decided to release, independently, his most successful hit in years with The Most Beautiful Girl in the World. After the release of the forced albums The Gold Experience and Chaos and Disorder, Prince parted ways with Warner Bros and created his own label, NPG. Free of any contractual obligations, Prince released the large 3 CD set Emancipation LP in 1996. Although it wasn’t the expected commercial breakthrough, it did get platinum certification by RIAA. After a disordered material release, Prince was trying to encounter success again with Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic under the major label Arista Records. This LP and the 2003 N.E.W.S. left fans confused and displeased. He had a rebound with Musicology which got him a Grammy nomination in 2005. In 2006 he released the number 1 album 3121, followed by the 2007 Planet Earth. 

Warner Bros. and Death

From 2010 until 2012 he toured the world. He reconciled with his former label Warner Bros, got re-signed, thus received ownership over his early work. He released a number of albums, Art Official Age, HITnRUN: Phase One and HITnRUN: Phase Two all with numerous collaborations. After a canceled tour due to sickness in early 2016, the 57-year-old, Prince was found unresponsive by police after being called on 21 April 2016. He died of an accidental overdose of fentanyl according to medics. His passing and impressive career caused fans and peers to be overcome with emotion and admiration for the pop legend, Prince.

Photo credit: Billboard