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Trending in Prince’s World
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Outlaw
Released Oct 9, 2024
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Quick Facts
Born
1958
1958
From
United States of America
United States of America
Journey
Prince Rogers Nelson, known as Prince, born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was a prolific singer, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, producer, and filmmaker. Raised by a jazz pianist father and a jazz vocalist mother, music was in his DNA. He taught himself piano, drums, and guitar at a young age, composing and arranging his own tracks as a teenager while cutting his teeth in local bands like Grand Central and Champagne.
His first album, "For You," appeared in 1978 after Warner Bros. Records signed the young musician and gave him unusual authority over his recordings. Prince wrote, arranged, produced, and performed the album, playing 27 instruments. Rather than separating the roles of songwriter, musician, and producer, he treated them as parts of the same creative process. "Prince" followed in 1979, with “I Wanna Be Your Lover” providing his first major commercial breakthrough. "Dirty Mind" and "Controversy" then moved his writing toward subjects that included sexuality, religion, identity, relationships, and social convention.
The double album "1999," released in 1982, brought Prince to a much larger audience. Its combination of funk, rock, R&B, pop, synthesizers, drum machines, and provocative songwriting became the basis for his international success. "Purple Rain" followed in 1984 as both an album and film project, recorded with The Revolution. “When Doves Cry,” “Let’s Go Crazy,” and “Purple Rain” became central recordings in his catalog, while the film earned him an Academy Award and the album brought multiple GRAMMY Awards.
Prince's response to success was rarely repetition. He moved from the psychedelic pop of "Around the World in a Day" to the orchestral arrangements of "Parade," the expansive "Sign o’ the Times," the stark presentation of "Lovesexy," and the soundtrack work of "Batman." After The Revolution disbanded, he formed the New Power Generation and released "Diamonds and Pearls," "The Gold Experience," and "Emancipation." He also supplied songs to artists including The Bangles, Sinéad O’Connor, Sheila E., The Time, and Tevin Campbell.
His battle with Warner Bros. over ownership and artistic control led him to adopt the Love Symbol as his public name during the 1990s. Prince received seven GRAMMY Awards, an Academy Award, and a Golden Globe, and entered the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2004. He died on April 21, 2016, at Paisley Park in Minnesota and was posthumously inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2024.