BIOGRAPHY:
Prince Rogers Nelson was an American singer, composer, and poet. He was born in Minneapolis, USA on 7 June 1958.
Childhood and Youth:
Early in Prince’s musical career, the albums Prince, Dirty Mind and Controversy were released, which attracted attention for their combination of religious and sexual themes. He went on to release the hit albums 1999 and Purple Rain, cementing his superstar status with No. 1 hits like When Doves Cry and Let’s Go Crazy.
A seven-time Grammy Award winner, Prince had a stunning body of work that included later albums such as Diamonds and Pearls, The Gold Experience and Musicology. He died on April 21, 2016. Early in Prince’s musical career, the albums Prince, Dirty Mind and Controversy were released, which attracted attention for their combination of religious and sexual themes. He went on to release the hit albums 1999 and Purple Rain, cementing his superstar status with No. 1 hits like When Doves Cry and Let’s Go Crazy.
A seven-time Grammy Award winner, Prince had a stunning body of work that included later albums such as Diamonds and Pearls, The Gold Experience and Musicology. He died on April 21, 2016.
Early life:
Famed singer, songwriter, and musical innovator Prince was born Prince Rogers Nelson on June 7, 1958, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His parents were John Nelson, a musician whose stage name was Prince Rogers, and Mattie Shaw, a jazz singer who performed with the Prince Rogers Band.
Prince became interested in music at a young age and taught himself to play the piano, guitar and drums. His parents separated when he was about 10, and he and his sister split their time between their parents’ homes. He eventually escaped and moved in with neighbors, the Anderson family. In high school, Prince formed the group Grand Central (later known as Champagne) with Andre Anderson (who later changed his name to Andre Simone) and Morris Day.
In 1978, Prince signed a contract with Warner Bros. Records. In a 2009 interview with Tavis Smiley, Prince revealed that he suffered from epileptic seizures as a child and was therefore bullied at school.
80s: Purple Rain and others:
With his band the Revolution, Prince recorded the classic album Purple Rain (1984), which also served as the soundtrack to the film of the same name, which grossed nearly $70 million at the US box office. The film, starring Apollonia Kotero and Day, won the Academy Award for Best Original Song Score.
Its melancholic title track peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100, while the hits When Doves Cry and Let’s Go Crazy both reached number one. The soundtrack included two other hits: I Would Die 4 U and Take Me With U. Prince simultaneously became a well-known visual icon with his signature curls, flowing jackets and pockmarked outfits with punk jewelry.
Darling Nikki was another Purple Rain tune that caused controversy due to its explicit visuals. After Senator Al Gore’s wife, Tipper Gore, bought the album for their daughter and listened to the track, she eventually insisted on selling the albums to sports labels, which warned parents about the graphic lyrics.
In 1985, the album Around the World in a Day was released, which included 10 of the best tracks. Raspberry Beret, a funky mid-tempo tune, and Pop Life. The record continued to showcase Prince’s penchant for playing multiple instruments, as seen on Paisley Park, a track inspired by the name of his Minneapolis studio.
In 1986, Prince released his eighth studio album, Parade, which included his hit No. 1 pop/R&B single, Kiss. Parade served as the soundtrack to the artist’s second film, Under the Cherry Moon, which he directed and played a major role in.
Career rise: Controversy and “1999”
In 1978, Prince released his debut album, For You, followed by Prince (1979). He played virtually every instrument on the albums, and the second release contained his first Top 20 pop hit, the laid-back “I Wanna Be Your Lover.”
The critically acclaimed A Dirty Mind was released in 1980, consisting of material that was graphic in its exploration of sexuality and fantasy.
Controversy (1981) continued to play with the themes of its predecessor, as seen in the dance-oriented title track, which peaked at No. 3 on the R&B charts, as well as songs such as Sexuality and Do Me Baby. However, as Prince continued to develop his career, he was also known for tracks that had a deep spirituality, a desire for greatness and wonder.
The singer achieved international success with the release of his album 1999, which included the top 20 title track, a sophisticated synth-funk ode to the nuclear end of the world, as well as the top 10 hits Little Red Corvette and Delirious.Sign, the soundtrack to the film Batman »
Following the breakup of the Revolution, Prince was able to combine various shelved projects into what eventually became the double album Sign ‘O’ the Times (1987), the title track of which peaked at number three on the pop charts and number one on the R&B charts.
The album was known for its sharp commentary on social issues, but also contained fun jams such as U Got the Look, a raucous duet with Scottish singer Sheena Easton that reached No. 2 on the pop charts.
Sign was easily one of Prince’s most critically acclaimed albums, but sales slowed in the United States but found a larger audience in Europe, where the artist embarked on a successful tour.
Maintaining the stunning result, Prince released Lovesexy in 1988, famous for its album cover featuring a racy photo of the artist, as well as the top 5 contemporary R&B hit Alphabet St.
By the time Prince released his 11th studio album, The soundtrack to Batman, in 1989, he had become one of America’s most commercially successful pop artists, steadily climbing the charts.
In the video for the song “Batdance,” Prince appeared in split-effect makeup and costumes designed to symbolize both the film’s shadowy hero and his crazed nemesis, the Joker.
Early 90s: The New Power Generation:
The early 1990s saw the emergence of The New Power Generation, Prince’s last group, which featured a blend of modern R&B, hip-hop, jazz and soul along with the vocals of Rosie Gaines.
The band first appeared on the soundtrack to the 1990 film Graffiti Bridge, a sequel to Purple Rain, which was not a box office success, but did score a Top 10 track, Thieves in the Temple.
Thanks to NPG’s creative input, Prince achieved success with his album Diamonds and Pearls (1991), which rose to No. 3 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. Diamonds included the romantic title ballad, the industrial powerhouse “Gett Off”, the playful ditty “Insatiable” and the sassy No. 1 single “Cream.”
To promote the album, Prince appeared at the 1991 MTV Video Music Awards with a live performance of “Gett Off.” Echoing parts of the track’s music video, the performance featured a host of dancers and musicians in an orgy on stage, with the artist famously turning around towards the end of the song to show off his “seatless” pants.
In the fall of 1992, Prince signed a record-breaking $100 million contract with Warner Bros., which at the time was considered “the largest recording and music publishing contract in history” and allowed him the freedom to pursue television, film, book and merchandising deals separately. By comparison, fellow industry giants Michael Jackson and Madonna had contracts worth more than $60 million.
Cooperation:
In addition to his provocative performances, Prince has established himself well as an in-demand performer whose songs have been remade by other singers.
In the mid-’80s, Chaka Khan released a rousing, highly successful cover of his 1979 tune I Feel For You, while Sinead O’Connor’s biggest hit was Prince’s Nothing Compares 2 U. The Art of Noise and Tom Jones were included into the UK Top 5 in 1988 with a remake of Kiss, and Alicia Keys covered “Why Don’t You Call Me Anymore” on her own 2001 debut.
Prince has also worked on individual tracks for albums by artists such as Khan, Madonna, Tevin Campbell, Kate Bush, the Time, Martika, Patti Labelle and Janelle Monáe. He was the man behind the girl group Vanity 6, led by singer/actress Vanity, and their No. 1 dance hit Nasty Girl. And he sent the song to girl group the Bangles, which they recorded to great effect, reaching number two with a lush ode to a busy day at work, Manic Monday.
In 1992, Prince and The New Power Generation released the album Love Symbol. Despite acclaim from some critics, sales were not as strong as Diamonds. Love only managed a top 10 hit with the single “7”, although My Name Is Prince and the sensual Sexy MF also attracted some attention.
The following year, Prince released The Hits/The B-Sides box set, which included many popular songs, as well as the newly released Pink Cashmere, a tender number sung in falsetto.
New name:
The lack of success of the Love Symbol album created tension between Prince and his record label, Warner Bros. In subsequent years, the singer’s career went through a series of ups and downs. Confused by his label’s sense of control, Prince changed his name to the unpronounceable symbol O(+>in 1993.
At the time, he was more commonly referred to as “the artist formerly known as Prince” and his new symbol was not accepted by most fans. He also began appearing in public with the word “slave” painted on the side of his face to convey the immense contempt he felt for his label. Prince did release the 1995 album The Gold Experience during this time of duress and hit the Top 5 with “The Most Beautiful Girl in the World.”
Once Prince was freed from all contractual obligations to Warner Bros., he released a triple album, appropriately titled Emancipation (1996), which went on to go platinum and included a soul remake of “By God, Wow.” Several other albums associated with his NPG label soon followed, including Crystal Ball (1998) and Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic (1999).
Grammy, Super Bowl and other awards:
After years of relative obscurity, Prince returned to the spotlight in 2004 to perform at the Grammy Awards with Beyoncé Knowles, the same year he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. That spring, he released Musicology with a tour that became the largest concert in the United States. The album won two Grammy Awards and added another dreamy ballad, Call My Name, to Prince’s canon.
His next album, “3121”, was released in 2006. That same year, he wrote and performed “Heart Song” for the animated film Happy Feet and won a Golden Globe (Best Original Song) for the composition.
In 2007, he performed at the Super Bowl XLI halftime show on a huge stage shaped like his famous symbol in the pouring rain. The event was watched by 140 million fans.
2010 was a year of honors for Prince. Not only was he praised by Billboard.com as the greatest Super Bowl performer of all time, but he was also named to Time magazine’s “100 Most Influential People in the World” list and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the BET Awards. He ended the year with an induction into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
Prince also continued to showcase the fruits of his studio efforts with Planet Earth (2007), LotusFlow3r (2009) and, as part of his joint deal with the Daily Mirror, 20Ten (2010).v
Death:
On April 15, 2016, Prince was flying on a plane and needed emergency medical care and had to make an emergency landing. Later, the media reported that doctors discovered a complex form of the influenza virus in the singer’s body. A few days later the performer died. The musician’s body was found at his Paishley Park estate.
After the autopsy, doctors were able to name the cause of death of the vocalist. Prince died from an accidental overdose of a powerful painkiller, which was used to relieve hip pain that had tormented the singer for many years. In addition, it became known that six months before his death, the celebrity was diagnosed with AIDS. On April 23, a farewell ceremony took place, which was attended only by the artist’s relatives and friends. The singer’s body was cremated.
6 years after the musician’s death, an end was put to the division of Prince’s property. The procedure was delayed, since Nelson left behind neither a will nor direct heirs. The star’s fortune, which included, in addition to copyrights to his works, cash savings and real estate (several houses), was estimated at $156 million. Six half-brothers and sisters of the artist were named as contenders for it. Three of them sold their share of the music company Primary Wave, the rest chose to keep the inheritance for themselves.
Discography:
1979 – Prince
1982 – 1999
1984 – Purple Rain
1985 — Around the World in a Day
1987 – Sign o’ the Times
1991 – Diamonds and Pearls
1992 – Love Symbol Album
2004 – Musicology
2014 – Art Official Age
2015 – HITnRUN