Prince Rogers Nelson (better known as Prince) (June 7, 1958 – April 21, 2016) was an American musician and dancer. He was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

He was known for blending erotic lyrics with funk rock and technology. He had ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. His releases have sold over 350 million copies worldwide. From 1993 to 2000, Prince changed his name to a glyph. Since this symbol was impossible to pronounce, people began calling him "The Artist Formerly Known As Prince."

In addition to his own musical career, he was a "talent promoter" for the careers of Sheila E., Carmen Electra, The Time and Vanity 6.

Prince has sold over 400 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling artists of all time. He won seven Grammy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and an Academy Award. Rolling Stone ranked Prince at number 27 on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004. This was the first year he was eligible.

On April 21, 2016, Prince died of a fentanyl overdose at his Paisley Park recording studio and home in Chanhassen, Minnesota at the age of 57.

Early life
Prince was born Prince Rogers Nelson, on June 7, 1958 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His father was John Lewis Nelson who was a Jazz singer-songwriter. His mother was Mattie Della Shaw. His family was from Louisiana.  He had epilepsy when he was younger. His sister was Tyka nelson. He played basketball when he was in high school.

Career
Prince released his first single, "Soft and Wet", in 1978. It reached number 92 in the Billboard 100. In 1979 "I Wanna Be Your Lover" was number one for two weeks in the American R&B singles chart.

Prince released his third album Dirty Mind in 1980. Rolling Stone gave the album four and a half stars.

In 1982 Prince released his fifth album 1999. "Little Red Corvette" was released as the second single. Prince had his first number one single, "When Doves Cry", in 1984. The single he released after that, "Let's Go Crazy", also reached number one. In 1985 Around the World in a Day was released. The album's first single "Raspberry Beret" reached number two in the Billboard 100. Prince's next number one "Kiss" was in 1986. It won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. "U Got the Look" was released in 1987. It reached number two in the Billboard 100.

In 1990 Sinead O'Connor reached number one with her cover of Prince's song "Nothing Compares 2 U". Prince was angry about this.

In 2006 the second single from Prince's album 3121 entered the Billboard 100 at number 60. This was the highest number a Prince single had entered the chart at for years.

In 2014 it was reported that Prince would be signed to Warner Bros. again. Prince released a new single on April 19 called "The Breakdown".

In May 2015, following the death of Freddie Gray and the riots, Prince released a song entitled "Baltimore" in tribute to Gray and in support of the protesters in Baltimore. He also held a surprise tribute concert for Gray at his Paisley Park estate called 'Dance Rally 4 Peace' in which he asked fans to wear the color gray in honor of Freddie Gray.

His album Hit n Run Phase One was first made available on September 7, 2015 on music streaming service Tidal before being released on CD and download on September 14.

In 2016, Prince announced that he was writing a memoir, titled The Beautiful Ones.

Personal life
Over the years Prince was romantically linked with many celebrities.  These include Madonna, Vanity, Sheila E., Carmen Electra, Susanna Hoffs, Anna Fantastic, Sherilyn Fenn, and Susan Moonsie of Vanity 6 and Apollonia 6.

Prince was engaged to Susannah Melvoin in 1985.

He married his backup singer and dancer, Mayte Garcia, on Valentine's Day, 1996. They had a son, amiir (born October 16, 1996). He was born with Pfeiffer syndrome and died a week after birth. Prince and Mayte divorced in 1999. In 2001, Prince married Manuela Testolini in a private ceremony. Testolini filed for divorce in May 2006. He had been in a relationship with Bria Valente from 2007.

Prince became a member of the Jehovah's Witnesses in 2001.

Death
Prince postponed two performances from his Piano & A Microphone Tour on April 7, 2016, at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia, stating that he was "battling the flu". He performed that Atlanta concert on Thursday, April 15, even though he had still not been feeling well. On April 15, 2016, while on tour, his private plane made an emergency landing in Moline, Illinois. He was later admitted to hospital with flu-like symptoms. Early reports said his health was fine.

Prince was found dead at his home in Paisley Park recording studio in Chanhassen, Minnesota, on April 21, 2016. He was aged 57. Six days before his death, Prince was treated for a drug overdose. He was treated for dehydration and walking pneumonia shortly before his death. His autopsy was performed the next day on April 22. Afterwards, his remains were cremated. Their location will be kept private. Toxicology tests showed that he died of an overdose of fentanyl, an opioid painkiller.

His works
Studio albums

 For You (1978)
 Prince (1979)
 Dirty Mind (1980)
 Controversy (1981)
 1999 (1982)
 Purple Rain (1984)
 Around the World in a Day (1985)
 Parade (1986)
 Sign o' the Times (1987)
 Lovesexy (1988)
 Batman (1989)
 Graffiti Bridge (1990)
 Diamonds and Pearls (1991)
  (Love Symbol Album) (1992)
 Come (1994)
 The Black Album (1994)
 The Gold Experience (1995)
 Chaos and Disorder (1996)
 Emancipation (1996)
 Crystal Ball (1998)
 The Truth (1998)
 The Vault: Old Friends 4 Sale (1999)
 Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic (1999)
 The Rainbow Children (2001)
 One Nite Alone... (2002)
 Xpectation (2003)
 N.E.W.S (2003)
 Musicology (2004)
 The Chocolate Invasion (2004)
 The Slaughterhouse (2004)
 3121 (2006)
 Planet Earth (2007)
 Lotusflow3r (2009)
 MPLSound (2009)
 20Ten (2010)
 Plectrumelectrum (2014)
 Art Official Age (2014)
 HITnRUN Phase One (2015)
 HITnRUN Phase Two (2015)

Live albums
 One Nite Alone... Live! (2002)
 C-Note (2004)
 Indigo Nights (2008)

Remix albums
 Rave In2 the Joy Fantastic (2001)

Compilation albums
 The Hits/The B-Sides (1993)
 Girl 6 (1996)
 The Very Best of Prince (2001)
 Ultimate Prince (2006)

The New Power Generation albums
 Goldnigga (1993)
 Exodus (1995)
 Newpower Soul (1998)

Awards and nominations

Academy Awards
Prince won an Academy Award in 1985 for his song "Purple Rain".

Grammy Awards
Earning 33 nominations, Prince has won seven Grammys. He also has had two albums − 1999 and Purple Rain − awarded the Grammy Hall of Fame Award.

MTV Video Music Awards
The MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) is an award show by cable network MTV to honor the top music videos of the year. It was first held in September of 1984. It was to be an alternative to the Grammy Awards in the video category.  Prince has won four awards from twelve nominations throughout his career.

References

Other websites

 
 
 
 Prince: chart history  at Billboard.com
 

1958 births
2016 deaths
Actors from Minneapolis, Minnesota
African-American movie actors
African-American singers
American activists
American composers
American funk musicians
American movie directors
American philanthropists
American funk singers
American pianists
American pop musicians
American pop singers
American Protestants
American R&B musicians
American R&B singers
American record producers
American rock guitarists
American saxophonists
American singer-songwriters
Best Original Song Academy Award-winning songwriters
Brit Award winners
Drug-related accidental deaths in the United States
Golden Globe Award winners
Grammy Award winners
Jehovah's Witnesses people
Musicians from Minnesota
New wave musicians
 
Singers from Minnesota
Webby Award winners
Writers from Minnesota
Warner Bros. Records artists