Prince (musician)

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

He was known for blending erotic lyrics with R&B, 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 them "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 Rogers Nelson was born on June 7, 1958 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His father was John Lewis Nelson who was a Jazz musician and their 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 was raised  Seventh Day Adventist and 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" (the formal name is atypical 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)

|Year|Movie|Role|Director|
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
|1984|_Purple Rain_|The Kid||
|1986|_Under the Cherry Moon_|Christopher Tracy|Prince|
|1987|_Sign o' the Times_|Himself|Prince|
|1990|_Graffiti Bridge_|The Kid|Prince|

|Year|Show|Role|Notes|
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
|1997|_Muppets Tonight_|Himself|Episode 11|
|2014|_New Girl_|Himself|Episode: "Prince"|

### Academy Awards

Prince won an Academy Award in 1985 for his song "Purple Rain".
|Year|Nominated work|Award category|Result|
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
|1985|"Purple Rain"|Best Original Song Score||

### 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.

|Year|Nominated work|Award category|Result||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
||1984|"International Lover"|Best Male R&B Vocal Performance||
|rowspan="4"|1985|_Purple Rain_|Album of the Year||
|_Purple Rain_|Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal||||
|_Purple Rain_|Best Score Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media||||
|"I Feel For You"|Best R&B Song||||
|rowspan="2"|1987|"Kiss"|Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal||
|"Kiss"|Best R&B Song||||
|rowspan="3"|1988|_Sign "O" the Times_|Album of the Year||
|"U Got The Look"|Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal||||
|"U Got The Look"|Best R&B Song||||
|rowspan="2"|1990|_Batman_|Best Male Pop Vocal Performance||
|"Batdance"|Best Male R&B Vocal Performance||||
|1991|"Nothin' Compares 2 U"|Song of the Year|||
|1992|"Gett Off"|Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal|||
|1993|"Diamonds And Pearls"|Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal|||
|1995|"The Most Beautiful Girl In The World"|Best Male Pop Vocal Performance|||
|rowspan="2"|1996|"Eye Hate U"|Best Male R&B Vocal Performance||
|_The Gold Experience_|Best R&B Album||||
|2004|_N.E.W.S._|Best Pop Instrumental Album|||
|rowspan="5"|2005|"Cinnamon Girl"|Best Male Pop Vocal Performance||
|"Call My Name"|Best Male R&B Vocal Performance||||
|"Call My Name"|Best R&B Song||||
|"Musicology"|Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance||||
|_Musicology_|Best R&B Album||||
|rowspan="5"|2007|"Black Sweat"|Best Male R&B Vocal Performance||
|"Beautiful, Loved And Blessed"|Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal||||
|"3121"|Best Urban/Alternative Performance||||
|"Black Sweat"|Best R&B Song||||
|_3121_|Best R&B Album||||
|rowspan="2"|2008|"Future Baby Mama"|Best Male R&B Vocal Performance||
|"The Song of the Heart"|Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media||||
|2010|"Dreamer"|Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance|||

### 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 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.

|Year|Nominated work|Award category|Result|||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
||"When Doves Cry"|Best Choreography in a Video||||
||"Raspberry Beret"|Best Choreography in a Video||||
|rowspan="4"||rowspan="4"|"U Got the Look"|Best Male Video||
|Best Stage Performance in a Video||||||
|Best Choreography in a Video||||||
|Best Editing in a Video||||||
||"I Wish U Heaven"|Best Special Effects in a Video||||
||"Batdance"|Best Video from a Film||||
||"Cream"|Best Dance Video||||
||"7"|Best R&B Video||||
||"Musicology"|Best Male Video||||
||"Black Sweat"|Best Cinematography in a Video||||

## Other websites

- Prince: chart history  at Billboard.com

## Infobox (musical artist)

- **embed**: yes
- **background**: solo_singer
- **instrument**: Singing, Vocals, guitar, bass guitar, piano, keyboards, tambourine, sitar, synthesizers, drums, oud, finger cymbals, timpani, violin, viola, tenor violin, cello, cellone, double bass, concert harp, vibraphone, marimba, B-flat trumpet, accordion, koto, concert flute, B-flat soprano clarinet, B-flat basset clarinet, E-flat alto saxophone, C tenor saxophone, B-flat tenor saxophone, E-flat alto sarrusophone, C tenor sarrusophone, B-flat tenor sarrusophone, harmonica, drum machines
- **label**: Warner Records, Warner Bros., Paisley Park Records, Paisley Park, NPG Records, NPG, EMI Records, EMI, Columbia Records, Columbia, Arista Records, Arista
- **associated acts**: The Revolution (band), The Revolution; Wendy & Lisa
The New Power Generation
The Time (band), The Time; Morris Day
Sheila E.
Vanity 6; Apollonia 6
Mazarati
The Family (band), The Family
94 East
Madhouse (band), Madhouse


## Infobox (person)

- **name**: Prince
- **image**: Prince by jimieye.jpg
- **image size**: 220px
- **caption**: Prince performing during the Nude Tour in Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan, in 1990
- **birth name**: Prince Rogers Nelson
- **birth place**: Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, U.S.
- **death place**: Chanhassen, Minnesota, Chanhassen, Minnesota, U.S
- **death cause**: Accidental fentanyl and opioid intoxication
- **resting place**: Paisley Park, Chanhassen, Minnesota, U.S.
- **years active**: 1975–2016
- **spouse**: Mayte Garcia
(m. 1996–1999, divorced)
 Manuela Testolini
(m. 2001–2006, divorced)
- **children**: 1 (deceased)