PRINCE BIOGRAPHY
PRINCE
BIRTH: June 7, 1958,
Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
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DEATH: April 21, 2016 (aged 57),
Chanhassen, Minnesota, U.S.
Prince was an American singer, songwriter, record producer and filmmaker. He has sold millions of albums all around the world. He was one of the bestselling music artists of all times.
Prince was born as Prince Rogers Nelson on 7th June, 1958. His father, John Nelson, was a musician with the stage name of Prince Rogers. His mother, Mattie Shaw, was a jazz singer for the Prince Rogers band. Prince started playing the piano at the age of seven. He even learned to play the guitar and drums by himself.
He formed his first band in high school called Grand Central. It was later renamed to Champagne. His bandmates included André Anderson and Morris Day.
In 1978, Prince signed a record deal with Warner Bros. Records. His debut album ‘For You’ was released in 1978. The following year, his self- titled album was released. The hit singles from this album are “I Wanna Be Your Lover” and “Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?” His 1981 album was ‘Controversy! Prince gained international recognition with his 1982 album ‘1999. Its songs “Little Red Corvette” and “Delirious” were part of the Top 10 hits.
He released his 1984 album ‘Purple Rain’ with his band Revolution. It was also the soundtrack for the movie with the same name. It won the Academy Award in the category of ‘Best Original Song Score! The title track of this album was number two on the Billboard Hot 100. Moreover, its songs, “When Doves Cry” and “Let’s Go Crazy”, reached number one. Prince’s ‘Around the World in a Day’ was released in 1985. It contained the Top 10 songs “Raspberry Beret” and “Pop Life”. His 1986 single “Kiss” became the number one pop/R&B song.
The album ‘Parade’ (1986) was the soundtrack to his film Under the Cherry Moon, in which he acted and directed. The title track of his 1987 album ‘Sign ‘O’the Times’ reached number three on pop charts and number one on R&B charts. In 1989, Prince gave the soundtrack for the movie Batman. The song “Partyman” was in the Top 5 R&B hit, while “Batdance” was number one on charts.
Prince launched his backup band the New Power Generation in the 1990s. They gave the soundtrack to the movie Graffiti Bridge. The song “Thieves in the Temple”, was placed in the Top 10 tracks. The 1991 album ‘Diamond and Pearls ranked number three on the Billboard 200 album chart and was a major success. Prince signed a $100 million record deal with Warner Bros. in 1992. It was considered “the largest recording and music publishing contract in history” at the time. Prince released ‘Love Symbol Album’ in 1992 with the New Power Generation. He changed his name to a symbol, that was a mixture of the male and female symbol. This symbol was also referred to as the love symbol. He used this name until 2000.
Prince’s 1995 album ‘The Gold Experience contained the Top 5 song “The Most Beautiful Girl in the World”. In 1996, his album ‘Emancipation’ was certified platinum. Other albums by Prince include, ‘Crystal Ball’ (1998), ‘Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic’ (1999). recognized in
Prince performed with Beyoncé Knowles at the Grammy Awards in 2004 after years of relative absence from the spotlight. He was the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the same year In 2004, his album ‘Musicology It won two Grammy Awards. In addition, its tour became the top concert draw in the U.S. His 2006 album was 3121. He also wrote and sang “Song of the Heart” for the animated movie Happy
Feet that year. won him a Golden Globe in the category of ‘Best Original Song!
Prince was awarded the Academy Award for ‘Purple Rain’ in the category of ‘Best Original Score’ in 1985. He has won eight Grammy Awards including Best Traditional R&B performance’ for Musicology. His album ‘Sign ‘O’ the Times’ was inducted to the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2017.
Prince married Mayte Garcia in 1996. Their child was born with Pfeiffer syndrome and lived for a week. They got a divorce in 2000. Prince married Manuela Testolini in 2001. They too separated in 2006.
On April 21, 2016, Prince was found dead in his home at Paisley Park. He was 57 years old. In October 2016, Prince’s home at Paisley Park was officially converted into a museum. His first posthumous song was “Moonbeam Levels”. The development of a documentary based on his life was started soon after. It is entitled Prince: RU Listening?