Prince (Prince Rogers Nelson)

Impact on the world

A largely self-taught multi-instrumentalist who wrote, produced, arranged, and performed all 27 instrumental parts himself on his 1978 debut album, For You, Prince built a career on artistic self-sufficiency rare among major pop stars, and his 1983 crossover hit “Little Red Corvette” helped break the near-total absence of Black artists on MTV during the network's early years. His 1984 album Purple Rain, recorded with his backing band the Revolution, sold more than 13 million copies in the United States, spent 24 consecutive weeks at number one, and is regularly ranked among the greatest albums ever made, while 1987's double LP Sign o' the Times is widely considered his creative pinnacle; in 1993, amid a contract dispute with Warner Bros. over creative control of his own name and catalog, he changed his stage name to an unpronounceable symbol and performed for years as “the Artist Formerly Known as Prince” in protest of industry practices he considered exploitative to artists. He sold more than 100 million records worldwide, won seven Grammy Awards, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, his first year of eligibility; his death prompted a resolution of tribute from the United States Senate praising him as “a musician, composer, innovator, and cultural icon.”

Life & background

Born Prince Rogers Nelson on June 7, 1958, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to jazz musician parents, Prince signed his first record deal with Warner Bros. at age 18 and released his debut album in 1978. He continued writing, recording, and touring prolifically for nearly four decades, leaving behind an extensive unreleased archive known as “the Vault,” and died at his Paisley Park estate in Chanhassen, Minnesota, on April 21, 2016, at age 57.

Sources

1. Encyclopædia Britannica; Grammy.com