Prince

Prince an American singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist (1958-2016), whose fusion of funk, rock, pop and soul made him one of the most prolific and original artists of his generation. Known for his virtuoso guitar playing and his flamboyant stagecraft, he produced much of his vast catalogue himself.

Early Life and Musical Formation

Prince Rogers Nelson was born in 1958 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and named after his father's jazz band. His parents separated during his childhood, and he moved between relatives and friends while teaching himself to play the piano, guitar, bass and drums. He recorded his first demo while still in his teens, and his remarkable self-sufficiency became the foundation of his career.

He signed with Warner Bros in 1977 and released his debut album For You in 1978, playing nearly every instrument himself. The following albums built his reputation gradually, and he assembled a band, The Revolution, that included the guitarist Dez Dickerson and the keyboard player Lisa Coleman. His early work married the dance music of the day to a style of his own making.

The album Prince of 1979 and the following Dirty Mind established his willingness to cross the boundaries of genre and taste, and his erotic lyrics and androgynous image provoked both censure and fascination. He produced other artists as well, and he wrote hit songs for singers such as The Bangles and Sinead O'Connor. His compulsive work rate meant there was always more material than any single release could contain.

Major Albums and the 1980s

The album 1999 of 1982 brought him his first widespread success, with the apocalyptic title track and the infectious Little Red Corvette. Purple Rain, released in 1984 with a film of the same name in which he starred, made him a global phenomenon and won an Academy Award for its score. The title song and When Doves Cry became defining records of the decade.

He followed with Around the World in a Day, Parade and the ambitious double album Sign o' the Times of 1987, widely regarded as his masterpiece, whose range moved from funk and gospel to pop and social commentary. He changed his backing band, worked with Sheila E. and other collaborators, and built a studio complex at Paisley Park near Minneapolis where he could record at will.

The film and soundtrack of Purple Rain made him a movie star as well as a musician, and the accompanying tour established him as one of the great live performers of the decade. He won an Academy Award for the score and a series of Grammy Awards, and he produced concept albums, side projects and material for his growing stable of associated acts. His creative appetite seemed almost unlimited.

Music, Technique and Control

Prince was an exceptional instrumentalist and a demanding bandleader, and he wrote, arranged and produced the majority of his material. His guitar playing combined the vocabulary of rock with funk rhythms, and his falsetto and multi-tracked vocal harmonies became a signature. He used the studio as an instrument, layering synthesizers, drum machines and live playing into a dense and personal sound.

His lyrics ranged from the playful and sensual to the spiritual, and his concerts were theatrical events that showcased his dancing and his command of the stage. He drew on the funk traditions of James Brown and Sly Stone, on the rock of Jimi Hendrix and on the soul and gospel of his upbringing, and he absorbed the new wave and dance music of the 1980s into a language entirely his own.

He was a perfectionist in the studio who could nevertheless improvise freely in performance, and he played most of the instruments on many of his records himself. His vocal range extended from a deep growl to a soaring falsetto, and his use of the latest synthesizers and drum machines kept his sound at the leading edge of production. He combined the roles of writer, performer and engineer to a degree almost without precedent in popular music.

Battles with the Industry and Later Career

In the 1990s Prince entered a prolonged dispute with Warner Bros over the ownership of his recordings and his artistic freedom. He changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol, was referred to as the artist formerly known as Prince, and scrawled the word slave on his cheek in protest. The conflict became a landmark in the debate over artists' rights in the music industry.

He continued to record prolifically, releasing albums independently and through a series of different arrangements, and he turned increasingly to his faith as a Jehovah's Witness. He wrote for other artists, mentored younger musicians, and in 2007 gave a celebrated halftime performance at the Super Bowl. He remained a formidable live performer until his sudden death at his Paisley Park home in 2016.

His insistence on controlling his own masters made him a forerunner of later artists who challenged the terms of the recording industry, and the dispute became a landmark in the long argument over creative ownership. In his final years he performed solo piano shows and released albums through a series of unconventional deals. He continued to withhold his music from streaming services, protecting its value on his own terms.

Influence and Legacy

Prince's combination of musical genius and fearless self-presentation made him a model for later artists, and his refusal to accept restrictions on his freedom anticipated the struggles of the digital age. His songs have been widely performed and sampled, and his catalogue is studied as a body of work of unusual breadth and control.

He won numerous Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, and his death brought tributes from across the world of music. He is remembered as one of the few artists to master every part of the creative process and as a performer of extraordinary magnetism, whose influence shaped pop, funk and rock alike.

A vault of unreleased recordings left at Paisley Park became the subject of speculation and eventual posthumous release, revealing the scale of his productivity. His estate, his instruments and his studio have been preserved as a museum, and musicians continue to draw on his example. He stands as a singular figure who refused to be reduced to a genre or a single identity.

See also

• Purple Rain
• Sign o' the Times
• 1999 (album)
• Minneapolis sound