timeline

Prince

Minneapolis songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and bandleader behind 1999, Purple Rain and Sign o' the Times, three albums made in the five years between 1982 and 1987.

Origin
Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
Years active
1978-2016
Genres
funk, pop, rock, R&B, Minneapolis sound
Labels
Warner Bros., Paisley Park, NPG Records, Arista, Columbia
Also known as
The Artist Formerly Known as Prince

Minneapolis

Prince Rogers Nelson was born in Minneapolis on 7 June 1958 to a jazz singer and a pianist and songwriter, and was named after his father's stage name. He wrote his first song at seven on his father's piano. He attended Central High School in Minneapolis, and in 1977 he signed with Warner Bros. Records, which gave him creative control for three albums. For You (1978) was recorded at the Record Plant in Sausalito, California, and its liner notes say he played all 27 instruments himself. In 1979 he put together his first band, with Andre Cymone, Dez Dickerson, Gayle Chapman, Doctor Fink and Bobby Z. That October's self-titled album held I Wanna Be Your Lover, which reached number 11 on the Hot 100.

Dirty Mind followed in 1980, made in May and June in a 16-track studio in the basement of his home on Lake Minnetonka. Prince played nearly all the instruments and engineered it under the name Jamie Starr. Rolling Stone's Ken Tucker called it "cool music dealing with hot emotions."

The Revolution

1999, a double album released in October 1982, was the first made with the band he now called the Revolution, whose name was printed in reverse inside the letter I on the cover. It was his first top-ten album, and its singles 1999 and Little Red Corvette both had videos on MTV. Prince then asked Warner Bros. to finance a film starring him, with new songs as its soundtrack. Purple Rain was mostly written and recorded between May 1983 and March 1984, with its last three tracks taken from a live show at First Avenue in Minneapolis on 3 August 1983.

The album spent 24 consecutive weeks at number one on the Billboard 200 from August 1984, while When Doves Cry and Let's Go Crazy reached number one on the Hot 100. At one point Prince held the top album, single and film in the United States at once, and the film's soundtrack won an Academy Award for Best Original Song Score. The title song reached number two. Around the World in a Day came in 1985. Parade, the soundtrack to Under the Cherry Moon, followed in 1986 with Kiss, a number one on the Hot 100.

After the Revolution

After the Parade Tour Prince disbanded the Revolution. He had been working on two projects, Dream Factory with the band and a solo record called Camille on which he sang in a sped-up, female-sounding voice. He folded both into a three-LP set called Crystal Ball, and Warner Bros. made him cut it to two discs. Sign o' the Times came out on 31 March 1987 and was voted best album of the year in the Pazz & Jop critics' poll.

Lovesexy and the Batman soundtrack followed. In 1993, in a dispute with Warner Bros., he took a symbol as his name and became known as the Artist Formerly Known as Prince. He finished his Warner contract in 1996, put out the three-CD Emancipation on his own NPG Records, and signed to Arista in 1999. He stopped using the symbol on 16 May 2000, when his publishing contract with Warner Bros. expired. Musicology (2004) won two Grammys, and he went into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame that year. His Super Bowl XLI halftime show in 2007 was broadcast to 140 million television viewers and ended with Purple Rain in the rain. In 2014 he re-signed with Warner Bros., which gave him ownership of his masters.

Last years

In 2016 he toured with only a piano and a microphone. His final show was at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta on 14 April, and he died at Paisley Park in Chanhassen on 21 April, aged 57. The Midwest Medical Examiner's Office stated that he died of an accidental fentanyl overdose. In the week after his death 4.41 million of his albums and songs were sold, and five of his albums were in the Billboard 200 top ten at once.

The Guardian's obituary said he had become acknowledged as one of the most inspirational artists of his era. Reissues have followed: Purple Rain in 2017, 1999 in 2019 and a Super Deluxe Sign o' the Times in 2020.

Records

Songs

The Revolution, The Time, Sheena Easton, Mazarati, Apollonia 6

Where to go next

Official

Reference

Discography and data

Writing and criticism

Interviews

Sources

  1. Prince (musician), Wikipedia
  2. Prince obituary, The Guardian (2016-04-22)
  3. Prince, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
  4. Prince, MusicBrainz
  5. Prince: every album rated and ranked, The Guardian (2016-04-22)