Prince

Prince Rogers Nelson June 7 1958 April 21 2016 was an American singersongwriter actor multiinstrumentalist philanthropist dancer filmmaker and record producer He was a musical innovator who was known for his eclectic work flamboyant stage presence extravagant dress and makeup and wide vocal range His music integrates a wide variety of styles including funk rock RB new wave soul psychedelia and pop He has sold over 100 million records worldwide making him one of the bestselling artists of all time He won seven Grammy Awards an American Music Award a Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award for the film Purple Rain He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004 his first year of eligibility Rolling Stone ranked Prince at number 27 on its list of 100 Greatest Artists the most influential artists of the rock roll era Prince was born in Minneapolis Minnesota and developed an interest in music as a young child He signed a recording contract with Warner Bros at the age of 18 and released his debut album For You in 1978 His 1979 album Prince went platinum and his next three recordsDirty Mind 1980 Controversy 1981 and 1999 1982continued his success showcasing Princes prominently sexual lyrics and blending of funk dance and rock music In 1984 he began referring to his backup band as the Revolution and released Purple Rain the soundtrack album to his eponymous 1984 film debut It quickly became his most critically and commercially successful release spending 24 consecutive weeks atop the Billboard 200 and selling over 20 million units worldwide After releasing the albums Around the World in a Day 1985 and Parade 1986 The Revolution disbanded and Prince released the double album Sign o the Times 1987 as a solo artist He released three more solo albums before debuting the New Power Generation band in 1991 In 1993 while in a contractual dispute with Warner Bros he changed his stage name to an unpronounceable symbol also known as the Love Symbol and began releasing new albums at a faster pace to remove himself from contractual obligations He released five records between 1994 and 1996 before signing with Arista Records in 1998 In 2000 he began referring to himself as Prince again He released 16 albums after that including the platinumselling Musicology 2004 His final album Hit n Run Phase Two was first released on the Tidal streaming service on December 12 2015 Prince died from an accidental fentanyl overdose at his Paisley Park recording studio and home in Chanhassen Minnesota on April 21 2016 at the age of 57 Description above from the Wikipedia article Prince licensed under CCBYSA full list of contributors on Wikipedia