| Prince |
|---|
|
| Background information |
|---|
| Birth name | Prince Rogers Nelson |
|---|
| Also known as |
- Jamie Starr
- Alexander Nevermind
- Joey Coco
 - The Artist Formerly Known as Prince
|
|---|
| Born | June 7, 1958
Minneapolis, Minnesota, US |
|---|
| Died | April 21, 2016 (aged 57)
Chanhassen, Minnesota, US |
|---|
| Genres |
|
|---|
| Occupation(s) |
- Singer-songwriter
- multi-instrumentalist
- record producer
- actor
- film director
|
|---|
| Instruments |
- Vocals
- guitar
- bass guitar
|
|---|
| Years active | 1976–2016 |
|---|
| Labels |
|
|---|
| Associated acts |
|
|---|
Prince Rogers Nelson (June 7, 1958 – April 21, 2016), known as Prince, was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and actor. He was a musical
innovator and 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,
R&B,
soul,
psychedelia, and
pop. He has sold over 100 million records worldwide, making him one of the
best-selling artists of all time.
[1] He won seven
Grammy Awards,
[2] a
Golden Globe Award,
[3] and an
Academy Award.
[4] He was inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, the first year of his eligibility.
[5] Rolling Stoneranked Prince at number 27 on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.
[6]Prince was born in
Minneapolis and developed an interest in music as a young child. He secured a recording contract with
Warner Bros. at the age of 18, and released his album
For You in 1978. His 1979 album
Prince went
platinum, and his next three records—
Dirty Mind (1980),
Controversy (1981), and
1999 (1982)—continued his success, showcasing Prince's trademark of 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, which served as the soundtrack to his
film debut of the same name and was met with widespread acclaim. After releasing the albums
Around the World in a Day (1985) and
Parade (1986), The Revolution disbanded and Prince released the critically-acclaimed 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 the early 1990s, Prince became embroiled in a contractual battle with Warner Bros. In 1993, he changed his stage name to an unpronounceable symbol
, also known as the "Love Symbol", and soon began releasing new albums at a faster pace to remove himself from contractual obligations to Warner Bros. 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 and his final album,
HITnRUN Phase Two, was first released exclusively on the
Tidal streaming service on December 11, 2015.
[7] Prince died at his
Paisley Park recording studio and home in
Chanhassen, Minnesotaon April 21, 2016, at the age of 57 after suffering from
flu-like symptoms for over two weeks.
[8]Contents
[
hide]
1Early life2Career2.11975–84: Beginnings and breakthrough2.21984–87: The Revolution, Purple Rain, and subsequent releases2.31987–91: Solo again, Sign o' the Times2.41991–94: The New Power Generation, Diamonds and Pearls, and name change2.51994–2000: Increased output and The Gold Experience2.62000–07: Turnaround, Musicology, label change, and 31212.72007–10: Super Bowl XLI, Planet Earth, and Lotusflower2.82010–12: 20Ten and Welcome 2 Tours2.92013–16: 3rdeyegirl and return to Warner Bros.3Illness and death4Artistry4.1Musical style and influences4.2Image and musicianship5Legal issues5.1Pseudonyms5.2Copyright issues6Personal life7Discography8Filmography9Tours10Awards and nominations11See also12References13Sources14Further reading15External linksEarly life
Prince Rogers Nelson was born in
Minneapolis, the son of Mattie Della (née Shaw; 1933–2002) and
John Lewis Nelson (1916–2001). His parents were both
African American,
[9] and his family ancestry is centered in
Louisiana; all four of his grandparents came from that state.
[10][11] Prince's father was a pianist and songwriter and his mother was a
jazz singer. Prince was named after his father, whose stage name was Prince Rogers, and who performed with a jazz group called the Prince Rogers Trio. In a 1991 interview with
A Current Affair, Prince's father said, "I named my son Prince because I wanted him to do everything I wanted to do".
[12] Prince's childhood nickname was Skipper.
[13][14]Prince said that he was "born
epileptic" and "used to have seizures" when he was young. He also stated that "My mother told me one day I walked in to her and said, 'Mom, I'm not going to be sick anymore,' and she said, 'Why?' and I said, 'Because an angel told me so'."
[15]Prince's sister Tika Evene (usually called Tyka) was born in 1960.
[16] Both siblings developed a keen interest in music, and this was encouraged by their father.
[17]Prince wrote his first tune, "Funk Machine", on his father's piano when he was seven.
[17] When Prince was ten years old, his parents separated. Prince repeatedly switched homes following the separation, sometimes living with his father and sometimes with his mother and stepfather.
[17] He then moved into the home of neighbors named Anderson and befriended their son Andre Anderson, who later became known as
André Cymone.
[18]Prince and Anderson joined Prince's cousin Charles Smith in a band called Grand Central when they were attending Minneapolis's Central High School. In 1973, he met
Jimmy Jam in junior high, and impressed him during musical class with his musical talent, his early mastery of a wide range of instruments, and his work ethic.
[19]In Grand Central, Smith was later replaced by
Morris Day on the drums. Prince played piano and guitar for the band, which performed at clubs and parties in the Minneapolis area. Grand Central later changed its name to Champagne and started playing original music influenced by
Sly and the Family Stone,
James Brown,
Earth, Wind & Fire,
Miles Davis,
George Clinton and
Parliament-Funkadelic,
Carlos Santana,
Jimi Hendrix, and
Todd Rundgren.[
citation needed] Prince also played basketball in high school, and continued the sport recreationally as an adult.
[20]Career
1975–84: Beginnings and breakthrough
In 1975, Pepe Willie, the husband of Prince's cousin, Shauntel, formed the band
94 East with Marcy Ingvoldstad and Kristie Lazenberry. Willie hired André Cymone and Prince to record tracks with 94 East. Those songs were written by Willie and Prince contributed guitar tracks. Prince also co-wrote, with Willie, the 94 East song, "Just Another Sucker". The band recorded tracks which later became the album Minneapolis Genius – The Historic 1977 Recordings. In 1995, Willie released the album 94 East featuring Prince, Symbolic Beginning, which included original recordings by Prince and Cymone.[
citation needed]
In 1976, Prince created a demo tape with producer Chris Moon in Moon's Minneapolis studio. Unable to secure a recording contract, Moon brought the tape to Owen Husney, a Minneapolis businessman. Husney signed Prince, at the age of 17, to a management contract and helped Prince create a demo recording at
Sound 80Studios in Minneapolis using producer/engineer David Z. The demo recording, along with a press kit produced at Husney's ad agency, resulted in interest from several record companies including
Warner Bros. Records,
A&M Records, and
Columbia Records.[
citation needed]
With the help of Husney, Prince signed a recording contract with Warner Bros.. The record company agreed to give Prince creative control for three albums and ownership of the publishing rights.
[21][22] Husney and Prince then left Minneapolis and moved to
Sausalito, California, where Prince's first album,
For You, was recorded at
Record Plant Studios., The album was mixed in Los Angeles and released on April 7, 1978.
[23] According to the For You album notes, Prince produced, arranged, composed and played all 27 instruments on the recording. The album was written and performed by Prince, except for the song "
Soft and Wet" which had lyrics co-written by Moon. The cost of recording the album was twice Prince's initial advance. Prince used the Prince's Music Co. to
publish his songs. "Soft and Wet" reached No. 12 on the
Hot Soul Singles chart and No. 92 on the
Billboard Hot 100. The song "
Just as Long as We're Together" reached No. 91 on the Hot Soul Singles chart.
Ticket to Prince's first performance with his band in January 1979
In 1979, Prince created a band with André Cymone on bass,
Dez Dickerson on guitar, Gayle Chapman and
Doctor Fink on keyboards, and
Bobby Z. on drums. Their first show was at the Capri Theater on January 5, 1979. Warner Bros. executives attended the show but decided that Prince and the band needed more time to develop his music.
[24] In October 1979, Prince released the album,
Prince, which was No. 4 on the Billboard
Top R&B/Black Albums charts, and No. 22 on the
Billboard 200, going
platinum. It contained two R&B hits: "
Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?" and "
I Wanna Be Your Lover". "I Wanna Be Your Lover" sold over a million copies, and reached No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100, and No. 1 for two weeks on the Hot Soul Singles chart. Prince performed both these songs on January 26, 1980, on
American Bandstand. On this album, Prince usedEcnirp Music –
BMI.
[25]In 1980, Prince released the album
Dirty Mind, later described by
Stephen Thomas Erlewine as a "stunning, audacious amalgam of funk,
new wave, R&B, and pop, fueled by grinningly salacious sex and the desire to shock."
[26] Recorded in his own studio, the album was certified gold and the single "
Uptown" reached No. 5 on the Billboard Dance chart and No. 5 on the Hot Soul Singles charts. Prince was also the opening act for
Rick James' 1980Fire It Up tour. Dirty Mind contained sexually explicit material, including the title song, "Head", and the song "Sister". In February 1981, Prince made his first appearance on
Saturday Night Live, performing "Partyup". In October 1981, Prince released the album,
Controversy. He played several dates in support of it, at first as one of the opening acts for the
Rolling Stones, on their US tour. He began 1982 with a small tour of college towns where he was the headlining act. The songs onControversy were published by Controversy Music
[27] –
ASCAP, a practice he continued until the
Emancipation album in 1996. By 2002, MTV.com noted that "[n]ow all of his titles, liner notes and Web postings are written in his own shorthand spelling, as seen on 1999's Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic, which featured 'Hot Wit U.'"
[28]In 1981, Prince formed a side project band called
The Time. The band released four albums between 1981 and 1990, with Prince writing and performing most of the instrumentation and backing vocals (sometimes credited under the pseudonyms "Jamie Starr" or "The Starr Company"), with lead vocals by
Morris Day.
[29][30] In late 1982, Prince released a double album,
1999, which sold over three million copies.
[31] The
title track was a protest against
nuclear proliferation and became his first top ten hit in countries outside the US. Prince's "
Little Red Corvette" was one of the first two videos by a black artist played in heavy rotation on MTV, along with
Michael Jackson's "
Billie Jean".
[32] The song "
Delirious" also placed in the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. "
International Lover" earned Prince his first
Grammy Awardnomination at the
26th Annual Grammy Awards.
[33]1984–87: The Revolution, Purple Rain, and subsequent releases
During this period Prince referred to his band as the
Revolution.
[34][35] The band's name was also printed, in reverse, on the cover of 1999 inside the letter "I" of the word "Prince".
[36] The band consisted of
Lisa Coleman and Doctor Fink on keyboards, Bobby Z. on drums,
Brown Mark on bass, and
Dez Dickerson on guitar. Jill Jones, a backing singer, was also part of The Revolution line up for the 1999 album and tour.
[36] Following the
1999 Tour, Dickerson left the group for religious reasons.
[37] In the 2003 book Possessed: The Rise and Fall of Prince, author Alex Hahn says that Dickerson was reluctant to sign a three-year contract and wanted to pursue other musical ventures. Dickerson was replaced by Coleman's friend
Wendy Melvoin.
[34] At first the band was used sparsely in the studio but this gradually changed during the mid-1980s.
[36][37][38]
"When Doves Cry" (1984)
MENU
0:00
A lead single from
Purple Rain, "When Doves Cry" became a
signature song of Prince. It features an intro to a
guitar solo and a
Linn LM-1 drum machine, followed by a
looped guttural vocal.
Problems playing this file? See
media help.
According to Prince's former manager
Bob Cavallo, in the early 1980s Prince required that his management obtain a deal for him to star in a major motion picture, despite the fact that his exposure at that point was limited to several pop music hits and music videos. This resulted in the 1984 hit film
Purple Rain, which starred Prince and was loosely based on his own life, and the
studio album of the same name, which was also the soundtrack to the film.
[35] The Purple Rain album sold more than 13 million copies in the US and spent 24 consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. The film won Prince an
Academy Award for Best Original Song Score[39] and grossed over $68 million in the US.
[40][41] Songs from the film were hits on pop charts around the world; "
When Doves Cry" and "
Let's Go Crazy" reached No. 1 and the
title track reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.
[42] At one point in 1984, Prince simultaneously had the No. 1 album, single, and film in the US;
[43] it was the first time a singer had achieved this feat.
[44] The Purple Rain album is ranked 72nd in Rolling Stone's
500 Greatest Albums of All Time[45] and is also included on the list of Time magazine's All-Time 100 Albums.
[46] The album produced two of Prince's first three Grammy Awards earned at the
27th Annual Grammy Awards—Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal and Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media.
[33]
Prince performing in Brussels during the
Hit N Run Tour in 1986
After
Tipper Gore heard her 11-year-old daughter
Karenna listening to Prince's song "
Darling Nikki", she founded the
Parents Music Resource Center.
[47] The center advocates the mandatory use of a warning label ("
Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics") on the covers of records that have been judged to contain language or lyrical content
unsuitable for minors. The recording industry later voluntarily complied with this request.
[48]In 1985, Prince announced that he would discontinue live performances and music videos after the release of his next album. His subsequent recording
Around the World in a Day held the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 for three weeks. From that album, the single "
Raspberry Beret" reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, and "
Pop Life" reached No. 7.
[42]In 1986 his album
Parade reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and No. 2 on the R&B charts. The first single, "
Kiss", with the video choreographed by
Louis Falco, reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
[42] (The song was originally written for a side project called
Mazarati.) In the same year, the song "
Manic Monday", which was written by Prince and recorded by The Bangles, reached No. 2 on the Hot 100 chart. The album Parade served as the soundtrack for Prince's second film,
Under the Cherry Moon. Prince directed and starred in the movie, which also featured
Kristin Scott Thomas. Although the Parade album went platinum,
[49] Under the Cherry Moonreceived poor reviews and failed to recoup its production costs at the box office. The film received a
Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Picture (tied with
Howard the Duck) and Prince received Golden Raspberry Awards for Worst Director, Worst Actor and Worst Original Song (for the song "Love or Money").
[50][51]In 1986, Prince began a series of sporadic live performances called the
Hit n Run – Parade Tour. After the tour Prince disbanded The Revolution and fired
Wendy & Lisa.
[35] Brown Mark quit the band; keyboardist Doctor Fink remained. Prince recruited new band members
Miko Weaver on guitar,
Atlanta Bliss on trumpet, and
Eric Leeds on saxophone.
[37]1987–91: Solo again, Sign o' the Times
Prior to the disbanding of The Revolution, Prince was working on two separate projects, The Revolution album
Dream Factory and a solo effort,
Camille.
[52] Unlike the three previous band albums, Dream Factory included input from the band members and featured songs with lead vocals by Wendy & Lisa.
[52] The Camille project saw Prince create a new persona primarily singing in a speeded-up, female-sounding voice. With the dismissal of The Revolution, Prince consolidated material from both shelved albums, along with some new songs, into a three-LP album to be titled
Crystal Ball.
[53] Warner Bros. forced Prince to trim the triple album to a double album and
Sign o' the Times was released on March 31, 1987.
[54]The album peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 albums chart.
[54] The first single, "
Sign o' the Times", charted at No. 3 on the Hot 100.
[55] The follow-up single, "
If I Was Your Girlfriend" charted at No. 67 on the Hot 100, but went to No. 12 on R&B chart.
[55] The third single, a duet with
Sheena Easton, "
U Got the Look" charted at No. 2 on the Hot 100, No. 11 on the R&B chart,
[55] and the final single "
I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man" finished at No. 10 on Hot 100 and No. 14 on the R&B chart.
[55]It was named the top album of the year by the
Pazz & Jop critics' poll, and sold 3.2 million copies.
[56] In Europe it performed well, and Prince promoted the album overseas with a lengthy tour. Putting together a new backing band from the remnants of The Revolution, Prince added bassist
Levi Seacer, Jr., keyboardist Boni Boyer, and dancer/choreographer
Cat Glover[57] to go with new drummer Sheila E.
[58] and holdovers Miko Weaver, Doctor Fink, Eric Leeds, Atlanta Bliss, and the Bodyguards (Jerome, Wally Safford, and Greg Brooks) for the
Sign o' the Times Tour.
The tour was a success overseas, with Warner Bros. and Prince's managers wanted to bring it to the US to promote sales of Sign o' the Times;
[59][60] Prince balked at a full US tour, as he was ready to produce a new album.
[59] As a compromise the last two nights of the tour were filmed for release in movie theaters. The film quality was deemed subpar and reshoots were performed at his
Paisley Park studios.
[59] The film
Sign o' the Times was released on November 20, 1987. The film received more critical praise than Under the Cherry Moon, but its box-office receipts were minimal and it quickly left theaters.
[60]The next album intended for release was to be
The Black Album.
[61] More instrumental and funk and R&B themed than recent releases,
[62] The Black Album also saw Prince experiment with
hip hop music on the songs "Bob George" and "Dead on It". Prince was set to release the album with a monochromatic black cover with only the catalog number printed, but after 500,000 copies had been pressed,
[63] Prince had a spiritual epiphany that the album was evil and had it recalled.
[64] It was later released by Warner Bros. as a limited edition album in 1994. Prince went back in the studio for eight weeks and recorded
Lovesexy.
Released on May 10, 1988, Lovesexy serves as a spiritual opposite to the dark The Black Album.
[65] Every song is a solo effort by Prince, except "Eye No" which was recorded with his backing band at the time. Lovesexy reached No. 11 on the Billboard 200 and No. 5 on the R&B albums chart.
[66] The lead single, "
Alphabet St.", peaked at No. 8 on the Hot 100 and No. 3 on the R&B chart;
[54] it sold 750,000 copies.
[67]Prince again took his post-Revolution backing band (minus the Bodyguards) on a three leg, 84-show
Lovesexy World Tour; although the shows were well received by huge crowds, they lost money due to the expensive sets and props.
[68][69]
Prince performing during his
Nude Tour in 1990
In 1989, Prince appeared on
Madonna's studio album
Like a Prayer, co-writing and singing the duet "Love Song" and playing electric guitar (uncredited) on the songs "
Like a Prayer", "
Keep It Together", and "Act of Contrition". He also began work on several musical projects, including
Rave Unto the Joy Fantastic and early drafts of his Graffiti Bridge film,
[70][71] but both were put on hold when he was asked by
Batman director
Tim Burton to record several songs for the upcoming live-action adaptation. Prince went into the studio and produced an entire nine-track album that Warner Bros. released on June 20, 1989.
Batman peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard 200,
[72]selling 4.3 million copies.
[73] The single "
Batdance" topped the Billboard and R&B charts.
[54]The single "
The Arms of Orion" with Sheena Easton charted at No. 36, and "
Partyman" (also featuring the vocals of Prince's then-girlfriend, nicknamed
Anna Fantastic) charted at No. 18 on the Hot 100 and at No. 5 on the R&B chart; the love ballad "
Scandalous!" went to No. 5 on the R&B chart.
[54] He had to sign away all publishing rights to the songs on the album to Warner Bros. as part of the deal to do the soundtrack.
In 1990, Prince went back on tour with a revamped band for his back-to-basics
Nude Tour. With the departures of Boni Boyer, Sheila E., the horns, and Cat, Prince brought in Rosie Gaines on keys, drummer
Michael Bland, and dancing trio The Game Boyz (
Tony M., Kirky J., and Damon Dickson). The European and Japanese tour was a financial success with a short, greatest hits setlist.
[74] As the year progressed, Prince finished production on his fourth film,
Graffiti Bridge, and the
album of the same name. Initially, Warner Bros. was reluctant to fund the film, but with Prince's assurances it would be a sequel to
Purple Rain as well as the involvement of the original members of The Time, the studio greenlit the project.
[75] Released on August 20, 1990, the album reached No. 6 on the Billboard 200 and R&B albums chart.
[76] The single "
Thieves in the Temple" reached No. 6 on the Hot 100 and No. 1 on the R&B chart;
[54] "
Round and Round" placed at No. 12 on the US charts and No. 2 on the R&B charts. The song featured the teenage
Tevin Campbell (who also had a role in the film) on lead vocals. The film, released on November 20, 1990, was a critical and box-office flop, grossing $4.2 million.
[77] After the release of the film and album, the last remaining members of The Revolution, Miko Weaver and Doctor Fink, left Prince's band.
1991–94: The New Power Generation, Diamonds and Pearls, and name change
Prince's Yellow Cloud Guitar at the
Smithsonian Institution Building1991 marked the debut of Prince's new band, the
New Power Generation. With guitarist Miko Weaver and long-time keyboardist Doctor Fink gone, Prince added bass player
Sonny T.,
Tommy Barbarella on keyboards, and a brass section known as the Hornheads to go along with Levi Seacer (taking over on guitar), Rosie Gaines,
Michael Bland, and the Game Boyz. With significant input from his band members,
Diamonds and Pearls was released on October 1, 1991. Reaching No. 3 on the Billboard 200 album chart,
[78]Diamonds and Pearls saw four hit singles released in the United States. "
Gett Off" peaked at No. 21 on the Hot 100 and No. 6 on the R&B charts, followed by "
Cream", which gave Prince his fifth US No. 1 single. The title track "
Diamonds and Pearls" became the album's third single, reaching No. 3 on the Hot 100 and the top spot on the R&B charts. "
Money Don't Matter 2 Night" peaked at No. 23 and No. 14 on the Hot 100 and R&B charts respectively.
[79]In 1992 Prince and The New Power Generation released his 12th album,
Love Symbol Album,
[80] bearing only an unpronounceable symbol on the cover (later copyrighted as Love Symbol #2).
[81] The album peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard 200.
[82] The label wanted "
7" to be the first single, but Prince fought to have "
My Name Is Prince" as he "felt that the song's more hip-hoppery would appeal to the same audience" that had purchased the previous album.
[83] Prince got his way but "My Name Is Prince" reached No. 36 on theBillboard Hot 100 and No. 23 on the R&B chart. The follow-up single "
Sexy MF" charted at No. 66 on the Hot 100 and No. 76 on the R&B chart. The label's preferred lead single choice "7" reached No. 7.
[79] 'Love Symbol Album' went on to sell 2.8 million copies worldwide.
[83]After two failed attempts in 1990 and 1991,
[84] Warner Bros. released a
greatest hits compilation with the three-disc
The Hits/The B-Sides in 1993. The first two discs were also sold separately as The Hits 1 and The Hits 2. It features the majority of Prince's hit singles (with the exception of "
Batdance" and other songs that appeared on the
Batman soundtrack), and several previously hard-to-find recordings, including
B-sides spanning the majority of Prince's career, as well as some previously unreleased tracks such as the Revolution-recorded "Power Fantastic" and a live recording of "
Nothing Compares 2 U" with Rosie Gaines. Two new songs, "
Pink Cashmere" and "
Peach", were chosen as promotional singles to accompany the compilation album.
The unpronounceable symbol (later dubbed "Love Symbol #2")
In rebellion against Warner Bros., which refused to release his enormous backlog of music at a steady pace,
[85][86] in 1993 Prince changed his name to
, which was explained as a combination of the
symbols for male (♂) and female (♀).
[81] In order to use the symbol in print media, Warner Bros. had to organize a mass mailing of
floppy disks with a custom font.
[87] The symbol was soon dubbed "The Love Symbol" and during this period Prince was referred to as "The Artist Formerly Known as Prince" or simply "The Artist".
[88]1994–2000: Increased output and The Gold Experience
In 1994, Prince began to release albums in quick succession as a means of releasing himself from his contractual obligations to Warner Bros. The label, he believed, was intent on limiting his artistic freedom by insisting that he release albums more sporadically. He also blamed Warner Bros. for the poor commercial performance of the Love Symbol Album, claiming they had marketed it insufficiently. It was out of these developments that the aborted
The Black Album was officially released, seven years after its initial recording. The "new" release was already in wide circulation as a
bootleg, and sold relatively poorly. Warner Bros. then succumbed to Prince's wishes to release an album of new material, to be entitled
Come; it became Prince's poorest-selling album to date, selling fewer than 500,000 copies. Prince credited the album to "Prince 1958–1993".[
citation needed]
Prince pushed to have his next album
The Gold Experience released simultaneously with Love Symbol-era material. Warner Bros. allowed the single "
The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" to be released via a small, independent distributor,
Bellmark Records, in February 1994. The release reached No. 3 on the US BillboardHot 100 and No. 1 in many other countries, but it did not prove to be a model for subsequent releases. Warner Bros. still resisted releasing The Gold Experience, fearing poor sales and citing "
market saturation" as a defense. When released in September 1995, The Gold Experience reached the top 10 of the Billboard 200 initially. The album is now out of print.
Chaos and Disorder, released in 1996, was Prince's final album of new material for Warner Bros., as well as one of his least commercially successful releases. Prince attempted a major comeback later that year when, free of any further contractual obligations to Warner Bros., he released
Emancipation, a 36-song, 3-CD set (each disc was exactly 60 minutes long). The album was released via his own
NPG Records with distribution through
EMI. To publish his songs on Emancipation, Prince did not use Controversy Music – ASCAP, which he had used for all his records since 1981, but rather used Emancipated Music Inc.
[89] – ASCAP.
Certified
Platinum by the
RIAA, Emancipation is the first record featuring
covers by Prince of songs of other artists:
Joan Osborne's top ten hit song of 1995 "
One of Us";
[90] "
Betcha by Golly Wow!" (written by Thomas Randolf Bell and Linda Creed);
[91] "
I Can't Make You Love Me" (written by James Allen Shamblin II and Michael Barry Reid);
[92] and "
La-La (Means I Love You)" (written by Thomas Randolf Bell and William Hart).
[93]Prince released
Crystal Ball, a five-CD collection of unreleased material, in 1998. The distribution of this album was disorderly, with some fans pre-ordering the album on his website up to a year before it was shipped; these pre-orders were delivered months after the record had gone on sale in retail stores. The retail edition has only four discs, as it is missing the Kamasutra disc. There are also two different packaging editions for retail, one being in a four-disc sized jewel case with a white cover and the Love Symbol in a colored circle; the other is all four discs in a round translucent snap jewel case. The discs are the same, as is the CD jacket. The
Newpower Soul album was released three months later. His collaboration on
Chaka Khan's
Come 2 My House, and
Larry Graham's
GCS2000, both released on the
NPG Records label around the same time as Newpower Soul, were promoted by live appearances on
Vibe with Sinbad, and the
NBC Today show's Summer Concert Series.
In 1999, Prince once again signed with a major label,
Arista Records, to release a new record,
Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic. In an attempt to make his new album a success, Prince gave more interviews than at any other point in his career, appearing on MTV's
Total Request Live (with his album cover on the front of the
Virgin Megastore, in the background on TRL throughout the whole show),
Larry King Live (with Larry Graham) and other media outlets. A few months earlier, Warner Bros. had also released
The Vault: Old Friends 4 Sale, a collection of unreleased material recorded by Prince throughout his career, and his final recording commitment on his contract with Warner Bros. The greatest success he had during the year was with the EP
1999: The New Master.[
citation needed]
The pay-per-view concert,
Rave Un2 the Year 2000, was broadcast on December 31, 1999 and consisted of footage from the December 17 and 18 concerts of his 1999 tour. The concert featured appearances by guest musicians including
Lenny Kravitz,
George Clinton, Jimmy Russell, and The Time. It was released to home video the following year. A remix album,
Rave In2 the Joy Fantastic (as opposed to "Un2") was released exclusively through Prince's
NPG Music Club in April 2000.[
citation needed]
2000–07: Turnaround, Musicology, label change, and 3121
On May 16, 2000, Prince stopped using the Love Symbol moniker and returned to using "Prince" again, after his publishing contract with
Warner/Chappell expired. In a press conference, he stated that, after being freed from undesirable relationships associated with the name "Prince", he would revert to using his real name. Prince continued to use the symbol as a logo and on album artwork and to play a Love Symbol-shaped guitar. For several years following the release of Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic, Prince primarily released new music through his Internet subscription service, NPGOnlineLtd.com (later NPGMusicClub.com). Two albums were available commercially at record stores: 2001's
The Rainbow Children, and the 2003 instrumental record
N.E.W.S which was nominated for a
Best Pop Instrumental AlbumGrammy Award. Another album,
Xpectation, was released via download in 2003 to members of the NPGMusicClub.[
citation needed]
In 2002, Prince released his first live album,
One Nite Alone... Live!, which features performances from the
One Nite Alone...Tour. The 3-CD box set also includes a disc of "aftershow" music entitled It Ain't Over!. During this time, Prince sought to engage more effectively with his fan base via the
NPG Music Club, pre-concert sound checks, and at yearly "celebrations" at Paisley Park, his music studios. Fans were invited into the studio for tours, interviews, discussions and music-listening sessions. Some of these fan discussions were filmed for an
unreleased documentary, directed by
Kevin Smith. Smith discusses what happened during those days in his
An Evening with Kevin Smith DVD. Performances were also arranged to collaborate with artists and guests including
Alicia Keys, the
Time,
Erykah Badu,
Nikka Costa,
George Clinton, and
Norah Jones.[
citation needed]
On February 8, 2004, Prince appeared at the
46th Annual Grammy Awards with
Beyoncé.
[94][95] In a performance that opened the show, they performed a medley of "
Purple Rain", "
Let's Go Crazy", "
Baby I'm a Star", and Beyoncé's "
Crazy in Love".
[96] The following month, Prince was inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
[97]The award was presented to him by Alicia Keys along with
Big Boi and
André 3000 of
OutKast.
[98] As well as performing a trio of his own hits during the ceremony, Prince also participated in a tribute to fellow inductee
George Harrison in a rendering of Harrison's "
While My Guitar Gently Weeps", playing a bravura two-minute guitar solo that ended the song.
[99][100][101] He also performed the song "
Red House" as "Purple House" on the album
Power of Soul: A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix.
[102] On February 19,
The Tavis Smiley Show broadcast included a performance of "Reflection" from Prince's Musicology album. Prince was accompanied by Wendy Melvoin, formerly of The Revolution.[
citation needed]
In April 2004, Prince released
Musicology through a one-album agreement with
Columbia Records. The album rose as high as the top five on some international charts (including the US, UK, Germany and Australia). The US chart success was assisted by the CD being included as part of the concert ticket purchase, and each CD thereby qualifying (as chart rules then stood) towards US chart placement.
[103] Three months later,
Spin named him the greatest
frontman of all time.
[104] That same year, Rolling Stone magazine named Prince as the highest-earning musician in the world, with an annual income of $56.5 million,
[105] largely due to his
Musicology Tour, which
Pollstar named as the top concert draw among musicians in US. The artist played 96 concerts; the average ticket price for a show was US$61. Musicology went on to receive two Grammy wins, for
Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for "
Call My Name" and Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance for the
title track. Musicology was also nominated for Best R&B Song and Best R&B Album, and "
Cinnamon Girl" was nominated for
Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.Rolling Stone magazine has ranked Prince No. 27 on their list of 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.
[6]In April 2005, Prince played guitar (along with
En Vogue singing backing vocals) on
Stevie Wonder's single "
So What the Fuss", Wonder's first since 1999.
[106] In the aftermath of
Hurricane Katrina, Prince recorded two new songs, "
S.S.T." and the instrumental "Brand New Orleans", at Paisley Park in the early hours of September 2. Prince again performed all instrumental and vocal parts. These recordings were quickly dispersed to the public via Prince's NPG Music Club, and "S.S.T." was later picked up by
iTunes, where it reached No. 1 on the store's R&B chart. On October 25,
Sony Records released a version of the single on CD.[
citation needed]
In late 2005, Prince signed with
Universal Records to release his album,
3121, on March 21, 2006. The first single was "
Te Amo Corazón", the video for which was directed by actress
Salma Hayek and filmed in
Marrakech, Morocco, featuring Argentine actress and singer
Mía Maestro. The video for the second single, "
Black Sweat", was nominated at the
MTV VMAs for Best Cinematography. The immediate success of 3121 gave Prince his first No. 1 debut on the Billboard 200 with the album. To promote the new album, Prince was the musical guest on Saturday Night Live on February 4, 2006, 17 years after his last SNL appearance on the 15th anniversary special and nearly 25 years since his first appearance on a regular episode in 1981. Prince also held a contest to win a trip to see a 'Purple Ticket Concert' at his private residence in
Hollywood, California. Seven winning tickets were placed inside 3121 CD packages in the US, and other tickets were given away in various contests on the Internet and around the world. On May 6, 2006, 24 prizewinners (with a guest each) attended a star-studded private party and performance at Prince's home.[
citation needed]
At the
2006 Webby Awards on June 12, Prince received a
Webby Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his "visionary use of the Internet to distribute music and connect with audiences", exemplified by his decision to release his 1997 album Crystal Ball exclusively online.
[107][108][109]Weeks after winning a Webby Award, Prince shut down his
NPG Music Club website in July 2006, after more than five years of operation.
[110][111] On the day of the music club's shutdown, a lawsuit was filed against Prince by the British company HM Publishing (owners of the
Nature Publishing Group, also NPG). Despite these events occurring on the same day, Prince's attorney stated that the site did not close due to the trademark dispute.
[110] Prince appeared at multiple award ceremonies in 2006. On February 15, he performed at the
2006 Brit Awards along with
Wendy & Lisa and
Sheila E.[112] On June 27, Prince appeared at the
2006 BET Awards, where he was awarded Best Male R&B Artist. Prince performed a medley of
Chaka Khan songs for Khan's BET Lifetime Achievement Award.
[113] Prince had previously written and performed several songs with the singer.[
citation needed]
In November 2006, Prince was inducted into the
UK Music Hall of Fame,
[95] appearing to collect his award but not performing. Also in November 2006, Prince opened a nightclub named 3121 in
Las Vegas at the
Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino. He performed weekly on Friday and Saturday nights until April 2007, when his contract with the Rio ended.[
citation needed] On August 22, 2006, Prince released
Ultimate Prince. The double disc set contains one CD of previous hits, and another of extended versions and mixes of material that had largely only previously been available on vinyl record B-sides. Prince wrote and performed a song for the hit 2006 animated film
Happy Feet. The song, "
The Song of the Heart", appears on the film's
soundtrack, which also features a cover of Prince's earlier hit "Kiss", sung by
Nicole Kidmanand
Hugh Jackman. In January 2007, "The Song of the Heart" won a
Golden Globe for Best Original Song.
[114]2007–10: Super Bowl XLI, Planet Earth, and Lotusflower
Prince's stage set for the Earth Tour in 2007
On February 2, 2007, Prince played at the
Super Bowl XLI press conference. Prince performed at the Super Bowl XLI halftime show in Miami, Florida on February 4, 2007. He played on a large stage shaped as his symbol. The event was carried to 140 million television viewers, the "biggest audience of his life."
[115] In 2015, Billboard.com ranked the performance as the greatest Super Bowl performance ever.
[116]Prince played 21 concerts in London during mid-2007. The
Earth Tour included 21 nights at the 20,000 capacity
O2 Arena, with
Maceo Parker in his band. Tickets for the O2 Arena were capped by Prince at £31.21 ($48.66). The residency at the O2 Arena was increased to 15 nights after all 140,000 tickets for the original seven sold out in 20 minutes.
[117] It was then further extended to 21 nights.
[118]Prince performed with Sheila E. at the 2007
ALMA Awards. On June 28, 2007, the
Mail on Sunday stated that it had made a deal to give Prince's new album,
Planet Earth, away for free with the paper, making it the first place in the world to get the album. This move sparked controversy among music distributors and also led the UK arm of Prince's distributor,
Sony BMG, to withdraw from distributing the album in UK stores.
[119] The UK's largest high street music retailer,
HMV, decided to stock the paper on release day due to the giveaway. On July 7, 2007, Prince returned to Minneapolis to perform three shows. He performed concerts at the
Macy'sAuditorium (to promote his new perfume "3121") on
Nicollet Mall, the
Target Center arena, and
First Avenue.
[120] It was the first time he had played at First Avenue (the club appeared in the film Purple Rain) since 1987.
[121]
Prince playing with
Maceo Parker in the O2
From 2008, Prince was managed by UK-based Kiran Sharma.
[122] On April 25, 2008, Prince performed on
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, where he debuted a new song, "Turn Me Loose". Days after, he headlined the 2008
Coachella Festival. Prince was paid more than $5 million for his performance at Coachella, according to
Reuters.
[123] Prince cancelled a concert, planned at Dublin's
Croke Park on June 16, 2008, at 10 days' notice. In October 2009 promoters
MCD Productions went to court to sue Prince for €1.6 million, after paying him $1.5 million, half his agreed fee of $3 million for the concert. MCD claim they had to refund 55,126 tickets purchased and its total losses exceeded $1.66 million. Prince's lawyers argued the MCD claim was inflated.
[124][125] Prince settled the case out of court in February 2010 for $2.95 million.
[126][127] During the trial, it was said that Prince had been offered $22 million for seven concerts as part of a proposed 2008 European tour.
[128] In October 2008, Prince released a live album entitled
Indigo Nights, as well as 21 Nights, an accompanying book of poems, lyrics and photos. The book chronicled his tenure at London's O2 Arena in 2007; the album is a collection of songs performed live at aftershows in the IndigO2.
Prince at the
Coachella Festival in 2008
On December 18, 2008, Prince premiered four songs from his new album on LA's Indie rock radio station
Indie 103.1.
[129] The radio station's programmers Max Tolkoff and
Mark Sovel had been invited to Prince's home to hear the new rock-oriented music. Prince then surprised the two by giving them a CD with four songs to premiere on their radio station. The music debuted the next day on Jonesy's Jukebox, hosted by
Sex Pistol Steve Jones.
[130]On January 3, 2009, a new website LotusFlow3r.com was launched, streaming and selling some of the recently aired material and concert tickets for future events. On January 31, Prince released two more songs on LotusFlow3r.com: "Disco Jellyfish", and "Another Boy". "Chocolate Box", "Colonized Mind", and "All This Love" were later released on the website. Prince released a triple album set containing
Lotusflower, MPLSoUND, and an album credited to
Bria Valente, called Elixer, on March 24, 2009, followed by a physical release on March 29. The release was preceded by performances on
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and
The Ellen DeGeneres Show. The album peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200.[
citation needed]
On July 18, 2009, Prince performed two shows at the
Montreux Jazz Festival, backed by
The New Power Generation including Rhonda Smith, Renato Neto and
John Blackwell. On October 11, 2009, Prince gave two surprise concerts at the glass-and-iron
Grand Palais exhibition hall after visiting the Paris building on the banks of the Seine.
[131] On October 12, he gave another surprise gig at
La Cigale. On October 24, Prince played a concert at Paisley Park.
[132]2010–12: 20Ten and Welcome 2 Tours
In January 2010, Prince wrote a new song, "Purple and Gold", inspired by his visit to a
Minnesota Vikings football game against the
Dallas Cowboys.
[133] The following month, Prince let Minneapolis-area public radio station
89.3 The Current premiere his new song "Cause and Effect" as a gesture in support of independent radio.
[134]In 2010, Prince was listed in Time magazine's annual ranking of the "100 Most Influential People in the World".
[135]Prince released a new single on Minneapolis radio station 89.3 The Current called "Hot Summer" on June 7, his 52nd birthday. Also in June, Prince appeared on the cover of the July 2010 issue of
Ebony,
[136] and he received the
Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2010
BET Awards.
[137]Prince released his album
20Ten in July 2010 as a free
covermount with publications in the UK, Belgium, Germany, and France.
[138] He refused album access to digital download services and closed LotusFlow3r.com.
On July 4, 2010, Prince began his
20Ten Tour, a concert tour in two legs with shows in Europe. The second leg began on October 15
[139] and ended with a concert following the
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on November 14.
[140] The second half of the tour had a new band, John Blackwell,
Ida Kristine Nielsen, and Sheila E.
[141] Prince let
Europe 1 debut the snippet of his new song "Rich Friends" from the new album 20Ten Deluxe on October 8, 2010.
[142] Prince started the
Welcome 2 Tour on December 15, 2010.
[143]Prince was inducted into the
Grammy Hall of Fame on December 7, 2010.
[144]On February 12, 2011, Prince presented
Barbra Streisand with an award and donated $1.5 million to charities.
[145] On the same day, it was reported that he had not authorized the television show
Glee to cover his hit "
Kiss", in an episode that had already been filmed.
[146]Prince headlined
Hop Farm Festival on July 3, 2011, marking his first UK show since 2007 and his first ever UK festival appearance.
[147]Despite having previously rejected the Internet for music distribution, on November 24, 2011, Prince released a reworked version of the previously unreleased song "Extraloveable" through both iTunes and Spotify.
[148] Purple Music, a Switzerland-based record label, released a CD single "Dance 4 Me" on December 12, 2011, as part of a club remixes package including
Bria Valente CD single "2 Nite" released on February 23, 2012. The CD features club remixes by Jamie Lewis and David Alexander, produced by Prince.
[149]2013–16: 3rdeyegirl and return to Warner Bros.
In January 2013, Prince released a
lyric video for a new song called "Screwdriver".
[150] In April 2013, Prince announced a West Coast tour titled
Live Out Loud Tourwith
3rdeyegirl as his backing band.
[151] The final two dates of the first leg of the tour were in Minneapolis where former
Revolution drummer
Bobby Z. sat in as guest drummer on both shows.
[152] In May, Prince announced a deal with Kobalt Music to market and distribute his music.
[153]On August 14, 2013, Prince released a new solo single for download through the 3rdeyegirl.com website.
[154] The single "Breakfast Can Wait" had cover art featuring comedian
Dave Chappelle's impersonation of the singer in a sketch on the 2000s
Comedy Central series
Chappelle's Show.
[155]In February 2014, Prince performed concerts with 3rdeyegirl in London titled the
Hit and Run Tour. Beginning with intimate shows, the first was held at the London home of singer
Lianne La Havas, followed by two performances of what Prince described as a "sound check" at the
Electric Ballroom in
Camden,
[156] and another at Shepherds Bush Empire.
[157] On April 18, 2014, Prince released a new single entitled "The Breakdown". He re-signed with his former label,
Warner Bros. Recordsafter an 18-year split. Warner announced that Prince would release a remastered deluxe edition of his 1984 album
Purple Rain in 2014 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the breakthrough album. In return, Warner gave Prince ownership of the master recordings of his Warner recordings.
[158][159]In May 2015, following the
death of Freddie Gray and the subsequent
riots, Prince released a song entitled "Baltimore" in tribute to Gray and in support of the protesters in Baltimore.
[160][161][162][163] He also held a tribute concert for Gray at his Paisley Park estate called "Dance Rally 4 Peace" in which he encouraged fans to wear the color gray in honor of Freddie Gray.
[164]Prince's penultimate album,
Hit n Run Phase One, was first made available on September 7, 2015, on the music streaming service
Tidal before being released on CD and download on September 14.
[165]Illness and death
Main articles:
Death of Prince and
Reactions to the death of Prince
Prince died at his home and recording studio, Paisley Park
On April 7, 2016, Prince postponed two performances from his Piano & A Microphone Tour, at the
Fox Theatre in
Atlanta; the venue released a statement saying he had
influenza.
[166] He rescheduled and performed the show on April 14, even though he still was not feeling well.
[167][168] While flying back to Minneapolis early the next morning, he became unresponsive, and his private jet made an emergency landing at
Quad City International Airport in
Moline, Illinois, so that he could seek medical treatment.
[169] Representatives stated that he suffered from "bad dehydration" and had had influenza for several weeks.
[167]Prince was seen in public the following evening, when he shopped at the
Electric Fetus in Minneapolis on
Record Store Day, and made a brief appearance at a dance party at his Paisley Park recording studio complex in
Chanhassen, Minnesota, stating that he was feeling fine.
[168][170]On April 19, he attended a performance by singer
Lizz Wright at the
Dakota Jazz Club.
[171]On April 21, at 9:43 a.m., the
Carver County Sheriff's Office received a
9-1-1 phone call requesting that an ambulance be sent to Prince's home at Paisley Park. The caller initially told the dispatcher that Prince was unconscious, then moments later said he was dead.
[172] Emergency responders found Prince unresponsive in an elevator and performed
CPR, but were unable to revive him; he was pronounced dead at 10:07 a.m. He was 57 years old.
[173][174][175] Following an autopsy, his remains were cremated; their location will be kept private.
[176]Numerous musicians and cultural figures reacted to Prince's death.
[177][178] Cities across the U.S. held tributes and vigils, and lit buildings, bridges, and other venues in purple.
[179][180][181] In the first five hours after the media began reporting his death, "Prince" was the top trending term on Twitter, and Facebook had 61 million Prince-related interactions.
[182] MTV interrupted its programming to air a marathon of Prince music videos and Purple Rain.
[183] AMC Theatres and
Carmike Cinemasannounced that they would screen Purple Rain in some of their theaters over the following week.
[184] Saturday Night Live aired a special episode in his honor titled "Goodnight, Sweet Prince", consisting of comedy skits involving him, his musical performances from the show, and the
Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Specialafter-party.
[185]Artistry
Musical style and influences
A costume worn by Prince and associated memorabilia, displayed at a
Hard Rock Cafein Australia
Jon Pareles of
The New York Times described Prince as "a master architect of funk, rock, R&B and pop", and highlighted his ability to defy genre categories.
[186] Los Angeles Times writer Randall Roberts called Prince "among the most versatile and restlessly experimental pop artists of our time," writing that his "early work connected
disco and synthetic funk [while his] fruitful mid-period merged rock, soul, R&B and
synth-pop."
[187] Critic
Simon Reynolds called him a "pop polymath, flitting between funkadelia,
acid rock, deep soul, schmaltz—often within the same song".
[188] Prince has been compared with
jazz great
Miles Davis in regard to the artistic changes throughout his career;
[189] Davis himself regarded Prince as an otherworldly blend of
James Brown,
Jimi Hendrix,
Marvin Gaye,
Sly Stone,
Little Richard,
Duke Ellington, and
Charlie Chaplin.
[190][191][192]Prince's music synthesized a wide variety of influences,
[186] and drew inspiration from a range of musicians, including James Brown,
[193][194][195][196] George Clinton,
[193][194][196] Miles Davis,
[193] Joni Mitchell,
[193] Duke Ellington,
[191] Jimi Hendrix,
[193][196] The Beatles,
[193][196] Chuck Berry,
[193] David Bowie,
[193] Earth, Wind & Fire,
[193] Mick Jagger,
[193] Rick James,
[193] Jerry Lee Lewis,
[193] Little Richard,
[193] Curtis Mayfield,
[193][197] Elvis Presley,
[193] Todd Rundgren,
[198] Carlos Santana,
[193] Sly Stone,
[193][199][194][196] Jackie Wilson,
[193] and
Stevie Wonder.
[200][201]Image and musicianship
The Los Angeles Times called Prince "our first post-everything pop star, defying easy categories of race, genre and commercial appeal."
[202] As a performer, he was known for his flamboyant style and showmanship.
[186] He came to be regarded as a
sex symbolfor his
androgynous, amorphous sexuality,
[203] play with signifiers of
gender,
[204][205] and defiance of
racial stereotypes.
[206] His "audacious, idiosyncratic" fashion sense made use of "ubiquitous purple, alluring makeup and frilled garments."
[202] His androgynous look has been compared to that of
Little Richard[203][207][208] and
David Bowie.
[196] He has also been noted for the strong female presence in his bands and his support for women in the music industry throughout his career.
[209][210]Journalist
Nik Cohn described him as "rock's greatest ever natural talent".
[211] His singing abilities encompassed a wide range from
falsetto to
baritone and rapid, seemingly effortless shifts of
register.
[212] Prince was also renowned as a multi-instrumentalist.
[196][213] He was considered a guitar virtuoso and a master of drums, percussion, bass, keyboards, and synthesizer.
[214] On his first five albums, he played nearly all the instruments,
[215] including 27 instruments on his debut album,
[216]among them various types of bass, keyboards and synthesizers.
[217] Prince was also quick to embrace technology in his music,
[218] making pioneering use of
drum machines like the
Linn LM-1 on his early '80s albums and employing a wide range of studio effects.
[219] The LA Times also noted his "harnessing [of] new-generation
synthesizer sounds in service of the groove," laying the foundations for post-70s funk music.
[187] Prince was also known for his prolific and perfectionist tendencies, which resulted in him recording large amounts of unreleased material.
[220]Legal issues
Pseudonyms
In 1993, during negotiations regarding the release of
The Gold Experience, a legal battle ensued between Warner Bros. and Prince over the artistic and financial control of his musical output.[
citation needed] During the lawsuit, he appeared in public with the word "slave" written on his cheek. Prince explained that he had changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol to emancipate himself from his contract with Warner Bros. and that he had done it out of frustration because he felt his own name now belonged to the company.
[221][222]Prince sometimes used pseudonyms to separate himself from the music he had written, produced, or recorded, at one point stating "I was just getting tired of seeing my name. If you give away an idea, you still own that idea. In fact, giving it away strengthens it. Why do people feel they have to take credit for everything they do? Ego, that's the only reason."
[88] These pseudonyms include: Jamie Starr and The Starr Company (for the songs he wrote for
The Time and many other artists from 1981 to 1984),
[223][224] Joey Coco (for many unreleased Prince songs in the late 1980s, as well as songs written for
Sheena Easton & Kenny Rogers),
[225] Alexander Nevermind (for writing the 1984 song "
Sugar Walls" by Sheena Easton),
[226] and Christopher (used for his song writing credit of "
Manic Monday" for the
Bangles).
[227]Copyright issues
On September 14, 2007, Prince announced that he was going to sue YouTube and
eBay because they hosted copyright material. He hired the international Internet policing company
Web Sheriff.
[228][229] In October,
Stephanie Lenz filed a lawsuit against Universal Music Publishing Group claiming that they were abusing copyright law after the music publisher had YouTube take down Lenz's home movie in which the Prince song "
Let's Go Crazy" played faintly in the background.
[230][231] On November 5, several fan sites of Prince formed "Prince Fans United" to fight back against legal requests which, they claim, Prince made to prevent all use of photographs, images, lyrics, album covers, and anything linked to his likeness.
[232] Prince's lawyers claimed that this constituted copyright infringement; the Prince Fans United said that the legal actions were "attempts to stifle all critical commentary about Prince". Prince's promoter
AEG stated that the only offending items on the three fansites were live shots from Prince's 21 nights in London at the O2 Arena earlier in the year.
[233]On November 8, Prince Fans United received a song named "PFUnk", providing a kind of "unofficial answer" to their movement. The song originally debuted on the PFU main site,
[234] was retitled "
F.U.N.K.", and is available on iTunes. On November 14, the satirical website
b3ta.com pulled their "image challenge of the week" devoted to Prince after legal threats from the star under the
Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
[235]At the 2008 Coachella Music Festival, Prince performed a cover of
Radiohead's "
Creep", but immediately after he forced YouTube and other sites to remove footage that fans had taken of the performance, despite Radiohead's demand for it to remain on the website.
[236] Days later, YouTube reinstated the videos as Radiohead claimed, "it's our song, let people hear it." In 2009, Prince put the video of the Coachella performance on his official website LotusFlow3r.com.
In 2013, the
Electronic Frontier Foundation granted to Prince the inaugural "Raspberry Beret Lifetime Aggrievement Award",
[237] a reference to resentment of parties who allege unfair treatment and misuse of copyright claims by the artist and his lawyers.
[238]In January 2014, Prince filed a lawsuit titled Prince v. Chodera against 22 online users for direct copyright infringement, unauthorized fixation, and contributory copyright infringement and
bootlegging.
[239] Several of the users were fans who had shared links to bootlegged versions of several Prince concerts through social media websites like Facebook.
[240][241] In the same month, he dismissed the entire action without prejudice.
[242]Personal life
Over the years Prince was romantically linked with many celebrities, including
Kim Basinger,
Madonna,
Vanity,
Sheila E.,
Carmen Electra,
Susanna Hoffs,
Anna Fantastic,
[12] Sherilyn Fenn,
[243] and
Susan Moonsie of
Vanity 6 and
Apollonia 6.
[244] Prince was engaged to
Susannah Melvoin in 1985.
[245] When he was 37, he married his 22-year-old backup singer and dancer
Mayte Garcia on Valentine's Day 1996. They had a son named Boy Gregory on October 16, 1996, who was born with
Pfeiffer syndrome and died a week later.
[246] Prince and Mayte divorced in 1999. In 2001, Prince married Manuela Testolini in a private ceremony; she filed for divorce in May 2006.
[247]Prince joined the
Jehovah's Witnesses in 2001, following a two-year-long debate with friend and fellow Jehovah's Witness musician
Larry Graham. Prince said that he did not consider it a conversion, but a "realization". "It's like
Morpheus and
Neo in
The Matrix", he explained. He attended meetings at a local
Kingdom Hall and occasionally knocked on people's doors to discuss his faith.
[248] Prince had needed double hip-replacement surgery since 2005 but would not undergo the operation unless it was a
bloodless surgery because Jehovah's Witnesses typically do not accept
blood products.
[249] The condition was caused by repeated onstage dancing in high-heeled boots.
[250] Prince had been using canes as part of his outfit from the early 1990s onwards; towards the end of his life when he regularly walked with a cane in public engagements, this led to speculation that it resulted from not having the surgery.
[251]Prince was a
vegan.
[252][253][254][255][256] The
liner notes for his album
Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic featured a message about the cruelty involved in
woolproduction.
[257]In 2001 he donated $12,000 anonymously to the
Louisville Free Public Library system to keep the historic
Western Branch Library, the first full service library for African Americans in the country, from closure.
[258] In 2015 he conceived and launched
YesWeCode, paying for many
hackathons outright and performing at some of them.
[259][260] He also helped fund
Green for All.
[259] As a Jehovah's Witness, Prince did not speak publicly about his charitable endeavors.
[259]In late March 2016, Prince told an audience that he was writing a memoir, tentatively titled The Beautiful Ones.
[261][262]
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