Prince Rogers Nelson, better known by his stage name Prince (June 7, 1958 – April 21, 2016), was an American singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is considered one of the best musicians of his generation and has received several honors and accolades.
His vast vocal range, which featured a high-pitched scream and a far-reaching falsetto, as well as his proficiency as a multi-instrumentalist—he frequently preferred to play all or the majority of the instruments on his recordings—made him well-recognized for his flamboyant, androgynous demeanor.
Prince produced his own albums, establishing the Minneapolis sound. His music included funk, R&B, rock, new wave, soul, synth-pop, pop, jazz, and hip-hop, among other styles.
What was Prince’s cause of death?
Prince reverted to his original name in 2000 after signing with Arista Records in 1998. Six of his albums charted in the top ten in the United States over the next decade. Prince died in April 2016 at the age of 57 after overdosing on fentanyl at his Paisley Park home and recording studio in Chanhassen, Minnesota.
At the age of 19, Prince signed a record deal with Warner Bros. Records and released the albums For You (1978) and Prince (1979). (1979). He went on to have critical acclaim for his albums Dirty Mind (1980), Controversy (1981), and 1999. (1982).
Purple Rain (1984), his sixth album, was recorded with his new backing band the Revolution, and served as the soundtrack to the film of the same name, in which he starred. Purple Rain was a major commercial success for Prince, spending six consecutive months at the top of the Billboard 200 chart.
The soundtrack also earned Prince an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song Score. After disbanding the Revolution, Prince released the album Sign o’ the Times (1987), which was widely regarded as his best work.
In 1993, he changed his stage name to the unpronounceable symbol Logo due to a contractual dispute with Warner Bros. The Artist was a hollow circle above a downward arrow crossed with a curlicued horn-shaped symbol and then a short bar (known to fans as the “Love Symbol”). Previously known as Prince (or TAFKAP) or just The Artist.
