Prince (musician) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Prince
Prince performing at the 2008 Coachella Festival
Born	Prince Rogers Nelson (1958-06-07)June 7, 1958 Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
Died	April 21, 2016(2016-04-21) (aged 57) Chanhassen, Minnesota, U.S
Body discovered	Chanhassen, Minnesota, U.S
Occupation	Musician
Years active	1976–2016
Height	5'3" (160 cm)
Spouse(s)	Matye Garcia (m. 1996–1999, divorced) Manuela Testolini (m. 2001–2006, divorced)
Musical career
Genres	R&B pop funk rock soul new wave
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, bass guitar, piano, keyboards, tambourine, synthesizer, clavinet, drums, timpani, violin, marimba, percussion, harp, saxophone, harmonica, Linn Drum
Labels	Warner Bros., Paisley Park, NPG, EMI, Columbia, Arista
Associated acts	The Revolution; Wendy & Lisa The New Power Generation The Time; Morris Day Sheila E. Vanity 6; Apollonia 6 Mazarati The Family 94 East Madhouse

Prince Rogers Nelson (better known as Prince) (June 7, 1958 – April 21, 2016) was an American musician. He was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

He had ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. His releases have sold over 80 million copies worldwide. From 1993 to 2000, Prince changed his name to a glyph. Since this symbol was impossible to pronounce, people began calling him "The Artist Formerly Known As Prince."

In addition to his own musical career, he was a "talent promoter" for the careers of Sheila E., Carmen Electra, The Time and Vanity 6.

Prince has sold over 100 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling artists of all time. He won seven Grammy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and an Academy Award. Rolling Stone ranked Prince at number 27 on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004. This was the first year he was eligible.

Early life

Prince Rogers Nelson was born in Minneapolis on June 7, 1958, the son of jazz singer Mattie Della (née Shaw) and pianist and songwriter John Lewis Nelson. All four of his grandparents were from Louisiana.

Prince was named after his father's most popular stage name, Prince Rogers, which his father used while performing with Prince's mother in a jazz group called the Prince Rogers Trio. Prince's younger sister, Tyka, was born on May 18, 1960. Both siblings developed a keen interest in music, which was encouraged by their father.

Prince wrote his first song, "Funk Machine", on his father's piano when he was seven years old.

Prince attended Minneapolis' Bryant Junior High and then Central High School, where he played football, basketball, and baseball. He played on Central's junior varsity basketball team, and continued to play basketball for fun as an adult. While attending Bryant, he was trained in classical ballet at the Minnesota Dance Theatre through the Urban Arts Program of Minneapolis Public Schools. He grew to become an advocate for dancers, and would later use his wealth to save the failing Joffrey Ballet in Chicago during the 1990s. He met songwriter and producer Jimmy Jam in 1973 and impressed Jam with his musical talent, early mastery of a wide range of instruments, and work ethic.

Music career

In 1976, shortly after graduating from Central High School, 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, who signed Prince, age 19, to a management contract, and helped him create a demo at Sound 80 Studios in Minneapolis (with producer/engineer David Z). The demo recording resulted in interest from several record companies, including Warner Bros. Records, A&M Records, and Columbia Records. With the help of Husney, Prince signed a recording contract with Warner Bros.

Prince then left Minneapolis and moved to Sausalito, California, where his first album, For You, was recorded at Record Plant Studios. The album was released on April 7, 1978. According to the For You album notes, Prince wrote, produced, arranged, composed, and played all 27 instruments on the recording.

He went on to achieve critical success with the influential albums Dirty Mind (1980), Controversy (1981), and 1999 (1982). His sixth album, Purple Rain (1984), was recorded with his new backing band the Revolution, and was also the soundtrack to the film of the same name in which he starred. Purple Rain garnered continued success for Prince and was a major commercial achievement, spending six consecutive months atop the Billboard 200 chart. The soundtrack also won Prince the Academy Award for Best Original Song Score. After disbanding the Revolution, Prince released the album Sign o' the Times (1987), widely hailed by critics as the greatest work of his career. In the midst of a contractual dispute with Warner Bros. in 1993, he changed his stage name to the unpronounceable symbol (known to fans as the "Love Symbol") and was often referred to as The Artist Formerly Known as Prince (or TAFKAP) or simply The Artist.

After signing with Arista Records in 1998, Prince reverted to his original name in 2000. Over the next decade, six of his albums entered the U.S. top 10 charts.

Prince sold over 100 million records worldwide, ranking him among the best-selling music artists of all time. His awards included the Grammy President's Merit Award, the American Music Awards for Achievement and of Merit, the Billboard Icon Award, an Academy Award, and a Golden Globe Award. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2006, and the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame in 2016, and was inducted twice into the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame in 2022.

Death

On April 21, 2016, Prince died at his Paisley Park recording studio and home in Chanhassen, Minnesota at the age of 57.

His works

Studio albums

The New Power Generation albums

• Gold... (1993)
• Exodus (1995)
• Newpower Soul (1998)

Awards and nominations

Academy Awards

Prince won an Academy Award in 1985 for his song "Purple Rain".

Grammy Awards

Earning 33 nominations, Prince has won seven Grammys. He also has had two albums − 1999 and Purple Rain − awarded the Grammy Hall of Fame Award.

MTV Video Music Awards

The MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) is an award show by cable network MTV to honor the top music videos of the year. It was first held in September of 1984. It was to be an alternative to the Grammy Awards in the video category. Prince has won four awards from twelve nominations throughout his career.

Images for kids

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  The Minneapolis house, seen here in August 2017, where Prince stayed with André Cymone's family

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  Ticket to Prince's first performance with his band in January 1979

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  Prince's Yellow Cloud Guitar at the Smithsonian Institution Building

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  Prince performing during the Act I and II tour in Zürich, Switzerland in 1993

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  Prince's stage set for the Earth Tour in 2007

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  Prince at Coachella Festival in 2008

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  Prince performing in Paris, 2011

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  Lowry Bridge in Minneapolis illuminated in purple, in remembrance of Prince

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  A costume worn by Prince and associated memorabilia, displayed at a Hard Rock Cafe in Australia

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  Stars honoring Prince and his band The Revolution on the outside mural of the Minneapolis nightclub First Avenue

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  Paisley Park, Prince's home and recording studio in Chanhassen, Minnesota

See also

In Spanish: Prince para niños