Prince Born: Genre-Defying Genius Rewrites Pop Music

Prince Rogers Nelson fused funk, rock, pop, R&B, soul, new wave, and psychedelia into a sound that defied every genre boundary the music industry tried to impose. His six-year run from 1999 through Sign o' the Times produced four of the most inventive albums in popular music history. He played virtually every instrument on his recordings, wrote all his own material, and produced everything himself. Born on June 7, 1958, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to a jazz musician father and a singer mother, Prince taught himself piano at seven, guitar at thirteen, and drums at fourteen. He signed his first recording contract at nineteen, negotiating an unusual degree of creative control for an artist his age. His 1984 album Purple Rain and its accompanying film made him a global superstar. The album sold over 25 million copies worldwide. "When Doves Cry," which deliberately omitted a bass line, went to number one. "Let's Go Crazy," "I Would Die 4 U," and the title track became standards. He won the Academy Award for Best Original Song Score. He was a ferocious live performer. His concerts regularly exceeded three hours. He played guitar solos that drew comparisons to Hendrix while dancing in heels. He performed at the 2007 Super Bowl halftime show in a driving rainstorm, playing "Purple Rain" during an actual downpour, in a performance widely regarded as the greatest Super Bowl halftime show in history. His conflict with Warner Bros. Records over ownership of his master recordings led him to change his name to an unpronounceable symbol in 1993 and to appear publicly with "SLAVE" written on his cheek. He became one of the most vocal advocates for artists' rights in the music industry, arguing that record labels exploited musicians through contracts that gave the label ownership of the recordings. He died on April 21, 2016, at 57, at his Paisley Park studio and residence in Chanhassen, Minnesota. The cause was an accidental overdose of fentanyl. His estate, estimated at $300 million, was left without a will, triggering years of legal disputes.