Died On This Date (April 21, 2016) Prince / Musical Genius
themusicsover Prince Rogers Nelson
June 7, 1958 – April 21, 2016
Prince was his given name, and that’s all he needed to become one of the most well-known, influential, innovative and gifted musicians, songwriters, singers, producers, and performers pop music has ever known. Born and raised in the Minneapolis area, Prince would eventually come to represent what was known as the Minneapolis sound – a marriage of funk, rock, synth pop, new wave, and dance. He released his first album, For You, in 1978 and what followed was an astonishing run of 39 albums over the course of 35 years. Some double, and even triple, albums. But it was 1984’s soundtrack to his film, Purple Rain, that first sent Prince into the stratosphere. It was his first album to top the Billboard album charts and went on to sell a staggering 13 million in the US alone. Purple Rain is often regarded as one of the top five greatest albums ever made – of any genre. He was far from done though, as he went on to be recognized with 32 Grammy nominations, winning seven throughout his career. In all, Prince scored four #1 albums in the US, and an additional 12 landed in the Top 10. As a performer, there were very few who could match him when it came to captivating his audiences. That was put on international display when he did the Super Bowl Halftime show in 2007. As torrential rains hammered the stage like no other time in Super Bowl history, Prince took the storm and made it his stage prop to gloriously add an exclamation point to his final song, “Purple Rain.” Rumor has it that when the show’s director asked out of concern what they should do to protect him, the band, and the dancers from being electrocuted, Prince replied, “can you make it rain harder?” Since 2014, Prince released four new albums, and legend has it that he has enough finished material in his vault to keep releases coming for years if not decades to come. Whether they will ever see the light of day is debatable. On April 21, 2016, Prince was found unconscious in an elevator within his studio complex, Paisley Park. Attempts to revive him failed and he was pronounced dead on the scene. He was just 57. Cause of death was not immediately known, but foul play or suicide were not initially suspected.
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