Iconic American songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Prince is dead …
“It is with profound sadness that I am confirming that the legendary, iconic performer, Prince Rogers Nelson, has died at his Paisley Park residence this morning,” Prince’s publicist said in a statement.
The 57-year-old Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame member – who won seven Grammys and sold more than 100 records worldwide – had reportedly been experiencing flu-like symptoms for several weeks prior to his death.
Active in the music industry since 1976, his songs incorporated elements of rock-n-roll, the blues, soul, jazz, disco, funk and pop. He was also a virtuoso musician – especially on guitar.
His 1984 musical drama “Purple Rain” is a cult classic – producing No.1 hits “Let’s Go Crazy” and “When Doves Cry” as well as the film’s title track, which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Let’s not forget the hits he wrote for others – like The Bangles “Manic Monday” and Sinead O’Connor‘s “Nothing Compares 2 U.” Or his amazing covers of other artists, like Radiohead or David Bowie.
Prince released nearly forty albums over the course of his career – over a dozen of which went platinum in the United States. In fact he was recording and touring as recently as this month.
“Few artists defined and redefined pop, rock, R&B, funk, soul and nearly every musical genre imaginable like Prince,” Rolling Stone noted. “He was also an iconoclast. He went against the grain of the music industry, renaming himself as an unpronounceable symbol at a time when he was protesting his record contract and refusing to bow to emerging formats like online music streaming.”
“He rewrote the rulebook, forging a synthesis of black funk and white rock that served as a blueprint for cutting-edge music in the Eighties,” the Rock-N-Roll Hall of Fame noted in its dedication. “Prince made dance music that rocked and rock music that had a bristling, funky backbone. From the beginning, Prince and his music were androgynous, sly, sexy and provocative.”
Indeed …
RIP, Prince.