American singer prince. Singer Prince

At the 58th year of life, the legendary American musician and songwriter Prince, a small and successful rhythm and blues performer, seven-time Grammy winner and an Oscar winner, has passed away. The circumstances of the singer's death are partly similar to the circumstances of the passing away of the king of pop music Michael Jackson, who died seven years ago in his home.

On Thursday, April 21, police in the American city of Shanhassen (a suburb of Minneapolis, Minnesota) received a call to the Paisley Park residence, where Prince Rogers Nelson, better known by his stage name Prince, lived. The police immediately reported the death, but that the owner of the house had died, it became known later. The cause of Prince's death has not yet been announced, the police have just begun an investigation.

According to Western media reports, Prince had had the flu for several weeks, and exactly a week ago, on April 15, his private plane was forced to make an emergency landing during the singer's flight between concerts. The musician required medical attention, but he spent only three hours in the hospital, after which he returned to his home in Minnesota. In addition to the flu, Prince had serious problems with his hip joints - doctors recommended getting a prosthesis, but he refused because of his religious beliefs.

One of the reasons for the problems with his feet, he himself called his passion for high-soled shoes, which were part of his stage image.

Prince was born in 1958 and was interested in music as a child. It happened thanks to his parents: his father was a pianist, and his mother was a jazz singer. He played in school bands, then joined a group that his relative gathered, but soon began a solo career - he signed a contract with Warner Bros. and already in 1978 released his debut album "For You", for which he himself wrote all the songs and recorded all the musical parts, playing 27 instruments. Almost immediately followed by a second album called "Prince", in 1980 he released "Dirty Mind", and in 1981 - a double of "1999", which sold 3 million copies. The title track from this album was his first single to chart outside of the United States. In general, five years after the start of his career, he was already famous - in any case, only two songs by black musicians, "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson and "Little Red Corvette" by Prince, got into the rotation of the newly formed MTV channel. Even outwardly, the musicians were somewhat similar.

The pinnacle of Prince's creative success and his loyalty to rhythm and blues is considered the 1984 album "Purple Rain".

The songs from this disc became the soundtrack for the film of the same name (the rock musical "Purple Rain"), in which Prince played the main role and which won him an Oscar for Best Original Music. Also for "Purple Rain" he received two Grammy awards, losing, however, the main one - "best album". But in general, music awards loved him. Prince has 32 Grammy nominations, seven statuettes, and two of his albums (1999 and Purple Rain) are inducted into the Hall of Fame. He has also been nominated for MTV Video Awards 12 times - and has won the prize four times.

He had a completely unforgettable image - small, only 157 centimeters tall, he went on stage in shiny and bright clothes, high heels. And he created a real show, which the audience went to - however, there were failures, like the very first, back in the late 70s, opening act for the Rolling Stones, which fans of British rockers simply did not appreciate.

By the end of the 80s, Prince had achieved almost everything he could dream of. And he began to experiment.

He became more and more extravagant - he could cancel the release of an already planned album, take a pseudonym in the form of an unpronounceable symbol, or demand from the press to be called "The singer formerly known as Prince". Everything seemed to be forgiven him. At the same time, he continued to release records - there are thirty-nine of them in his discography, and the last two ("HITnRUN Phase One" and "HITnRUN Phase Two") were released in 2015. Prince was in great demand and sought to convey his creativity to the public - over 37 years of active career, he spent 28 rounds. The last one, the Hit and Run Tour, took a year and a half and included 39 concerts in Europe and North America. And one of the musician's main awards was inclusion in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005 - Prince was finally recognized as one of those who created modern rhythm and blues.

ps according to the expert opinion

We remember, we grieve. The Prince's creativity was and will be with us.

Hundreds of songs, 39 studio albums, four of which have been released over the past year and a half. Singer Prince (Prince Roger Nelson) was talented and mega-popular, which meant he could afford to be eccentric and unpredictable, for example, to change his stage name to a symbol that is difficult to explain.

He was incredibly hard-working, he could work for a long time in his home studio and on recordings. But the real "magic" appeared on stage when he went out to a crowd of thousands.

Prince could drive the audience to a frenzy, and then suddenly make them listen carefully to the lyrical composition. This was his magic.

I Wanna Be Your Lover (1979)

This first real hit for Prince brought him not only fame, but also the respect of music critics. Even then, journalists started talking about a special "Minneapolis sound", the founder of which was later unconditionally declared Prince. It is believed that it was he who managed to stylistically combine several directions at once: funk, rock, pop, synth-pop and new wave music.

Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad? (1979)

The early 1980s saw Prince's career skyrocket. Album "Prince" (which includes the song Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?) Was written, arranged and performed by him. The number of copies sold allowed him to claim the status of a platinum album.

Purple Rain (1984)

Throughout the 1980s, Prince followed a developed recipe for success: a mix of different musical styles and provocative lyrics were invariably popular with the public. His band The Revolution first appeared on the Purple Rain album. All the songs on the disc were included in the film of the same name, which was also released in 1984. The style of this album turned out to be more varied than Prince's previous works. Here he tried to show all the possibilities of the sound of the group, which from now on accompanied him.

Batdance (1989)

Bаtman became Prince's 11th and once again incredibly popular studio album, in which he actively experimented with electronic sound. It was then that the artist also changed his appearance, appearing on stage in more restrained black and white suits.

Nothing Compares 2 U (1990)

In Russia, Prince's popularity has always been much more moderate than in the United States and Europe. But even those who have never heard the songs in his performance know for sure the superhit Nothing Compares 2 U, which was performed by Sinead O "Connor. This composition Prince wrote back in 1985, but it was in the interpretation of O" Connor that the soulful ballad acquired the desired shade and mood and was doomed to success.

A few days before his death, the famous artist was urgently taken to the hospital.

Seven-time Grammy winner Prince has passed away at the age of 57. “Few artists have influenced the sound and trajectory of popular music more expressively or touched so many people with their talent,” said President Barack Obama in a statement on the singer's death. “As one of the most gifted and productive musicians of our time, Prince has done it all. Funk. Rhythm and Blues. Rock'n'roll. He was a virtuoso instrumentalist and an exciting performer. " What caused the death of Roger Nelson, better known as Prince?

He was found dead in an elevator at his Paisley Park residence in Shanghai, Minnesota. The reasons for his death are still unclear - they will be reported based on the autopsy results.

In the media, transcripts of the call from Prince's house to 911 were posted - the caller said that an ambulance was needed for the unconscious person. Then he said, "Here is dead." And I tried to tell the dispatcher the correct address where to go. But it didn't work out very well: "Uh, we are here in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and we are at the Prince's house." But another person who was next to the caller corrected him and gave the correct address: "Paisley Park, we are in Paisley Park."

"You are in Paisley Park, oh 'kay," the dispatcher replied. "It's in Shanhassen. You and a man named ...

- Yes, it's Prince, - the caller interrupted the question ...

Police and doctors who came to the singer's house found a lifeless celebrity. Attempts to give him cardiopulmonary resuscitation were unsuccessful.

As soon as news of Prince's death spread, several hundred people gathered outside the artist's residence, bringing flowers and balloons.

Prince, six days before his death, was treated for a drug overdose, according to TMZ, an Internet portal specializing in rumors from the life of "stars".

Prince's private jet made an emergency landing in Moline, Illinois last Friday. This happened a few hours after his speech. At this time, his representative said that the artist has been sick with the flu over the past weeks. At the same time, numerous sources told TMZ that Prince was rushed to a hospital in Moline, where doctors gave him a "life-saving injection", usually used for opiate poisoning.

According to reports, doctors advised Prince to stay in the hospital for knocks. The people accompanying the artist demanded to provide him with a separate room, and when they were told that this was impossible, the singer and the company decided to leave the medical institution. Three hours after arrival, Prince, who continued to feel unwell, was discharged and flew home from Molina.

Apparently to avoid talking about his health, the day after an emergency visit to the hospital, Prince arranged a big dance evening for his fans. The artist himself appeared in public, demonstrated his new piano and new purple guitar - and although he did not sing, the musician told two hundred fans, who paid $ 10 for a ticket, words that now can be considered almost prophetic: “Wait a few days, before you waste your prayers. "

5 FACTS ABOUT PRINCE

* The real name of the singer, who was born into an African American family on June 7, 1958, is Prince Roger Nelson. He got his name in honor of his father, whose stage name was Prince Rogers (and who performed in the Prince Rogers Trio jazz group). In an interview, the singer's father said: "I called my son Prince because I wanted him to do everything that I wanted to achieve." The musician became famous under this name. However, in his career he used other names as well: The Purple One or The Artist Formerly Known As Prince ("the artist formerly known as Prince"). In the early 1990s, Prince chose an unpronounceable name for his stage name in the form of a sign that combines male and female symbols (this sign is known among fans as the Love Symbol, "a symbol of love").

** He released his debut album (For You) in 1978, followed by Prince (1979), Dirty Mind (1980) and Controversy (1981). Perhaps the singer's most popular album was Purple Rain (1984). Over the years of Prince's musical career, more than 100 million copies of the artist's recordings have been sold. In 2004, Prince was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

*** Small growth - 157 cm - did not prevent Prince from becoming a great musician. In Rolling Stone's 100 Best Guitarists in the World, Prince is ranked 33rd, ahead of, for example, the legendary John Lee Hooker and U2's Edge.

**** Despite rumors of gay sexual orientation, Prince's past was rich in romantic stories with many famous women - among them were Kim Basinger, Madonna, Canadian singer Vanity, singer Sheila Escovedo, model Carmen Electra (this pseudonym for Tara Lee Patrick chosen by Prince himself), singer Anna Fantastic (stage name also invented by Prince) and Sherilyn Fein, who played Audrey Horne in Twin Peaks. In 1985, Prince became engaged to singer Susanna Melvoyne and dedicated several songs to her. At the age of 37, he married 22-year-old singer and dancer Maite Garcia. They had a son with a rare genetic disease in October 1996 - and died a week later. In 1999, the couple divorced. Prince's next marriage with Manuela Testolini, concluded in 2001 and ending in divorce in 2006, was also short-lived.

***** In 2001, Prince, who had previously studied the Bible with his musician friend Larry Graham, joined the Jehovah's Witnesses. Prince even sometimes went door to door, knocking on people's doors to discuss his faith with them. The musician became a vegetarian. And for religious reasons, he refused to undergo hip replacement surgery.

Prince Rogers Nelson, better known by his stage name Prince, is an American rhythm and blues singer who has won numerous Grammy, Oscar and Golden Globe awards. In the late 80s and early 90s, Prince along with and was considered the leader of world pop music. Curiously, all three were born in 1958.

Childhood and youth

Prince was born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota, into a family of musicians. His father, John Lewis Nelson, was a pianist, and his mother, Matty Della Shaw, was a jazz singer. By the way, the boy got his name from his father's pseudonym, who acted as Prince Rogers. From early childhood, he and his sister Tika showed great interest in their parents' business. The future pop star wrote and played his first melody "Funk Machine" at the age of 7.

After the divorce of his father and mother, Prince alternately lived in their new families, and then settled in the house of the parents of his best friend Andre Simone, who would later be the bass player in his band. As a teenager, the young man began performing in clubs and bars as part of various groups. He played keyboards and guitar, sometimes sat down at the drum kit, and also took his first steps in vocals.

It is curious that, despite his small stature, which is only 158 centimeters, Prince in high school was a member of the school basketball team.

Music

Prince became a professional musician at the age of 19 when he joined his cousin's group 94 East. A year later, the first solo album of the singer "For You" was released, for which the young man himself wrote, arranged and performed all the songs. It is very important to note the sound of the musician's debut compositions. He revolutionized rhythm and blues by replacing standard wind samples with unusual synth sections. In the late 1970s, Prince's influences shifted styles such as soul and funk.

On the second album "Prince" was the singer's first super-hit - "I Wanna Be Your Lover". Huge excitement arose around the third album "Dirty Mind", which stunned listeners with more than frank lyrics. No less than his songs, the artist's image was surprising: he went on stage in bright boots with huge heels, in a bikini and a military overcoat.

In 1982, Prince published the dystopian disc 1999, which allowed the world community to call him the second pop musician on the planet after Michael Jackson. The album's two tracks, the title track and the erotic "Little Red Corvette", have made the list of the greatest hits of all time.

Even greater success, if it is possible to suppose, expected the singer after the release of the disc "Purple Rain". The album topped the top US Billboard chart for 24 weeks, with two songs "When Doves Cry" and "Let’s Go Crazy" vying for the title of the best hit of the year.

In the second half of the 80s, Prince completely ceases to think about commercial benefits and embarks on open musical experiments. He creates the psychedelic theme "Batdance" for the movie "", the discouraging album "Sign o" the Times "and the first disc of his songs on which not he, but Rosie Gaines sings. Prince also makes several duet recordings, the most famous of which is the duo with Madonna "Love Song".

In 1993, the artist shocks the audience again. He changes his stage name to an icon, which is a combination of masculinity and femininity:

This move turned out to be more than a fancy idea. The fact is that in this way the artist showed internal changes: if earlier he was aggressive and shocking, now he has become meek and lyrical. Under this "badge" Prince released several records of different styles, and the biggest hit of the time was the sensual song "Gold".

Prince returned to his original pseudonym in the early 2000s. The Musicology album brought the singer back to the musical Olympus. The next disc "3121" is notable for the fact that some of the boxes contained free invitations to the concert of the upcoming world tour. Prince borrowed this idea from the fairy tale "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory". In recent years, the artist has released two albums a year. In 2014 "lectrumelectrum" and "Art Official Age" were released, and in 2015 two parts of the disc "HITnRUN".

Personal life

Throughout his life, Prince had romantic relationships with many stars of show business, for example, Madonna, Susan Munsey, Anna Fantastic, Suzanne Hofs and many others. In 1985, he was engaged to singer Suzanne Melvon, but then this marriage did not take place.

He married at the age of 37 his backing vocalist and dancer Maite Garcia. The wedding took place on Valentine's Day in 1996. Soon, a son, Gregory, was born in the family, but the boy was born unhealthy and died just a week later. The couple tried to support each other for a while, but then divorced.

In 2001, Prince remarried to Manuela Testolini, but five years later, his wife left him for singer Eric Benet.

The likely reason for the breakup is the fact that the star fell under the influence of Jehovah's Witnesses. He not only attended religious meetings, but sometimes he himself went to the houses of neighbors to discuss with them questions of the Christian faith.

Since 2007 he has been dating his protege Bria Valente. In 2016, the musician's memoir entitled "The Beautiful Ones" was to be released.

Death

On April 15, 2016, Prince was on a plane and needed emergency medical attention. The pilot even had to make an emergency landing. Doctors discovered a complex form of the flu virus in the singer's body and began treatment, because of which the artist had to cancel several concerts of the ongoing tour.

It is not known if the flu was the main cause, but on April 21, 2016. His lifeless body was found at the musician's estate, Paysley Park.

Discography

• 1979 - Prince
• 1982 - 1999
• 1984 - Purple Rain
• 1985 - "Around the World in a Day"
• 1987 - "Sign o 'the Times"
• 1991 - "Diamonds and Pearls"
• 1992 - "Love Symbol Album"
• 2004 - "Musicology"
• 2014 - "Art Official Age"
• 2015 - "HITnRUN"

Prince Rogers Nelson

American singer (rhythm and blues) who performed under the name Prince for most of his career, but also used many pseudonyms. Winner of the Grammy, Oscar and Golden Globe awards. In 2005, Prince was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Biography

Prince was born and raised in Minneapolis to African American parents. In his youth, he was fond of recordings by James Brown, Sly Stone, George Clinton and Jimi Hendrix. In 1977 he joined the 94 East group created by his cousin's husband, and in 1978 he released his first solo album, for which he independently wrote, produced, arranged and performed all the songs.

Prince's early recordings were revolutionary for rhythm and blues: the place of the traditional wind section was taken by dizzying synth improvisations, many of the compositions were based on the economical rhythmic beat of drum machines. Based on the material of Prince's early work, music critics started talking about a special "Minneapolis sound", which was opposed to the soft "Philadelphia sound" that dominated the rhythm and blues of the 1970s. After Prince, the previously existing division of rhythm and blues into lyrical “soul” and dance “funk” lost its relevance; each of his compositions was an original synthesis of these directions.

These traits were already evident in the artist's second album, Prince (October 1979), which included his first big hit, "I Wanna Be Your Lover". The third album Dirty Mind (October 1980), once again written alone, caused a lot of noise with its frank, sometimes provocative lyrics. No less shocking was his colorful, dynamic performances in boots with huge heels, with which the singer sought to compensate for his diminutive height (157 cm). When Prince appeared in 1981 as an opening act for the Rolling Stones in high heels, knitted leggings, bikinis and military-cut half-overcoats, fans of the legendary rock band pelted him with trash. There were rumors about his unconventional sexual orientation.

Peak of popularity

In the same 1981, after returning from a controversial "punk-funk tour" in the United States, Prince announced the creation of The Time, under the auspices of which four albums were released in the 1980s, the only songwriter and performer on which was himself. The band as such existed from gig to gig and were eventually renamed The Revolution. In October 1982, the artist's double album, 1999, hit the shelves of record stores, making his name famous outside the United States and turning him into the most popular musician on the planet after Michael Jackson. Two tracks from the album became Prince's trademarks and were included in Rolling Stone's list of the greatest songs of all time - the dystopian 1999 and the erotic little Red Corvette.

Prince's guitar "Yellow Cloud" on display at the Smithsonian Institution.

The hysteria surrounding Prince's name peaked in 1984 with the release of his most successful disc, Purple Rain, which was accompanied by the film of the same name. Throughout the year, Prince dominated the charts, sometimes topping the lists of the best-selling albums, singles and films in the United States at the same time. On the first line of the Billboard 200, the album spent 24 weeks in a row. Two songs from the disc - "When Doves Cry" and "Let's Go Crazy" - reached # 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, while the majestic ballad "Purple Rain" came in second, but won an Oscar for Best Song for a Film and was subsequently named "Best Song of the 1980s" by Pitchfork magazine. The album Purple Rain was the zenith of Prince's success with both audiences and critics; it is regularly featured on the list of the best albums of the rock and roll era.

Exhausted by a lengthy US tour (accompanied by his girlfriend Apollonius), Prince announced a temporary cessation of concert and television activities. Over the following years, he consistently worked to expand his musical palette, enriching it with elements of punk, jazz, hip-hop and new wave. In 1986, the album and film "Parade" followed, which included one of Prince's most characteristic and recognizable songs - "Kiss" (# 1 in the US). Few songwriters at that time could compete with Prince in terms of demand - the version of "I Feel for You" he created for Chucky Khan became the first rap song to top the British charts, and in 1990 Sinead O'Connor recorded the highest grossing single of the year - the poignant ballad "Nothing Compares 2 U", again written by Prince. Miles Davis stated that he dreams of working with Prince, whom he considered "the most promising artist of our time" and "the new Duke Ellington."