Prince Rogers Nelson (June 7, 1958 – April 21, 2016) was an
American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and actor.
Prince was renowned as an innovator and was widely known for his eclectic work,
flamboyant stage presence, and wide vocal range. He was widely regarded as the
pioneer of Minneapolis sound. His music integrates a wide variety of styles,
including funk, rock, R&B, soul, hip hop, disco, psychedelia, jazz, and
pop.
Prince was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and developed an
interest in music at an early age, writing his first song at age seven. After
recording songs with his cousin's band 94 East, 19-year-old Prince recorded
several unsuccessful demo tapes before releasing his debut album For You in
1978, under the guidance of manager Owen Husney. His 1979 album Prince went
platinum due to the success of the singles "Why You Wanna Treat Me So
Bad?" and "I Wanna Be Your Lover". His next three records—Dirty
Mind (1980), Controversy (1981), and 1999 (1982)—continued his success,
showcasing Prince's trademark of prominently sexual lyrics and incorporation of
elements of funk, dance, and rock music. In 1984, he began referring to his
backup band as The Revolution and released Purple Rain, which served as the
soundtrack to his film debut of the same name. A prolific songwriter, Prince in
the 1980s wrote songs for and produced work by many other acts, often under
pseudonyms.
After releasing the albums Around the World in a Day (1985)
and Parade (1986), The Revolution disbanded and Prince released the critically
acclaimed double album Sign "O" the Times (1987) as a solo artist. He
released three more solo albums before debuting The New Power Generation band
in 1991. He changed his stage name in 1993 to an unpronounceable symbol (Prince
logo.svg), also known as the "Love Symbol". He then began releasing
new albums at a faster pace to remove himself from contractual obligations to
Warner Bros.; he released five records between 1994 and 1996 before signing
with Arista Records in 1998. In 2000, he began referring to himself as
"Prince" again. He released 15 albums after that; his final album,
HITnRUN Phase Two, was first released exclusively on the Tidal streaming
service on December 11, 2015.[1]
Prince has sold over 100 million records worldwide, making
him one of the best-selling artists of all time.[2] He won seven Grammy
Awards,[3] a Golden Globe Award,[4] and an Academy Award.[5] He was inducted
into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, the first year of his
eligibility.[6] Rolling Stone ranked Prince at number 27 on its list of the 100
Greatest Artists of All Time.[7]
He died at his Paisley Park recording studio and home in
Chanhassen, Minnesota, on April 21, 2016, after experiencing flu-like symptoms
for about two weeks prior to his death.[8]
Early life
Prince Rogers Nelson[9][10] was born in Minneapolis,
Minnesota, the son of Mattie Della (Shaw) and John Lewis Nelson.[11] His
parents were both African-American[11] and his family ancestry is centered in
Louisiana, with all four of his grandparents hailing from that state.[12][13]
Prince's father was a pianist and songwriter and his mother was a jazz singer.
Prince was named after his father, whose stage name was Prince Rogers, and who
performed with a jazz group called the Prince Rogers Trio. In a 1991 interview
with A Current Affair, Prince's father said, "I named my son Prince
because I wanted him to do everything I wanted to do".[14] Prince's
childhood nickname was Skipper.[15]
In an interview, Prince told Tavis Smiley that he was
"born epileptic" and "used to have seizures" when he was
young. During the interview, he also said: "My mother told me one day I
walked in to her and said, 'Mom, I'm not going to be sick anymore,' and she
said, 'Why?' and I said, 'Because an angel told me so'.
Prince's sister Tika Evene (usually called Tyka) was born in
1960.[17] Both siblings developed a keen interest in music, and this was
encouraged by their father.[18] Prince wrote his first tune, "Funk
Machine", on his father's piano when he was seven.[18] When Prince was ten
years old, his parents separated. Prince repeatedly switched homes following
the separation, sometimes living with his father and sometimes with his mother
and stepfather.[18] Finally, he moved into the home of neighbors named the
Andersons and befriended their son Andre Anderson, who later became known as André
Cymone.
Prince and Anderson joined Prince's cousin Charles Smith in
a band called Grand Central while they were attending Minneapolis's Central
High School. Smith was later replaced by Morris Day on the drums. Prince played
piano and guitar for the band, which performed at clubs and parties in the
Minneapolis area. Grand Central later changed its name to Champagne and started
playing original music influenced by Sly and the Family Stone, James Brown,
Earth, Wind & Fire, Miles Davis, George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic,
Carlos Santana, Jimi Hendrix, and Todd Rundgren.[20] Rock critics have noted
similarities between Prince's later androgynous look, music and vocal style and
that of Little Richard.
Prince also played basketball in high school, and continued
to play it for recreation as an adult, which later inspired a famous Dave
Chappelle sketch.[24]
Career
1975–84: Beginnings and breakthrough
In 1975, Pepe Willie, the husband of Prince's cousin,
Shauntel, formed the band 94 East with Marcy Ingvoldstad and Kristie
Lazenberry. Willie hired André Cymone and Prince to record tracks with 94 East.
Those songs were written by Willie and Prince contributed guitar tracks. Prince
also co-wrote, with Willie, the 94 East song, "Just Another Sucker".
The band recorded tracks which later became the album Minneapolis Genius – The
Historic 1977 Recordings. Prince also recorded, but never released, a song
written by Willie, "If You See Me" (also known as, "Do Yourself
a Favor"). In 1995, Willie released the album 94 East featuring Prince,
Symbolic Beginning, which included original recordings by Prince and
Cymone.
In 1976, 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. Husney signed
Prince, at the age of 17, to a management contract and helped Prince create a demo
recording at Sound 80 Studios in Minneapolis using producer/engineer David Z.
The demo recording, along with a press kit produced at Husney's ad agency,
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.. The record company agreed to give Prince creative control
for three albums and ownership of the publishing rights.[25][26] Husney and
Prince then left Minneapolis and moved to Sausalito, California where Prince's
first album, For You, was recorded at Record Plant Studios. Subsequently, the
album was mixed in Los Angeles and released on April 7, 1978.[27] According to
the For You album notes, Prince produced, arranged, composed and played all 27
instruments on the recording. The album was written and performed by Prince,
except for the song "Soft and Wet" which had lyrics co-written by
Moon. The cost of recording the album was twice Prince's initial advance.
Prince used the Prince's Music Co. to publish his songs. "Soft and
Wet" reached No. 12 on the Hot Soul Singles chart and No. 92 on the
Billboard Hot 100. The song "Just as Long as We're Together" reached
No. 91 on the Hot Soul Singles chart.
Ticket to Prince's first performance with his band in
January 1979
In 1979, Prince created a band that included André Cymone on
bass, Dez Dickerson on guitar, Gayle Chapman and Doctor Fink on keyboards, and
Bobby Z. on drums. Their first show was at the Capri Theater on January 5,
1979. Warner Bros. executives attended the show but decided that Prince and the
band needed more time to develop his music.[28] In October 1979, Prince
released a self-titled album, Prince, which was No. 4 on the Billboard Top R&B/Black
Albums charts, and No. 22 on the Billboard 200, going platinum. It contained
two R&B hits: "Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?" and "I Wanna
Be Your Lover". "I Wanna Be Your Lover" sold over a million
copies, and reached No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100, and No. 1 for two weeks on
the Hot Soul Singles chart. Prince performed both these songs on January 26,
1980, on American Bandstand. On this album, Prince used Ecnirp Music – BMI.[29]
In 1980, Prince released the album, Dirty Mind, which he
recorded in his own studio. The album was certified gold and the attendant
single "Uptown" reached No. 5 on the Billboard Dance chart and No. 5
on the Hot Soul Singles charts. Prince was also the opening act for Rick James'
1980 Fire It Up tour. Dirty Mind contained sexually explicit material,
including the title song, "Head", and the song "Sister". In
February 1981, Prince made his first appearance on Saturday Night Live,
performing "Partyup". In October 1981, Prince released the album,
Controversy. He played several dates in support of it, at first as one of the
opening acts for the Rolling Stones, who were then on tour in the US. He began
1982 with a small tour of college towns where he was the headlining act. The
songs on Controversy were published by Controversy Music[30] – ASCAP, a
practice he continued until the Emancipation album in 1996. Controversy also
marked the introduction of Prince's use of abbreviated spelling, such as
spelling the words you as U, to as 2, and for as 4, as indicated by the
inclusion of the track "Jack U Off". (His earlier song titles had
used conventional spelling.)[31] By 2002, MTV.com noted that "[n]ow all of
his titles, liner notes and Web postings are written in his own shorthand
spelling, as seen on 1999's Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic, which featured 'Hot Wit
U.'
In 1981, Prince formed a side project band called the Time.
The band released four albums between 1981 and 1990, with Prince writing and
performing most of the instrumentation and backing vocals (sometimes credited
under the pseudonyms "Jamie Starr" or "The Starr Company"),
with lead vocals by Morris Day.[33][34] In late 1982, Prince released a double
album, 1999, which sold over three million copies.[35] The title track was a
protest against nuclear proliferation and became his first top ten hit in
countries outside the US. Prince's "Little Red Corvette" was one of
the first two videos by a black artist played in heavy rotation on MTV, along
with Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean".[36] The song "Delirious"
also placed in the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
1984–87: The Revolution, Purple Rain and subsequent releases
During this period Prince referred to his band as the
Revolution. The band's name was also printed, in reverse, on the cover of 1999
inside the letter "I" of the word "Prince". The band
consisted of Lisa Coleman and Doctor Fink on keyboards, Bobby Z. on drums,
Brown Mark on bass, and Dez Dickerson on guitar. Jill Jones, a backing singer,
was also part of The Revolution line up for the 1999 album and tour. Following
the 1999 Tour, Dickerson left the group for religious reasons. In the 2003 book
Possessed: The Rise and Fall of Prince, author Alex Hahn says that Dickerson
was reluctant to sign a three-year contract and wanted to pursue other musical
ventures. Dickerson was replaced by Wendy Melvoin, a childhood friend of
Coleman. At first the band was used sparsely in the studio but this gradually
changed during the mid-1980s
Prince's 1984 album Purple Rain sold more than 13 million
copies in the US and spent 24 consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200
chart. The film of the same name won an Academy Award and grossed more than $80
million in the US.[37]
Prince performing in Brussels during the Hit N Run Tour in
1986
Songs from the film were hits on pop charts around the
world, while "When Doves Cry" and "Let's Go Crazy" reached
No. 1 and the title track reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. At one point
in 1984, Prince simultaneously had the No. 1 album, single, and film in the US;
it was the first time a singer had achieved this feat.[38] Prince won the
Academy Award for Best Original Song Score for Purple Rain, and the album is
ranked 72nd Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.[39] The album is
included on the list of Time magazine's All-Time 100 Albums.[40] After Tipper
Gore heard her 12-year-old daughter Karenna listening to Prince's song
"Darling Nikki", she founded the Parents Music Resource Center.[41]
The center advocates the mandatory use of a warning label ("Parental Advisory:
Explicit Lyrics") on the covers of records that have been judged to
contain language or lyrical content unsuitable for minors. The recording
industry later voluntarily complied with this request.[42] Of what is
considered the Filthy Fifteen Prince's compositions appear no. 1 and no. 2,
with the fourth position occupied by his protégée Vanity.[43]
In 1985, Prince announced that he would discontinue live
performances and music videos after the release of his next album. His
subsequent recording Around the World in a Day held the No. 1 spot on the
Billboard 200 for three weeks. In 1986 his album Parade reached No. 3 on the
Billboard 200 and No. 2 on the R&B charts. The first single,
"Kiss", with the video choreographed by Louis Falco, reached No. 1 on
the Billboard Hot 100. The song was originally written for a side project
called Mazarati. That same year the song "Manic Monday", which was
written by Prince and recorded by The Bangles, reached No. 2 on the Hot 100
chart. The album Parade served as the soundtrack for Prince's second film,
Under the Cherry Moon. Prince directed and starred in the movie, which also
featured Kristin Scott Thomas. He received the Golden Raspberry Award for his
efforts in acting and directing.
In 1986, Prince began a series of sporadic live performances
called the Hit n Run – Parade Tour. After the tour Prince abolished The
Revolution, fired Wendy & Lisa and replaced Bobby Z. with Sheila E. Brown
Mark quit the band while keyboardist Doctor Fink remained. Prince then recruited
new band members Miko Weaver on guitar, Atlanta Bliss on trumpet, Eric Leeds on
saxophone, Boni Boyer on keyboards, Levi Seacer, Jr. on bass and dancer Cat
Glover.[citation needed]
1987–91: Solo again, Sign "O" the Times and
spiritual rebirth
Prior to the disbanding of The Revolution, Prince was
working on two separate projects, The Revolution album Dream Factory and a solo
effort, Camille.[45] Unlike the three previous band albums, Dream Factory
included significant input from the band members and even featured a number of
songs with lead vocals by Wendy & Lisa,[45] while the Camille project saw
Prince create a new persona primarily singing in a speeded-up, female-sounding
voice. With the dismissal of The Revolution, Prince consolidated material from
both shelved albums, along with some new songs, into a three-LP album to be
titled Crystal Ball.[46] Warner Bros. forced Prince to trim the triple album to
a double album and Sign "O" the Times was released on March 31,
1987.[47]
The album peaked at No.6 on the Billboard 200 albums
chart.[47] The first single, "Sign o' the Times", would chart at No.
3 on the Hot 100.[48] The follow-up single, "If I Was Your
Girlfriend" charted poorly at No. 67 on the Hot 100, but went to No.12 on
R&B chart.[48] The third single, a duet with Sheena Easton, "U Got the
Look" charted at No. 2 on the Hot 100, No. 11 on the R&B chart,[48]
and the final single "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man"
finished at No.10 on Hot 100 and No.14 on the R&B chart.
Despite receiving the greatest critical acclaim of any album
in Prince's career, including being named the top album of the year by the Pazz
& Jop critics' poll, and eventually selling 3.2 million copies, album sales
steadily declined.[49] In Europe it performed well, and Prince promoted the
album overseas with a lengthy tour. Putting together a new backing band from
the remnants of The Revolution, Prince added bassist Levi Seacer, Jr., Boni
Boyer on keyboards, and dancer/choreographer Cat Glover to go with new drummer
Sheila E. and holdovers Miko Weaver, Doctor Fink, Eric Leeds, Atlanta Bliss,
and the Bodyguards (Jerome, Wally Safford, and Greg Brooks) for the Sign o' the
Times Tour.
The tour was a success overseas, with Warner Bros. and
Prince's managers wanting to bring it to the US to resuscitate sagging sales of
Sign "O" the Times;[50][51] Prince balked at a full US tour, as he
was ready to produce a new album.[50] As a compromise the last two nights of
the tour were filmed for release in movie theaters. The film quality was deemed
subpar and reshoots were performed at his Paisley Park studios.[50] The film
Sign o' the Times was released on November 20, 1987. Much like the album, the
film garnered more critical praise than the previous year's Under the Cherry
Moon, but its box-office receipts were minimal and it quickly left
theaters.[51]
The next album intended for release was to be The Black
Album.[52] More instrumental and funk and R&B themed than recent
releases,[53] The Black Album also saw Prince experiment with hip hop music on
the songs "Bob George" and "Dead on It". Prince was set to
release the album with a monochromatic black cover with only the catalog number
printed, but after 500,000 copies had been pressed,[54] Prince had a spiritual
epiphany that the album was evil and had it recalled.[55] It would later be
released by Warner Bros. as a limited edition album in 1994. Prince went back
in the studio for eight weeks and recorded Lovesexy.
Released on May 10, 1988, Lovesexy serves as a spiritual
opposite to the dark The Black Album.[56] Every song is a solo effort by
Prince, with exception of "Eye No" which was recorded with his
backing band at the time, dubbed the "Lovesexy Band" by fans.
Lovesexy would reach No. 11 on the Billboard 200 and No. 5 on the R&B
albums chart.[57] The lead single, "Alphabet St.", peaked at No. 8 on
the Hot 100 and No. 3 on the R&B chart,[47] but finished with only selling
750,000 copies.[58]
Prince again took his post-Revolution backing band (minus
the Bodyguards) on a three leg, 84-show Lovesexy World Tour; although the shows
were well received by huge crowds, they lost money due to the expensive sets
and incorporated props.[59][60]
Prince performing during his Nude Tour in 1990
In 1989, Prince appeared on Madonna's studio album Like a
Prayer, co-writing and singing the duet "Love Song" and playing
electric guitar (uncredited) on the songs "Like a Prayer", "Keep
It Together", and "Act of Contrition". He also began work on a
number of musical projects, including Rave Unto the Joy Fantastic and early
drafts of his Graffiti Bridge film,[61][62] but both were put on hold when he
was asked by Batman director Tim Burton to record several songs for the
upcoming live-action adaptation. Prince went into the studio and produced an
entire nine-track album that Warner Bros. released on June 20, 1989. Batman
peaked at No.1 on the Billboard 200,[63] selling 4.3 million copies.[64] The
single "Batdance" topped the Billboard and R&B charts.
Additionally, the single "The Arms of Orion" with
Sheena Easton charted at No. 36, and "Partyman" (also featuring the
vocals of Prince's then-girlfriend, nicknamed Anna Fantastic) charted at No. 18
on the Hot 100 and at No. 5 on the R&B chart, while the love ballad
"Scandalous!" went to No. 5 on the R&B chart.[47] He had to sign
away all publishing rights to the songs on the album to Warner Bros. as part of
the deal to do the soundtrack.
In 1990, Prince went back on tour with a revamped band for
his stripped down, back-to-basics Nude Tour. With the departures of Boni Boyer,
Sheila E., the horns, and Cat, Prince brought in Rosie Gaines on keys, drummer
Michael Bland, and dancing trio The Game Boyz (Tony M., Kirky J., and Damon
Dickson). The European and Japanese tour was a financial success with its
short, greatest hits setlist.[65] As the year progressed, Prince finished
production on his fourth film, Graffiti Bridge, and the album of the same name.
Initially, Warner Bros. was reluctant to fund the film, but with Prince's
assurances it would be a sequel to Purple Rain as well as the involvement of
the original members of The Time, the studio greenlit the project.[66] Released
on August 20, 1990, the album reached No. 6 on the Billboard 200 and R&B
albums chart.[67] The single "Thieves in the Temple" reaching No. 6
on the Hot 100 and No. 1 on the R&B chart.[47] Also from that album,
"Round and Round" placed at No. 12 on the US charts and No. 2 on the
R&B charts. The song featured the teenage Tevin Campbell (who also had a
role in the film) on lead vocals. The film, released on November 20, 1990, was
a critical and box-office flop, grossing just $4.2 million.[68] After the
release of the film and album, the last remaining members of The Revolution,
Miko Weaver and Doctor Fink, left Prince's band.
1991–94: The New Power Generation, Diamonds and Pearls and
name change
Prince's Yellow Cloud Guitar at the Smithsonian Castle.
Prince can be seen playing this guitar in the "Gett Off" video.
1991 marked the debut of Prince's new band, the New Power Generation.
With guitarist Miko Weaver and long-time keyboardist Doctor Fink gone, Prince
added bass player Sonny T., Tommy Barbarella on keyboards, and a brass section
known as the Hornheads to go along with Levi Seacer (taking over on guitar),
Rosie Gaines, Michael Bland, and the Game Boyz. With significant input from his
band members, Diamonds and Pearls was released on October 1, 1991. Reaching No.
3 on the Billboard 200 album chart,[69] Diamonds and Pearls saw four hit
singles released in the United States. "Gett Off" peaked at No. 21 on
the Hot 100 and No. 6 on the R&B charts, followed by "Cream",
which gave Prince his fifth US No. 1 single. The title track "Diamonds and
Pearls" became the album's third single, reaching No. 3 on the Hot 100 and
the top spot on the R&B charts. "Money Don't Matter 2 Night"
peaked at No. 23 and No. 14 on the Hot 100 and R&B charts respectively.
1992 saw Prince and The New Power Generation release his
12th album, Love Symbol Album,[71] bearing only an unpronounceable symbol on
the cover (later copyrighted as Love Symbol #2).[72] The album, generally
referred to as the Love Symbol Album, would peak at No. 5 on the Billboard
200.[73] While the label wanted "7" to be the first single, Prince
fought to have "My Name Is Prince" as he "felt that the song's
more hip-hoppery would appeal to the same audience" that had purchased the
previous album.[74] Prince got his way but "My Name Is Prince" only
managed to reach No. 36 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 23 on the R&B
chart. The follow-up single "Sexy MF" fared worse, charting at No. 66
on the Hot 100 and No. 76 on the R&B chart. The label's preferred lead
single choice "7" would be the album's lone top ten hit, reaching No.
7.[70] 'Love Symbol Album' would go on to sell 2.8 million copies
worldwide.[74]
Logo. Hollow circle above downward arrow crossed with a
curlicued horn-shaped symbol and then a short bar
The unpronounceable symbol (later dubbed "Love Symbol
#2")
After two failed attempts in 1990 and 1991,[75] Warner Bros.
finally released a greatest hits compilation with the three-disc The Hits/The
B-Sides in 1993. The first two discs were also sold separately as The Hits 1
and The Hits 2. In addition to featuring the majority of Prince's hit singles
(with the exception of "Batdance" and other songs that appeared on
the Batman soundtrack), The Hits includes an array of previously hard-to-find
recordings, notably B-sides spanning the majority of Prince's career, as well
as a handful of previously unreleased tracks such as the Revolution-recorded
"Power Fantastic" and a live recording of "Nothing Compares 2
U" with Rosie Gaines. Two new songs, "Pink Cashmere" and
"Peach", were chosen as promotional singles to accompany the
compilation album.
1993 also marked the year in which Prince changed his stage
name to Prince logo.svg, which was explained as a combination of the symbols
for male (♂) and female (♀).[72] In order to use the
symbol in print media, Warner Bros. had to organize a mass mailing of floppy
disks with a custom font.[76] In those days, a commonly used typed
approximation of the Symbol was "O(+>". The symbol would soon be
dubbed "The Love Symbol" and Prince would be referred to as "The
Artist Formerly Known as Prince", "TAFKAP", or simply "The
Artist". Later, when he changed his name back to Prince again, he was
sometimes called "The Artist Formerly Known as 'The Artist Formerly Known
as Prince'".[77]
1994–2000: Increased output and The Gold Experience
In 1994, Prince's attitude towards his artistic output
underwent a notable shift. He began to view releasing albums in quick
succession as a means of ejecting himself from his contractual obligations to
Warner Bros. The label, he believed, was intent on limiting his artistic
freedom by insisting that he release albums more sporadically. He also blamed
Warner Bros. for the poor commercial performance of the Love Symbol Album,
claiming that it was insufficiently marketed by Warner. It was out of these
developments that the aborted The Black Album was officially released,
approximately seven years after its initial recording and near-release. The
"new" release, which was already in wide circulation as a bootleg,
sold relatively poorly.
Following that disappointing venture, Warner Bros. succumbed
to Prince's wishes to release an album of new material, to be entitled Come.
When Come was eventually released, it confirmed all of Warner's fears. It
became Prince's poorest-selling album to date, struggling to even shift 500,000
copies. Even more frustrating was the fact that Prince insisted on crediting
the album to "Prince 1958–1993".
Prince pushed to have his next album The Gold Experience
released simultaneously with Love Symbol-era material. Warner Bros. allowed the
single "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" to be released via a
small, independent distributor, Bellmark Records, in February 1994. The release
was successful, reaching No. 3 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 in many
other countries, but it would not prove to be a model for subsequent releases.
Warner Bros. still resisted releasing The Gold Experience, fearing poor sales
and citing "market saturation" as a defense. When eventually released
in September 1995, The Gold Experience failed to sell well, although it reached
the top 10 of the Billboard 200 initially, and many reviewed it as Prince's
best effort since Sign "O" the Times. The album is now out-of-print.
Chaos and Disorder, released in 1996, was Prince's final album of new material
for Warner Bros., as well as one of his least commercially successful releases.
Prince attempted a major comeback later that year when, free of any further
contractual obligations to Warner Bros., he released Emancipation, a 36-song,
3-CD set (each disc was exactly 60 minutes long). The album was released via
his own NPG Records with distribution through EMI. To publish his songs on
Emancipation, Prince did not use Controversy Music – ASCAP, which he had used
for all his records since 1981, but rather used Emancipated Music Inc.[78] –
ASCAP.
Certified Platinum by the RIAA, Emancipation is the first
record featuring covers by Prince of songs of other artists: Joan Osborne's top
ten hit song of 1995 "One of Us";[79] "Betcha by Golly
Wow!" (written by Thomas Randolf Bell and Linda Creed);[80] "I Can't
Make You Love Me" (written by James Allen Shamblin II and Michael Barry
Reid);[81] and "La-La (Means I Love You)" (written by Thomas Randolf
Bell and William Hart).[82]
Prince released Crystal Ball, a five-CD collection of
unreleased material, in 1998. The distribution of this album was disorderly,
with some fans pre-ordering the album on his website up to a year before it was
eventually shipped to them; these pre-orders were eventually delivered months
after the record had gone on sale in retail stores. The retail edition has only
four discs, as it is missing the Kamasutra disc. There are also two different
packaging editions for retail, one being in a four-disc sized jewel case with a
simple white cover and the Love Symbol in a colored circle; the other is all
four discs in a round translucent snap jewel case. The discs are the same, as
is the CD jacket. The Newpower Soul album released three months later failed to
make much of an impression on the charts. His collaboration on Chaka Khan's
Come 2 My House, and Larry Graham's GCS2000, both released on the NPG Records
label around the same time as Newpower Soul met with the same fate, despite
heavy promotion and live appearances on Vibe with Sinbad, and the NBC Today
show's Summer Concert Series.
In 1999, Prince once again signed with a major label, Arista
Records, to release a new record, Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic. In an attempt to
make his new album a success, Prince easily gave more interviews than at any
other point in his career, appearing on MTV's Total Request Live (with his
album cover on the front of the Virgin Megastore, in the background on TRL
throughout the whole show), Larry King Live (with Larry Graham) and other media
outlets. Nevertheless, Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic failed to perform well commercially.
A few months earlier, Warner Bros. had also released The Vault: Old Friends 4
Sale, a collection of unreleased material recorded by Prince throughout his
career, and his final recording commitment on his contract with Warner Bros.
The greatest success he had during the year was with the EP 1999: The New
Master, released in time for Prince to collect a small portion of the sales
dollars Warner Bros. had been seeing for the album and singles of the original
1999.
The pay-per-view concert, Rave Un2 the Year 2000, was
broadcast on December 31, 1999 and consisted of footage from the December 17
and 18 concerts of his 1999 tour. The concert featured appearances by many
guest musicians including Lenny Kravitz, George Clinton, Jimmy Russell, and The
Time. It was released to home video the following year. A remix album, Rave In2
the Joy Fantastic (as opposed to "Un2") was released exclusively
through Prince's NPG Music Club in April 2000.
On May 16, 2000, Prince ceased using the Love Symbol moniker
and returned to using "Prince" again, after his publishing contract
with Warner/Chappell expired. In a press conference, he stated that, after
being freed from undesirable relationships associated with the name
"Prince", he would formally revert to using his real name. Prince
continued to use the symbol as a logo and on album artwork and to play a Love
Symbol-shaped guitar. For several years following the release of Rave Un2 the
Joy Fantastic, Prince primarily released new music through his Internet
subscription service, NPGOnlineLtd.com (later NPGMusicClub.com). Two albums
that show substantive jazz influence were available commercially at record
stores: 2001's The Rainbow Children, and the 2003 instrumental record N.E.W.S
which was nominated for a Best Pop Instrumental Album Grammy Award. Another
album of largely jazz-influenced music, Xpectation, was released via download
in 2003 to members of the NPGMusicClub. Xpectation is jazz themed along with
new age and atmospheric themes.[citation needed]
In 2002, Prince released his first live album, One Nite
Alone... Live!, which features performances from the One Nite Alone...Tour. The
3-CD box set, which also includes a disc of "aftershow" music
entitled It Ain't Over!, failed to chart. During this time, Prince sought to
engage more effectively with his fan base via the NPG Music Club, pre-concert
sound checks, and at yearly "celebrations" at Paisley Park, his music
studios. Fans were invited into the studio for tours, interviews, discussions
and music-listening sessions. Some of these fan discussions were filmed for an
unreleased documentary, directed by Kevin Smith. Smith discusses what happened
during those days at length in his An Evening with Kevin Smith DVD.
Performances were also arranged to showcase Prince's talents, as well as to
collaborate with popular and well-established artists and guests including
Alicia Keys, the Time, Erykah Badu, Nikka Costa, George Clinton, and Norah
Jones
On February 8, 2004, Prince appeared at the Grammy Awards
with Beyoncé. In a performance that opened the show, they performed a medley of
"Purple Rain", "Let's Go Crazy", "Baby I'm a
Star", and Beyoncé's "Crazy in Love". The following month,
Prince was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The award was
presented to him by Alicia Keys along with Big Boi and André 3000 of OutKast.
As well as performing a trio of his own hits during the ceremony, Prince also
participated in a tribute to fellow inductee George Harrison in a rendering of
Harrison's "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", playing a long guitar solo
that ended the song. In addition he performed "Red House" on the
album Power of Soul: A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix. On February 19, The Tavis
Smiley Show broadcast included a performance of "Reflection" from
Prince's Musicology album. Prince was accompanied by Wendy Melvoin, formerly of
The Revolution.
In April 2004, Prince released Musicology through a
one-album agreement with Columbia Records. The album rose as high as the top
five on a number of international charts (including the US, UK, Germany and
Australia). The US chart success was assisted by the CD being included as part
of the concert ticket purchase, and each CD thereby qualifying (as chart rules
then stood) towards US chart placement. Musicology is R&B and soul-themed
along with funk, pop, quiet storm, and rock. Three months later, Spin named him
the greatest frontman of all time.[83] That same year, Rolling Stone magazine named
Prince as the highest-earning musician in the world, with an annual income of
$56.5 million,[84] largely due to his Musicology Tour, which Pollstar named as
the top concert draw among musicians in US. The artist played an impressive run
of 96 concerts; the average ticket price for a show was US$61. Further
highlighting the success of the album, Prince's Musicology went on to receive
two Grammy wins, for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for "Call My
Name" and Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance for the title track.
Musicology was also nominated for Best R&B Song and Best R&B Album,
while "Cinnamon Girl" was nominated for Best Male Pop Vocal
Performance. The album became the artist's most commercially successful since
Diamonds and Pearls, partly due to a radical scheme devised which included in
Billboard′s sales figures those that were distributed to each customer during
ticket sales for the Musicology tour, with concert figures accounting for 25%
of the total album sales.[85] Rolling Stone magazine has ranked Prince No. 27
on their list of 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.[7]
In April 2005, Prince played guitar (along with En Vogue
singing backing vocals) on Stevie Wonder's single "So What the Fuss",
Wonder's first since 1999.[86] In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which
devastated the city of New Orleans on August 29, 2005, Prince offered a
personal response by recording two new songs, "S.S.T." and the
instrumental "Brand New Orleans", at Paisley Park in the early hours
of September 2. Prince again performed all instrumental and vocal parts. These
recordings were quickly dispersed to the public via Prince's NPG Music Club,
and "S.S.T." was later picked up by iTunes, where it reached No. 1 on
the store's R&B chart. On October 25, Sony Records released a version of
the single on CD.[citation needed]
In late 2005, Prince signed with Universal Records to
release his album, 3121, on March 21, 2006 (3/21). The first single was the
Latin-tinged "Te Amo Corazón", the video for which was directed by
actress Salma Hayek and filmed in Marrakech, Morocco, featuring Argentine
actress and singer Mía Maestro. The video for the second single, "Black
Sweat", was nominated at the MTV VMAs for Best Cinematography. The
immediate success of 3121 gave Prince his first No. 1 debut on the Billboard
200 with the album. To promote the new album, Prince was the musical guest on
Saturday Night Live on February 4, 2006, 17 years after his last SNL appearance
on the 15th anniversary special and nearly 25 years since his first appearance
on a regular episode in 1981, making Prince the only SNL musical guest to have
that long of a gap between appearances. He performed two songs from the album,
"Fury" and "Beautiful, Loved & Blessed", with Támar.
Prince also held a contest to win a trip to see a 'Purple Ticket Concert' at
his private residence in Hollywood, California. Seven winning tickets were
placed inside 3121 CD packages in the US, and other tickets were given away in
various contests on the Internet and around the world. On May 6, 2006, 24
prizewinners (with a guest each) attended a star-studded private party and
performance at Prince's home.[citation needed]
On June 12, 2006, Prince received a Webby Lifetime
Achievement Award in recognition of his "visionary" use of the
Internet; Prince was the first major artist to release an entire album, 1997's
Crystal Ball, exclusively on the Internet (although he did take phone orders
for it as well...1-800-NEW-FUNK FREE).[citation needed]
Only weeks after winning a Webby Award, Prince abruptly shut
down his then-official NPG Music Club website on July 4, 2006, after more than
five years of operation.[citation needed] On the day of the music club's
shutdown, a lawsuit was filed against Prince by the British company HM
Publishing (owners of the Nature Publishing Group, also NPG). Despite these
events occurring on the same day, Prince's attorney has called it pure
coincidence and stated that the site did not close due to the trademark
dispute.[87] Prince appeared at multiple award ceremonies in 2006. On February
15, 2006, Prince performed at the BRIT Awards along with Wendy & Lisa and
Sheila E. He played "Te Amo Corazón" and "Fury" from 3121
and "Purple Rain" and "Let's Go Crazy" from Purple Rain. On
June 27, 2006, Prince appeared at the BET Awards, where he was awarded Best
Male R&B Artist. In addition to receiving his award, Prince performed a
medley of Chaka Khan songs for Khan's BET Lifetime Award. Prince had previously
written and performed several songs with the singer.[citation needed]
In November 2006, Prince was inducted into the UK Music Hall
of Fame, appearing to collect his award but not performing. Also in November
2006, Prince opened a nightclub named 3121 in Las Vegas at the Rio All Suite
Hotel and Casino. He performed weekly on Friday and Saturday nights until April
2007, when his contract with the Rio ended.[citation needed] On August 22,
2006, Prince released Ultimate Prince. The double disc set contains one CD of
previous hits, and another of extended versions and mixes of material that had
largely only previously been available on vinyl record B-sides. Prince wrote
and performed a song for the hit 2006 animated film Happy Feet. The song,
entitled "The Song of the Heart", appears on the film's soundtrack,
which also features a cover of Prince's earlier hit "Kiss", sung by
Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman. In January 2007, "The Song of the
Heart" won a Golden Globe for Best Original Song.[88]
2007–10: Super Bowl XLI, Planet Earth and LOtUSFLOW3R
Prince's stage set for the Earth Tour in 2007
On February 2, 2007, Prince played at the Super Bowl XLI
press conference. He and the band played a set comprising Chuck Berry's hit,
"Johnny B. Goode", "Anotherloverholenyohead" from Parade
and "Get On the Boat" from 3121. Prince performed at the Super Bowl
XLI halftime show in Miami, Florida on February 4, 2007. The performance
consisted of three Purple Rain tracks ("Let's Go Crazy", "Baby
I'm a Star" and the title track), along with cover versions of "We
Will Rock You" by Queen, "All Along the Watchtower" by Bob
Dylan, the Foo Fighters song "Best of You" and "Proud Mary"
by Creedence Clearwater Revival. Coincidentally, Miami had rain on the day of
the Super Bowl, which was lit purple during the performance of "Purple
Rain". He played on a large stage shaped as his symbol. The event was
carried to 140 million television viewers, the "biggest audience of his
life."[89] In 2015, Billboard.com ranked the performance as the greatest
Super Bowl performance ever.[90]
Prince played 21 concerts in London during the summer of
2007. The Earth Tour included 21 nights at the 20,000 capacity O2 Arena, with
Maceo Parker in his band. Tickets for the O2 Arena were capped by Prince at
£31.21 ($48.66). The residency at the O2 Arena was increased to 15 nights after
all 140,000 tickets for the original seven sold out in just 20 minutes.[91] It
was then further extended to 21 nights.[92] On May 10, 2007, Prince performed a
"secret" gig at London's KOKO in front of a small crowd of fans and
celebrities. A prelude to the forthcoming summer gigs in London, Prince played
a relaxed set of hits including ("Kiss", changing the lyric from
"You don't have to watch Dynasty" to Desperate Housewives,
"Girls & Boys", and "Nothing Compares 2 U") alongside
more recent tracks, plus a cover version of Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy".
Prince made an appearance at the 2007 ALMA Awards,
performing with Sheila E. in June 2007. On June 28, 2007, the UK national
newspaper the Mail on Sunday revealed that it had made a deal to give Prince's
new album, Planet Earth, away for free with an "imminent" edition of
the paper, making it the first place in the world to get the album. This move
sparked controversy among music distributors and also led the UK arm of
Prince's distributor, Sony BMG, to withdraw from distributing the album in UK
stores.[93] The UK's largest high street music retailer, HMV, decided to stock
the paper on release day due to the giveaway. Planet Earth is rock-oriented
along with disco, and other various music styles. On July 7, 2007, Prince
returned to his hometown of Minneapolis to perform three shows in what was
unofficially declared Prince Day in Minnesota. He performed concerts at the
Macy's Auditorium (to promote his new perfume "3121") on Nicollet
Mall, the Target Center arena, and First Avenue.[94] It was the first time he
had played at First Avenue (the club appeared in the film Purple Rain) since
1987.[95]
Prince playing with Maceo Parker in the O2
On April 25, 2008, Prince performed on The Tonight Show with
Jay Leno, where he debuted a new song, "Turn Me Loose". Days after,
he headlined the 2008 Coachella Festival. Prince was paid more than $5 million
for his performance at Coachella, according to Reuters.[96] Prince cancelled a
concert, planned at Dublin's Croke Park on June 16, 2008, at just 10 days'
notice. In October 2009 promoters MCD Productions went to court to sue Prince
for €1.6 million, after paying him $1.5 million, half his agreed fee of $3
million for the concert. MCD claim they had to refund 55,126 tickets purchased
and its total losses exceeded $1.66 million. Prince's lawyers argued the MCD
claim was "greatly inflated".[97][98] Prince settled the case out of
court in February 2010 for $2.95 million.[99][100] During the trial, it was
revealed that Prince had been offered $22 million for seven concerts as part of
a proposed 2008 European tour.[101] In October 2008, Prince released a live
album entitled Indigo Nights, as well as 21 Nights, an accompanying book of
poems, lyrics and photos. The book chronicled his record-breaking tenure at
London's O2 Arena in 2007, while the album is a collection of songs performed
live at aftershows in the IndigO2.
Prince at the Coachella Festival in 2008
On December 18, 2008, Prince premiered four songs from his
new album on LA's Indie rock radio station Indie 103.1.[102] The radio station's
programmers Max Tolkoff and Mark Sovel had been invited to Prince's home to
hear the new rock-oriented music. Prince then surprised the two by giving them
a CD with four songs to premiere on their radio station. The music debuted the
next day on Jonesy's Jukebox, hosted by Sex Pistol Steve Jones.[103] The music
comprised a cover of "Crimson and Clover" by Tommy James and the
Shondells, together with "Colonized Mind", "Wall of Berlin"
and "4ever". The same day, another new Prince composition entitled
"(There'll Never B) Another Like Me" premiered on the now obsolete
and defunct website mplsound.com — replacing a shorter, instrumental version of
the song that streamed several days previously.
On January 3, 2009, a new website LotusFlow3r.com was
launched, streaming some of the recently aired material ("Crimson and
Clover", "(There'll Never B) Another Like Me" and "Here Eye
Come") and promising opportunities to listen to and buy music by Prince
and guests, watch videos and buy concert tickets for future events. On January
31, Prince released two more songs on LotusFlow3r.com: "Disco
Jellyfish", and "Another Boy". "Chocolate Box",
"Colonized Mind", and "All This Love" have since been
released on the website. Prince released a triple album set containing LOtUSFLOW3R,
MPLSoUND, and an album credited to his new protégé, Bria Valente, called
Elixer, on March 24, 2009, followed by a physical release on March 29. The
release was preceded by performances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and The
Ellen DeGeneres Show. It was released in other countries digitally, with
official physical release dates yet to be announced. The album peaked at No. 2
on the Billboard 200, and critics' opinions were mixed to positive.
On July 18, 2009, Prince performed two shows at the Montreux
Jazz Festival, being backed by The New Power Generation including Rhonda Smith,
Renato Neto and John Blackwell. There he played "A Large Room with No
Light", which had been in Prince's "vault" for some time. On
October 11, 2009, Prince gave two surprise concerts at the glass-and-iron Grand
Palais exhibition hall after visiting the landmark Paris building on the banks
of the Seine.[104] On October 12, he gave another surprise gig at La Cigale. On
October 24, Prince played a concert at his own Paisley Park complex in
Minneapolis, Minnesota.[105]
2010–12: 20Ten and Welcome 2 Tours
In January 2010, Prince wrote a new song, "Purple and
Gold", inspired by his visit to a Minnesota Vikings football game against
the Dallas Cowboys.[106] The song is a simple, drumline-driven track. The
following month, Prince let Minneapolis-area public radio station 89.3 The
Current premiere his new song "Cause and Effect" as a gesture in
support of independent radio.[107]
In 2010, Prince was listed in TIME magazine's annual ranking
of the "100 Most Influential People in the World".[108]
Prince released a new single on Minneapolis radio station
89.3 The Current called "Hot Summer" on June 7, his 52nd birthday.
Also in June, Prince appeared on the cover of the July 2010 issue of
Ebony,[109] and he received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2010 BET
Awards.[110]
Prince released his album 20Ten in July 2010 as a free
covermount with publications in the UK, Belgium, Germany, and France.[111]
Prince refused access to the album to digital download services. He also closed
his official website, LotusFlow3r.com.
On July 4, 2010 Prince began his 20Ten Tour, a concert tour
in two legs with shows in Europe. The second leg began on October 15[112] and
ended with a concert following the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on November 14.[113]
The second half of the tour had a new band, John Blackwell, Ida Kristine
Nielsen, and Sheila E.[114] Prince let Europe 1 debut the snippet of his new
song "Rich Friends" from the "new" album 20Ten Deluxe on
October 8, 2010.[115] Prince started the Welcome 2 Tour on December 15,
2010.[116]
Prince was inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame on December
7, 2010.[117]
On February 12, 2011, Prince presented Barbra Streisand with
an award and donated $1.5 million to charities.[118] On the same day, it was
reported that he was unimpressed about Glee covering his hit "Kiss",
and that he had not authorized its use.[119]
On the May 18, 2011, it was announced that Prince would be
headlining Hop Farm Festival on July 3, 2011, marking his first UK show since
2007 and his first ever UK festival appearance.[120]
Despite having previously rejected the Internet for music
distribution, on November 24, 2011, Prince re-released a reworked version of
the previously unreleased song "Extraloveable" through both iTunes
and Spotify.[121][122][123] Purple Music, a Switzerland-based record label,
released a CD single "Dance 4 Me" on December 12, 2011, as part of a
club remixes package including Bria Valente CD single "2 Nite"
released on February 23, 2012. The CD features club remixes by Jamie Lewis and
David Alexander, produced by Prince.[124]
2013–16: 3rdeyegirl and return to Warner Bros.
In January 2013, Prince released a lyric video for a new
song called "Screwdriver".[125] A couple of months later in April
2013, Prince announced a West Coast tour titled Live Out Loud Tour with
3rdeyegirl as his backing band.[126] The final two dates of the first leg of
the tour were in Minneapolis where former Revolution drummer Bobby Z. sat in as
guest drummer on both shows.[127] In May, Prince announced a deal with Kobalt
Music to market and distribute his music.[128]
On August 14, 2013, Prince officially sent his first tweet
through the 3RDEYEGIRL Twitter account.[129] The same day, he released a new
solo single for exclusive download through the 3RDEYEGIRL.com website.[130] The
single "Breakfast Can Wait" received attention for its cover art,
featuring comedian Dave Chappelle's notable impersonation of the singer in a
sketch on the 2000s Comedy Central series Chappelle's Show.[131]
In February 2014, Prince performed concerts with 3rdeyegirl
in London titled the Hit and Run Tour. Beginning with intimate shows, the first
was held at the London home of singer Lianne La Havas, followed by two
performances of what Prince described as a "sound check" at the
Electric Ballroom in Camden,[132] and another at Shepherds Bush Empire.[133]
On April 18, 2014, Prince released a new single entitled
"The Breakdown". Along with the surprise release, news came that he
had re-signed with his former label, Warner Bros. Records after an 18-year
split. Warner announced that Prince would release a remastered deluxe edition
of his 1984 album Purple Rain in 2014 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the
breakthrough album. In return Warner would give Prince ownership of the master
recordings of his Warner recordings.[134] [135]
In May 2015, following the death of Freddie Gray and the
subsequent riots, Prince released a song entitled "Baltimore" in
tribute to Gray and in support of the protesters in
Baltimore.[136][137][138][139] He also held a surprise tribute concert for Gray
at his Paisley Park estate called 'Dance Rally 4 Peace' in which he reportedly
encouraged fans to wear the color gray in honor of Freddie Gray.[140]
His final album HITnRUN Phase One was first made available
on September 7, 2015 on music streaming service Tidal before being released on
CD and download on September 14.[141]
Artistry
Multi-instrumental abilities
In addition to his singing abilities (which encompassed a
wide range from falsetto to baritone and rapid, seemingly effortless shifts of
register[142]) Prince was renowned as a multi-instrumentalist.[143][144] He was
considered a guitar virtuoso and a master of drums, percussion, bass,
keyboards, and synthesizer.[145] On his first five albums, he played nearly all
the instruments.[146]
The precise number of instruments he was capable of playing
remains obscure. On his debut album, he was credited with having played 27
instruments,[147] which based on the album credits included various types of
bass, keyboard and synthesizer in the total.[148] When asked during a
television interview by Dick Clark how many instruments he could play, he
responded, "Thousands."[149]
Stage names
In 1993, during negotiations regarding the release of The
Gold Experience, a legal battle ensued between Warner Bros. and Prince over the
artistic and financial control of his musical output. During the lawsuit, he
appeared in public with the word "slave" written on his cheek. Prince
explained his name change as follows:
The first step I
have taken toward the ultimate goal of emancipation from the chains that bind
me to Warner Bros. was to change my name from Prince to the Love Symbol. Prince
is the name that my mother gave me at birth. Warner Bros. took the name,
trademarked it, and used it as the main marketing tool to promote all of the
music that I wrote. The company owns the name Prince and all related music
marketed under Prince. I became merely a pawn used to produce more money for
Warner Bros...
I was born Prince
and did not want to adopt another conventional name. The only acceptable
replacement for my name, and my identity, was the Love Symbol, a symbol with no
pronunciation, that is a representation of me and what my music is about. This
symbol is present in my work over the years; it is a concept that has evolved
from my frustration; it is who I am. It is my name.[150]
Prince used pseudonyms to separate himself from the music
(either his own or that of others) for which he had input during his career;
"I was just getting tired of seeing my name," he said, "If you
give away an idea, you still own that idea. In fact, giving it away strengthens
it. Why do people feel they have to take credit for everything they do? Ego,
that's the only reason."[151] These pseudonyms include: Jamie Starr and
The Starr Company (for the songs he wrote for The Time and many other artists
from 1981–1984),[152][153] Joey Coco (for many unreleased Prince songs in the
late 1980s, as well as songs written for Sheena Easton & Kenny
Rogers),[154] Paisley Park (occasionally used in the early 1990s for his
production credits on songs, including those written for Martika and Kid
Creole),[155] Alexander Nevermind (for writing the 1984 song "Sugar
Walls" by Sheena Easton),[156] and Christopher (used for his song writing
credit of "Manic Monday" for the Bangles).[157]
Copyright issues
On September 14, 2007, Prince announced that he was going to
sue YouTube and eBay because they "are clearly able [to] filter porn and
pedophile material but appear to choose not to filter out the unauthorized
music and film content which is core to their business success." Prince
hired the international Internet policing company Web Sheriff, and they told
Reuters: "The problem is that one can reduce it to zero and then the next
day there will be 100 or 500 or whatever. This carries on ad nauseam at
Prince's expense."[158][159]
In October 2007, Stephanie Lenz filed a lawsuit against
Universal Music Publishing Group claiming that they were abusing copyright law
after the music publisher had YouTube take down Lenz's home movie in which the
Prince song "Let's Go Crazy" played faintly in the background.[160][161]
On November 5, 2007, several fan sites of Prince formed
"Prince Fans United" to fight back against legal requests which, they
claim, Prince made to cease and desist all use of photographs, images, lyrics,
album covers, and anything linked to Prince's likeness.[162] Prince's lawyers
claimed that the use of such representations constituted copyright
infringement, while the Prince Fans United claimed that the legal actions were
"attempts to stifle all critical commentary about Prince." A few days
later, Prince released a statement denying the fansites' claims, stating,
"The action taken earlier this week was not to shut down fansites, or
control comment in any way. The issue was simply to do with in regards to
copyright and trademark of images and only images, and no lawsuits have been
filed." The statement from Prince's promoter AEG asserted that the only
"offending items" on the three fansites were live shots from Prince's
21 nights in London at the O2 Arena earlier in the year.[163]
On November 8, 2007, Prince Fans United received a song
named "PFUnk", providing a kind of "unofficial answer" to
their movement. The song originally debuted on the PFU main site,[164] was
retitled "F.U.N.K.", and is available on iTunes.
On November 14, 2007, it was reported that the satirical
website b3ta.com had pulled their "image challenge of the week"
devoted to Prince after legal threats from the star under the Digital
Millennium Copyright Act. B3ta co-founder Rob Manuel wrote on the site:
"Under threat of legal action from Prince's legal team of 'potential
closure of your web site' – We have removed the Prince image challenge and B3ta
apologizes unreservedly to AEG / NPG and Prince for any offence caused. We also
ask our members to avoid photoshopping Prince and posting them on our
boards."[165]
At the 2008 Coachella Music Festival, Prince performed a
cover of Radiohead's "Creep", but immediately after he forced YouTube
and other sites to remove footage that fans had taken of the performance,
despite Radiohead's demand for it to remain on the website.[166] Days later,
YouTube reinstated the videos while Radiohead claimed, "it's our song, let
people hear it." In 2009, Prince put the video of that Coachella
performance on his official website LotusFlow3r.com.
In 2013, the Electronic Frontier Foundation granted to
Prince the inaugural "Raspberry Beret Lifetime Aggrievement
Award",[167] a reference to resentment of parties who allege unfair
treatment and misuse of copyright claims by the artist and his lawyers.[168]
In January 2014, Prince filed a lawsuit titled Prince v.
Chodera against 22 online users for direct copyright infringement, unauthorized
fixation, and contributory copyright infringement and bootlegging.[169] Several
of the users were fans who had shared links to bootlegged versions of several
Prince concerts through social media websites like Facebook.[170][171] In the
same month, he dismissed the entire action without prejudice.[172]
Personal life
Prince resided near Minneapolis at the time of his death.[173]
Over the years Prince was romantically linked with many celebrities, including
Kim Basinger, Madonna, Vanity, Sheila E., Carmen Electra, Susanna Hoffs, Anna
Fantastic,[14] Sherilyn Fenn,[174] and Susan Moonsie of Vanity 6 and Apollonia
6.[175] Prince was engaged to Susannah Melvoin in 1985.[176] When he was 37, he
married his 22-year-old backup singer and dancer Mayte Garcia on Valentine's
Day 1996. They had a son named Boy Gregory on October 16, 1996, who was born
with Pfeiffer syndrome and died a week after birth.[177] Prince and Mayte
divorced in 1999. In 2001, Prince married Manuela Testolini in a private
ceremony; she filed for divorce in May 2006.[178]
Prince joined the Jehovah's Witnesses in 2001 following a
two-year-long debate with friend and fellow Jehovah's Witness musician Larry
Graham. Prince said that he didn't consider it a conversion, but a
"realization". "It's like Morpheus and Neo in The Matrix,"
he explained. He attended meetings at a local Kingdom Hall and occasionally
knocked on people's doors to discuss his faith.[179] Prince reportedly needed
double hip-replacement surgery since 2005 but would not undergo the operation
unless it was a bloodless surgery because Jehovah's Witnesses do not accept
blood transfusions.[180] The condition was rumored to be aggravated by repeated
onstage dancing in high-heeled boots.[181]
Prince was a vegetarian.[182][183][184] The liner notes for
his album Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic featured a message about the cruelty
involved in wool production.[185]
Beginning in 2008, Prince was managed by UK-based Kiran
Sharma.[186]
Sinéad O'Connor spoke about her relationship with Prince in
an interview with Norwegian station NRK in November 2014. She said that Prince
had summoned her to his house after "Nothing Compares 2 U", a song
that Prince wrote, became a worldwide hit for O'Connor in 1990. O'Connor said,
"I made it without him. I'd never met him. He summoned me to his house—and
it's foolish to do this to an Irish woman—he said he didn't like me saying bad
words in interviews. So I told him to fuck off." O'Connor alleged,
"He got quite violent. I had to escape out of his house at 5 in the
morning. He packed a bigger punch than mine."[187]
In 2016, Prince announced that he was writing a memoir,
tentatively titled The Beautiful Ones.[188]
Illness and death
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