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The artist affectionately known as Prince is dead. He was 57.
Prince Rogers Nelson went by numerous names over his career, from Prince to The Artist Formerly Known as Prince, and even a visual symbol.
He sold more than 100 million records throughout his career with hits including “1999,” “Little Red Corvette,” “When Doves Cry,” “Let’s Go Crazy,” “Purple Rain,” “Kiss,” “Cream” and “Musicology.”
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Not only was he an enigmatic singing presence, he could also play guitar with the best of them, blending an array of musical genres on his way to induction into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame in 2004.
Three years after his Rock Hall induction, Prince performed a memorable half-time set at the Super Bowl in 2007. Experts often rank his performance among the Super Bowl’s best performances.
Prince had been touring and recording right up until his death, releasing four albums in the last 18 months, including two on the Tidal streaming service last year. He performed in Atlanta last week as part of his “Piano and a Microphone” tour, a stripped down show that has featured a mix of his hits like “Purple Rain” or “Little Red Corvette” and some B-sides from his extensive library.
An entire new generation grew to love Prince through comedian Dave Chappelle, who delivered a hilarious impersonation on Comedy Central’s “Chappelle’s Show.”
Upon hearing of his death, a small group of fans quickly gathered in the rain Thursday outside his music studio, Paisley Park, where Prince’s gold records are on the walls and the purple motorcycle he rode in his 1984 breakout movie, “Purple Rain,” is on display. The white building surrounded by a fence is in Chanhassen, about 20 miles southwest of Minneapolis.
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Steven Scott, 32, of Eden Prairie, said he was at Paisley Park last Saturday for Prince’s dance party. He called Prince “a beautiful person” whose message was that people should love one another.
While many grieving music fans will undoubtedly think “this is what it sounds like when doves cry,” let’s instead take a cue from Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy,” with some fitting lyrics:
