The American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and actor, Prince Rogers Nelson, died on Thursday, April 21.
Aged 57, the iconic singer, better known as Prince, died in his home in Minnesota.
Police were summoned to his Paisley Park estate and found his body in a lift.
A source however claimed that he had been recovering from the flu, which caused him to cancel two shows earlier in April. It was also gathered that he was rushed to hospital hours after performing on stage last week, but was soon released.
Nevertheless, as at the time of filing this story, the cause of his death remains unknown.
Prince became a global superstar in the 1980s, with albums such as 1999, Purple Rain and Sign O’ the Times. He left a rare record as a philanthropic artiste, selling more than 100 million records during his career. His best known hits include Let’s Go Crazy and When Doves Cry.
In 2004, Prince was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which said he “rewrote the rulebook.”
US President Barack Obama lamented on the sudden death of Prince, saying “the world had lost a creative icon.”
Rachell, from Charleston, South Carolina, USA described him as an incredible legend.
“Prince is a legendary genius whose contributions to society will be greatly missed. His Purple Rain concert was the first show I attended. My dad took me because I was with him for the weekend. I was about four years old. I was 21 the last time I attended one of his concerts in Columbia, SC, USA. The lace, the purple, the stilettos, the mole, the dance moves, the incredible music.”
Thomas Rai, Leicester, England said the legendary singer lives on with his evergreen talents.
“I saw Prince on the first night of his 21-nights residency in London at the O2, on 21 August 2007. It was an amazing gig, especially the double encore. It was absolutely the best gig I’ve ever seen. Thank you for the musician Prince. Another great, gone too soon.”
Ross Early, from Vancouver, Canada also said the iconic singer made a remarkable impact in the industry globally.
His words: “I’m saddened by the passing of Prince, a great musician and entertainer. I was fortunate to see him in concert on 16 December, 2011 in Vancouver and didn’t stop dancing the whole time he and his band were on. It might have been wintry and cold outside but that guy made the arena hot inside. I am so glad I got to see him live. He was a genius. RIP Prince.”
Born in 1958, Prince was named after his father, whose stage name was Prince Rogers, and who performed with a jazz group called the Prince Rogers Trio.
A prolific writer and performer from a young age, he is said to have written his first song when he was seven.
Also an arranger, he recorded more than 30 albums electrifying popular music for more than three decades with his unique creative talent.
His innovative music spanned rock, funk and jazz genre of music.
For Prince, song writing was a compulsion, an unstoppable force, and a joy.
Hence, writing in the programme for his 1992’s Diamonds and Pearls tour, he said “There are no accidents. Music is made out of necessity. It’s a fact of life. Just like breathing.”
His career wasn’t all about him. He also penned hits for others including the Bangles, Sinead O’Connor, and Chaka Khan.
At a point in time, at a point, Rolling Stones Magazine ranked him 27th in its list of the 100 greatest artists of all time.
His cabinet holds numerous awards including seven Grammys, a Golden Globe and an Academy Award. He won an Oscar for the original song score to the classic film Purple Rain.
As for his fashion, he alternated between wildly eccentric and creative outfits, and finely tailored, often colourful, suits.
He is also known as the Purple One because of his colorful fashions.
For several years, he was romantically linked with a string of high-profile women, including Kim Basinger, Madonna, and Carmen Electra.
At 37, he married his 22-year-old backup singer, Mayte Garcia. The pair had a son, Boy Gregory, in 1996, but he died a week later from a rare genetic disorder.
Prince and Garcia divorced in 1999. In 2001, he married Canadian businesswoman, Manuela Testolini, who he met while she was working for his charitable foundation.
Testolini filed for divorce in May 2006.
Prince also had his own share of controversies. He will be remembered for causing controversy at the 2007 Super Bowl half time show when, projected as a huge silhouette, he stroked his guitar neck in a manner which appeared to some to be sexually suggestive.
An often highly-sexed performer and lyricist, it was not Prince’s first brush with controversy. The singer’s predilection for lavishly kinky story-songs earned him the nickname, “His Royal Badness.”
Controversy followed the singer and that, in part, made his fans adore him more. “Darling Nikki,” a song that details a one-night stand, prompted the formation of the Parents Music Resource Center. Led by Al Gore’s then wife, Tipper, the group encouraged record labels to place advisory labels on albums with explicit lyrics.
Some of the mysteries of Prince include the fact that he knocked on doors from time to time to preach the Jehovah’s Witnesses religion’s beliefs having been introduced to the faith in 2001 by his friend and mentor Larry Graham, a former bassist with the band Sly and the Family Stone.
He is also known to be dedicated to music such that he often stayed awake for days when in the studio working on early albums.
Amazing is the fact that he allegedly painted his rented home in Los Angeles purple in 2006, and that as a teenager he decorated his room with mirrors and rabbit fur.
No doubt, Prince’s death is a catastrophe to world music.
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