Prince was born Prince Rogers Nelson on June 7, 1958, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Prince\’s early music career saw the release of Prince, Dirty Mind and Controversy—all of which created controversy due to their fusion of religious and sexual themes. He then released the albums 1999and Purple Rain, cementing his superstar status with No. 1 hits like \”When Doves Cry\” and \”Let\’s Go Crazy.\” A seven-time Grammy winner, Prince had a prodigious output that included later albums like Diamonds and Pearls, The Gold Experience and Musicology. He died on April 21, 2016.

Famed singer, songwriter and musical innovator Prince was born Prince Rogers Nelson on June 7, 1958, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His parents were John Nelson, a musician whose stage name was Prince Rogers, and Mattie Shaw, a jazz singer who performed with the Prince Rogers Band. He became interested in music at a young age and taught himself how to play the piano, guitar and drums. His parents broke up when he was about 10, and he and his sister split their time between their parents’ homes. He eventually ran away and moved in with neighbors, the Anderson family. In high school, Prince formed his first band Grand Central (later known as Champagne) with André Anderson (who later changed his name to André Cymone) and Morris Day.

In 1978, Prince was signed to Warner Bros. Records. In a 2009 interview with Tavis Smiley, Prince revealed that when he was a child, he suffered from epileptic seizures and that he was teased in school. He told Smiley: “… Early in my career I tried to compensate by being as flashy and as noisy as I could.\”  Read More…