On the morning of April 21, 2016, Prince Rogers Nelson, known to millions simply as Prince, was found dead at his Paisley Park home and recording studio in Minnesota. He was only 57 years old. When the news broke, fans around the world mourned his death with massive memorials.
Prince was born on June 7, 1958, in Minneapolis to parents who were both musicians. By the age of 20, he had signed his first record deal with Warner Bros. and released his debut album, For You. On that first album, he famously played all 27 instruments himself, ranging from the electric guitar to the finger cymbals.
Prince released more than 30 albums and won seven Grammy Awards. He was known for his Minneapolis Sound, a vibrant fusion of funk, R&B, rock, and pop.
In 1984, he released Purple Rain. The album was a true success, spending 24 consecutive weeks at number one on the Billboard charts. It featured legendary hits like “When Doves Cry” and “Let’s Go Crazy.”
The success didn’t stop with the music. Prince also starred in a loosely autobiographical film of the same name, which won an Academy Award for Best Original Song Score.
Prince continued to record and perform, even as he struggled with chronic hip pain and opioid addiction. His final album, Hit n Run Phase Two, was released just months before he died. An autopsy later revealed that his death was caused by an accidental overdose of fentanyl.
Following the news of Prince’s death, President Barack Obama remarked that few artists have influenced the trajectory of popular music as much as Prince. In 2016, Prince’s estate sold more albums than any other artist. According to Nielsen Music data, his estate sold 2.23 million albums.
Today, Paisley Park is open to the public as a museum, allowing fans to walk through the halls where he created his masterpieces.
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