As well as writing and recording a succession of his own hit records, including 1999, Kiss, When Doves Cry and Purple Rain, he also wrote songs for other artists, such as Madonna, The Bangles and Sinead O’Connor.
He won eight Grammy Awards, an Academy Award for his film, Purple Rain, six American Music Awards and a Golden Globe. In 2004, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Photo Credit: Scott Penner
Early years
The son of pianist and songwriter John Lewis Nelson and jazz singer Mattie Della, Prince Rogers Nelson was born in Minneapolis in June 1958. He aspired to be a singer from an early age, and wrote his first song, Funk Machine, at the age of seven, on his father's piano.
His father encouraged Prince's musical ambition and he studied at Minnesota Dance Theatre, while learning to play a wide range of musical instruments. He had a dedicated work ethic and by the time he was 17, he had recorded a demo tape, which earned him a recording contract with Warner Bros.
Released in 1979, Prince the album peaked at number four in the US Hot 100 R&B chart and went platinum. In 1982, 1999 sold more than three million copies and was followed by the Purple Rain album in 1984, which sold more than 13 million copies, making him a superstar.
Prince's foray into acting in the Purple Rain film saw him play a troubled rock star called The Kid, whose tangled personal life begins to affect his stage performance and his relationship with his fellow musicians at the First Avenue nightclub.
Songwriting
Having established himself as a major force on the music scene, Prince also turned his talents to writing for other artists. He wrote the 1986 hit, Manic Monday, for girl group The Bangles, which reached number two in the US singles chart.
He also wrote Sinead O'Connor's Nothing Compares 2 U in 1990. He had written it in 1985 for a band called The Family, but it didn't become a commercial success until O'Connor released it five years later, when it went platinum and reached number one in the US Hot 100 Chart.
He wrote Madonna's Love Song in 1989, and contributed vocals for her album, Like a Prayer. One of his biggest hits was Chaka Khan's I Feel For You in 1984 - she became the first R&B singer to have a crossover hit single that featured a rapper. It reached number three in the US singles chart.
Under the alias "Joey Coco", he even wrote country music, including the ballad You're My Love on the 1986 album, They Don’t Make Them Like They Used To, by Kenny Rogers.
When Doves Cry
While writing songs for other artists, he also continued to write and record massive hits for himself, including one of the most famous songs of the 1980s, When Doves Cry.
Taken from the Purple Rain album, it was his first number one single in America, achieving platinum status. It remained at the top of the US charts for five weeks.
The song was voted number 52 on Rolling Stone magazine's top 500 songs of all time and has been hailed as one of 500 songs that shaped rock and roll by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
The lyrics were said to be very personal for Prince, as they were believed to be about his relationship with Susan Moonsie, who was a member of the all-girl trio, Vanity Six - a group that he had assembled. Per Nilsen, Prince's biographer, claimed the song was about Moonsie.
It was claimed Prince had an on-off relationship with her for around five years and that they had become close when Vanity Six supported him on his Dirty Mind tour in 1980 and 1981.
The song was about a failed relationship, with the narrator asking "How can you just leave me standing, alone in a world that's so cold?"
The crying doves were symbols of the breakdown of the relationship, and the narrator says repeatedly throughout the song "Why do we scream at each other? This is what it sounds like when doves cry."
Later career
Prince continued to be a major recording artist and live performer until his death in April 2016, at the age of 57. He had released a massive 39 studio albums and had completed 29 tours, surpassing his ambitions as a child to become a performer and attaining legendary status.
After his death, his philanthropy was widely reported, as he had kept his charitable work secret during his life. According to close friends, he had supported many worthy causes, but preferred to keep his donations secret.
He had made an anonymous donation to Louisville Free Public Library to save its Western Branch from closure, anonymously paid the medical bills of drummer Clyde Stubblefield, who had undergone cancer treatment, and he supported the environmental anti-poverty group, Green For All, to name but a few.
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