MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — Prince Rogers Nelson was born on June 7, 1958 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He released his first album, For You, at age 19 in 1978 and went on to become a pop icon.
Prince, who pioneered “the Minneapolis sound” and took on the music industry in his fight for creative freedom, died Thursday at age 57, according to his publicist.
Earlier this month, Prince said he wasn’t feeling well, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, and canceled at least one concert in the city. Some days later, he took the stage in Atlanta to perform. After that concert, the singer’s plane made an emergency landing, Noel-Schure told CNN. At the time she said, “He is fine and at home.”
Prince has won seven Grammy Awards, and has earned 30 nominations. Five of his singles have topped the charts and 14 other songs hit the Top 10. He won an Oscar for the original song score to the classic film “Purple Rain.”
The singer’s predilection for lavishly kinky story-songs earned him the nickname, His Royal Badness. He is also known as the “Purple One” because of his colorful fashions.
A timeline of the artist’s life is below.
