Prince (1958—)
An exciting live performer and a prolific singer-songwriter, Prince resists easy categorization because of his uncanny ability to transcend genres in music and image. Often a misunderstood and controversial entertainer, Prince emerged on the music scene in 1977 to eventually record a staggering 20 albums in just 20 years. In the 1990s, Prince staged a bitter and highly publicized dispute with his record company, Warner Brothers, over the nature of his contract. Ultimately, the artist changed his name to a symbol in an attempt to regain creative control over his career. While Prince attained the peak of his critical and commercial success in the early 1980s, by the end of the 1990s he had emerged as a musical entrepreneur, continuing to tour regularly while maintaining a legion of fans in the United States and abroad.
Prince Rogers Nelson was born in Minneapolis on June 7, 1958 to Mattie Shaw and John Nelson, a local musician. In his formative years during the 1960s and 1970s, Prince honed his skills on a number of different instruments and immersed himself in the music of artists who would eventually come to influence his sound: Carlos Santana, Joni Mitchell, Curtis Mayfield, Stevie Wonder, Sly and the Family Stone, and Jimi Hendrix.
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