Born as Prince Roger Nelson on June 7th,
1958 in Minneapolis, Prince, as he was popularly known, breathed his last on
April 21, 2016 at the age of 57. If reports are to go by, ‘The Artist formerly
known as Prince’, succumbed to his constant illness.
The
Life of Prince in a Snapshot
The legendary and innovative musician and
actor, Prince, had a rather profound life. A famed singer, songwriter and
musical composer, Prince also tried his hand at acting with the rock musical
drama film, Purple Rain (1984). With albums such as 1999, Purple Rain and Sign
O' the Times, he had become a global musical icon in the 1980s. Purple Rain
also won him the Oscar in 1984 for his musical score to the movie.
His music belonged to the rock, funk and
jazz genre and he sold over 100 million records during his career. Prince was
known to be a prolific writer and performer from a young age. It is believed,
he wrote his first song when he was just seven. During his lifetime, this
multi-instrumentalist songwriter had 30 albums to his credit. What’s more
astonishing here is the fact that he wrote, arranged, produced and played
almost all of his hit records; a one-man success story he was!
The
Purple Patch for the Purple Rain Star
The Purple Rain star quite literally hit
the purple patch with his first band – The Revolution. With his band by his side,
he was absolutely unstoppable. This is when he was at his career best when he
released over two dozen rock classics in a period of just about 5 years.
The
Prince of Controversy
In the early 1990s, Prince got engaged in a
contractual battle with the company, Warner Bros. This is when he changed his
name to an unpronounceable symbol. The symbol soon came to be known as ‘Love
Symbol’. He was then referred to as ‘The artist formerly known as Prince’.
After his contractual obligations with Warner Bros. expired, he started
referring to himself as ‘Prince’ again.
With his music albums, he presented himself
as an asexual that further created a buzz in the music world. His early
songs had lyrics with sexual implications but on the other hand, he also had
songs with a deep spirituality.
Illness
and Death
Prince was sick for weeks at stretch due to
influenza during the few months leading up to his death. However, it was
probably his AIDS that made his influenza fatal, say the doctors who have been
investigating the cause of his death. It is believed that he was diagnosed with
HIV in the late 1990s which developed into AIDS during the end of 2015.
Prince, who was a Jehovah's Witness, was in
a crippling condition just about six months before his death but he refused
treatment citing that he could be cured by prayers.
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