Prince

Prince was an American singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, one of the most inventive musicians of his era and the architect of the Minneapolis sound. Born Prince Rogers Nelson in 1958, he signed to Warner Bros. at 18 with rare creative control and often played every instrument on his records.

1999

His 1982 album 1999, recorded with his band the Revolution, brought “Little Red Corvette” and the title track. The video for “Little Red Corvette” made Prince one of the first Black artists in heavy rotation on MTV, alongside Michael Jackson.

Purple Rain

Purple Rain (1984), the soundtrack to his film, made him a superstar. It spent 24 weeks at number one, won an Academy Award, and produced “When Doves Cry”, “Let’s Go Crazy” and the title track. For a stretch he held the number-one film, album and single in the US at once.

A vast catalogue

He kept reinventing across “Raspberry Beret”, the number-one “Kiss”, and the acclaimed double album Sign o’ the Times. He wrote hits for other artists and, during a dispute with his label, performed under an unpronounceable symbol.

Later years

A 2004 comeback with Musicology returned him to the top ten, the same year he entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. A seven-time Grammy winner, he died in 2016 at the age of 57, leaving a vault of unreleased music.

Most loved songs

A spread across the catalogue. Each title opens through the in-site player.

From a guitar solo to a falsetto hook nobody else could pull off, the odds are good a Prince song has stayed with you. Type the line you remember into the search box above and you may find it leads back to him.