CHANHASSEN,
Minn. - Prince, one of the most inventive and influential musicians of
modern times with hits including "Little Red Corvette," ''Let's Go
Crazy" and "When Doves Cry," was found dead at his home on Thursday in
suburban Minneapolis. He was 57.
His
publicist, Yvette Noel-Schure, told The Associated Press that the
superstar "died at his home this morning at Paisley Park." The local
sheriff said deputies found Prince unresponsive in an elevator late
Thursday morning after being summoned to his home, but that
first-responders couldn't revive him.
No
details about what may have caused his death have been released. Prince
postponed a concert in Atlanta on April 7, after coming down with the
flu, and he apologized to fans during a makeup concert last week.
President
Barack Obama released a statement Thursday saying he and his wife
"joined millions of fans from around the world" in mourning Prince's
sudden death.
"Few
artists have influenced the sound and trajectory of popular music more
distinctly, or touched quite so many people with their talent," said
Obama, for whom Prince was a White House guest last year. "'A strong
spirit transcends rules,' Prince once said — and nobody's spirit was
stronger, bolder, or more creative."
The
dazzlingly talented and charismatic singer, songwriter, arranger and
instrumentalist drew upon musicians ranging from James Brown to Jimi
Hendrix to the Beatles, creating a widely imitated blend of rock, funk
and soul.
The
Minneapolis native broke through in the late 1970s with the hits "Why
You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?" and "I Wanna Be Your Lover," and soared over
the following decade with such albums as "1999" and "Purple Rain." The
title song from "1999" includes one of the most quoted refrains of
popular culture: "Tonight I'm gonna party like it's 1999."
Born
Prince Rogers Nelson, he stood just 5 feet, 2 inches — yet made a
powerful visual impact at the dawn of MTV, from his wispy moustache and
tall pompadour to his colorful and suggestive outfits.
He
was equally powerful musically, summoning original and compelling
sounds at will, whether playing guitar in a flamboyant style that drew
on Jimi Hendrix, switching his vocals from a nasally scream to an erotic
falsetto, or turning out album after album of stunningly original
material. Among his other notable releases: "Sign O' the Times,"
''Graffiti Bridge" and "The Black Album."
He
was also fiercely protective of his independence, battling his record
company over control of his material — and even his name, for a time
insisting that he be called "TAFKAP," or The Artist Formerly Known as
Prince, and identified with a key-like symbol. Prince once wrote "slave"
on his face in protest of not owning his work and famously fought and
then departed his label, Warner Bros., before returning a few years ago.
"What's
happening now is the position that I've always wanted to be in," Prince
told the AP in 2014. "I was just trying to get here."
In 2004, Prince was inducted into the Rock and Roll of Fame, which hailed him as a musical and social trailblazer.
"He
rewrote the rulebook, forging a synthesis of black funk and white rock
that served as a blueprint for cutting-edge music in the Eighties,"
reads the Hall's dedication. "Prince made dance music that rocked and
rock music that had a bristling, funky backbone. From the beginning,
Prince and his music were androgynous, sly, sexy and provocative."
Music
was in his blood. Prince's father played in a jazz band in Minneapolis,
under the name "Prince Rogers," and his mother was the singer. The
precocious young Prince taught himself to play the piano at age 7, the
guitar at 13 and the drums at 14. In 1978, the year he turned 20, Prince
debuted with the album "For You." It was a declaration, if nothing
else, that he could do anything: He wrote and sang the material, and
served as his own one-man band on guitar, bass, drums, synthesizers,
chimes and assorted other instruments.
Rarely
lacking in confidence, Prince effortlessly absorbed the music of others
and made it sound like Prince, whether the James Brown guitar riff on
"Kiss" or the Beatle-esque, psychedelic pop of "Raspberry Beret." He
also proved a source of hits for others, from Sinead O'Connor's "Nothing
Compares 2 U" to Cyndi Lauper's "When You Were Mine" to "Manic Monday"
for the Bangles.
Prince
had been touring and recording right up until his death, releasing four
albums in the last 18 months, including two on the Tidal streaming
service last year. He performed in Atlanta last week as part of his
"Piano and a Microphone" tour, a stripped-down show that has featured a
mix of his hits like "Purple Rain" or "Little Red Corvette," and some
B-sides from his extensive library.
Prince
debuted the intimate format at his Paisley Park studios in January,
treating fans to a performance that was personal and both playful and
emotional at times.
The
musician had seemed to be shedding his reclusive reputation. He hosted
several late-night jam sessions where he serenaded Madonna, celebrated
the Minnesota Lynx's WNBA championship and showcased his latest protege,
singer Judith Hill.
Ever
surprising, he announced on stage in New York City last month that he
was writing his memoir. "The Beautiful Ones" was expected to be released
in the fall of 2017 by publishing house Spiegel & Grau.
The
publishing house has not yet commented on status of the book, but a
press release about the memoir said: "Prince will take readers on an
unconventional and poetic journey through his life and creative work."
It says the book will include stories about Prince's music and "the
family that shaped him and the people, places, and ideas that fired his
creative imagination."
A
small group of fans quickly gathered in the rain Thursday outside
Paisley Park, his home and music studio, where Prince's gold records are
on the walls and the purple motorcycle he rode in his 1984 breakout
movie, "Purple Rain," is on display. The sprawling white, stone building
is surrounded by a fence in Chanhassen, about 20 miles southwest of
Minneapolis.
Steven
Scott, 32, of Eden Prairie, said he was at Paisley Park last Saturday
for Prince's dance party. He called Prince "a beautiful person" whose
message was that people should love one another.
"He brought people together for the right reasons," Scott said.
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