Prince

From Minneapolis, Minnesota, this episode's featured artist was born Prince Roger Nelson on June 7th 1958. His parents were both musicians and he grew up playing covers of Jimi Hendrix and Sly and the Family Stone tunes. Prince released his debut record, For You, at the age of just 19. Save for one co-write on the track Soft and Wet, he produced, wrote and played all 27 instruments on the album. Since that first release in 1978, his talents crossed genres from r&b, funk, pop, rock, and jazz. Prince is remembered for his music that focuses on sex and sexuality as well as it’s political and social commentary. We have his song “Darling Nikki” to thank for those little Parental Advisory stickers we used to see on CDs. Like many mega stars, he made his way onto the silver screen most notably with the classic, Purple Rain. The soundtrack earned him his first chart topping hit, “When Doves Cry” followed by “Let’s Go Crazy”. Prince went on to earn 3 more #1 Billboard Hits, with 19 total reaching Top Ten status, and a whopping 47 songs total to break the top 100. There are far too many accolades to list here, but some of Prince’s award highlights include 8 Grammys ranging from Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group for Purple Rain in 1984 to Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for Future Baby Mama in 2004. He earned 7 Billboard Music Awards, and 7 Brit Awards. He was inducted into the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame, 3 of his records have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, and I would be remiss if I didn’t remind our listeners about his life altering 2007 Superbowl Halftime Show performance, arguably the best Superbowl performance to date. Folks, I could go on and on, but I’d like to end with mentioning that Prince was a vegan, and a philanthropist supporting causes like Yes We Code and Green for All. He was someone the world lost far too early. This week on Favorite Songs By we give you The Purple One, the Love Symbol, his name is PRINCE and he is funky! Let’s make it rain!