Biographic - Sunday June 5, 2016 Comic Strip Licensing and Permissions

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Prince Rigers Nelson was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on June 7 1958. His Dad played piano in a jazz outfit called The Prince Rogers Trio, hence Prince's well-known on the local music scene. By the age of 19, he had secured a record deal. His first album "For You" was released in 1978. Over the next few years, his career picked up momentum. The big breakthrough came in 1982 with the "1999" album and the single "Little Red Corvette." He made his movie debut in 1984 with the semi-autobiographical "Purple Rain." The soundtrack stayed at the top of the U.S. charts for 24 weeks, producing two No. 1 singles and earning Prince a grammy and an Oscar. His success continued throughout the decade, with sellout tours, more movies and chart-topping singles such as "Kiss." He conjured up hits for the likes of The Bangles and Sheena Easton, and in 1989 he topped the album charts with his "Batman" movie soundtrack. The '90s were marked by contract disputes and a series of name changes that saw him referred to as "The Artist Formerly Known as Prince." and when he began to bill himself as () symbol man. By the new millennium, he was releasing music primarily through the internet. In 2004, he burst back into the spotlight, performing with Beyonce in a duet at the Grammy's a month before he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. His "Musicology" tour was the year's highest grossing. In 2006, his comeback was completed when "3121" debuted at the top of the Billboard Album charts. His acclaimed performance at the 2007 super bowl halftime show was televised to a worldwide audience of 140 million viewers. That summer, he played 21 sold-out arena shows in London. He continued to tour and record and release his music through a number of distribution channels. In April of this year, the news of his sudden death at his paisley park compound in minneapolis stunned the world. The groundbreaking superstar, who has sold 100 million records and won Seven Grammy's, was only 57 years old.

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