Remembering the legendary music genius Prince with his Top 20 songs
Prince was born 65 years ago today
Remembering the legendary music genius Prince with his Top 20 songs
Prince Rogers Nelson, one of the absolute pop music genius of all times, was born on June 7, 1958 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He wrote his first song at the age of seven and by the time he was a teenager he was composing future Pop anthems such as “1999”. He signed a recording contract with Warner Bros. Records at the age of 17, and released his debut album “For You” in 1978 Prince’s innovative music integrated a wide variety of styles, including funk, rock, R&B, new wave, soul, psychedelia, and pop which result in a diverse and enormous body of work that has influenced musicians from every genre. With over 100 million records sold worldwide, Prince’s trademark’s were his flamboyant stage presence, extravagant fashion sense and use of makeup, and wide vocal range, he ruled the 1980’s Pop music together with Michael Jackson and Madonna and it was during that decade that his popularity reached the pinnacle of success worldwide. In 1984, he began referring to his backup band as the Revolution and released “Purple Rain”, the soundtrack album to his film debut. It quickly became his most critically and commercially successful release, spending 24 consecutive weeks atop the Billboard 200 and selling over 20 million copies worldwide, “Purple Rain” also earned him an Academy Award. In 1989 he wrote the soundtrack to the hit movie “Batman” that included the smash hit “Batdance”. His popularity kept on rising throughout the 1990’s, when he formed his new backing band The New Power Generation band in 1991. In 1993, while in a contractual dispute with Warner Bros., he changed his stage name to an unpronounceable symbol ( Hollow circle above downward arrow crossed with a curlicued horn-shaped symbol and then a short bar), also known as the “Love Symbol”, and began releasing new albums at a faster rate to remove himself from contractual obligations. During this period and until the end of his career, Prince focused in making as much diverse music as possible and not just hits. His final album, “Hit n Run Phase Two”, was first released on the Tidal streaming service on December 2015. Prince didn’t had an easy relation with the internet era, his music and image were highly controlled, to the point he refused his music videos to be featured on youtube. On April 21, 2016, Prince passed away aged 57 on his Paisley Park complex, in Chanhassen, Minnesota, where he lived, recorded and played small concerts. The cause of death was revealed as an accidental fentanyl overdose. The world was shocked with the news of his untimely death, in a year that already had seen the departure of another music genius, David Bowie, whom Prince paid tribute to earlier that year. During his career, Prince achieved eight Grammy Awards, six American Music Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and an Academy Award for the 1984 film “Purple Rain”. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004. We remember Prince on his 65th birthday with the list of his 20 best and most popular songs, a small sample of the enormous legacy he left.
20 – “Glam Slam”, 1988
19 – “Scandalous”, 1989
18 – “My Name Is Prince”, 1992
17 – “I Would Die 4 U”, 1984
16 – “Let’s Go Crazy”, 1984
15 – “Raspberry Beret”, 1985
14 – “U Got The Look”, 1987
13 – “Sexy M. F.”, 1992
12 – “Cream”, 1991
11 – “Diamonds And Pearls”, 1991
10 – “The Most Beautiful Girl in The World”, 1995
9 – “Little Red Corvette”, 1982
8 – “Nothing Compares 2 U”, 1984
7 -“Alphabet Street”, 1988
6 -“Sign O’ The Times”, 1987
5 – “Batdance”, 1989
4 – “1999”, 1982
3 – “Kiss”, 1986
2 – “When Doves Cry”, 1984
1 – “Purple Rain”, 1984
Watch more music related videos
Images and photographs can be from different ranges of sources such as Pinterest, Tumblr etc. except when/where noted. If you are the copyright holder and would like them removed or credited, please get in touch.
