Prince - Dead at 57.

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Prince - Dead at 57.

Postby Tom Jeffries » Thu Apr 21, 2016 10:33 am

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Re: Prince - Dead at 57.

Postby jon » Thu Apr 21, 2016 2:12 pm

Prince, legendary Purple Rain singer, dead at age 57
Authorities responded to medical emergency call from singer's home recording studio
By Jessica Wong, CBC News
Posted: Apr 21, 2016 1:07 PM ET
Last Updated: Apr 21, 2016 4:27 PM ET

Prince, the superstar American singer-songwriter known for his incredible musicianship, diverse appeal across multiple genres and cavalcade of award-winning hits, has died at age 57.

Prince "died at his home this morning at Paisley Park," according to his publicist, Yvette Noel-Schure.

Deputies responded to a medical call about 9:43 a.m. local time, according to Carver County Sheriff Jim Olson.

Medical personnel tried CPR, but couldn't revive the singer, who was pronounced dead at 10:07 a.m.

The sheriff's brief statement said the death was under investigation and provided no other details.

The head of the organization behind the Grammys hailed the singer as "a true innovator" and "one of the most uniquely gifted artists of all time."

"Never one to conform, he redefined and forever changed our musical landscape. Prince was an original who influenced so many, and his legacy will live on forever," Neil Portnow, president of The Recording Academy, said in a statement.

"Today, the world lost a creative icon," U.S. President Barack Obama said in a statement.

"Few artists have influenced the sound and trajectory of popular music more distinctly, or touched quite so many people with their talent. As one of the most gifted and prolific musicians of our time, Prince did it all. Funk. R&B. Rock and roll. He was a virtuoso instrumentalist, a brilliant bandleader, and an electrifying performer.

"'A strong spirit transcends rules,' Prince once said — and nobody's spirit was stronger, bolder, or more creative."

Authorities in Chanhassen, Minn., responded to a medical emergency call from Prince's famed home recording studio Paisley Park on Thursday morning. The crime lab and medical examiner were also called to the scene.

The singer postponed several shows in Atlanta earlier this month amid reports he had been battling a nagging flu for several weeks, but delighted fans — including singer Janelle Monae — at a rescheduled performance.

Last Friday, Prince was rushed to an Illinois hospital with his private plane making an emergency landing so he could get treatment. He was released hours later. The next day, he was seen by fans riding his bicycle around his neighbourhood and hosted a "dance party" at Paisley Park.

Prolific hitmaker

Born Prince Rogers Nelson on June 7, 1958, in Minneapolis, the award-winning artist was known for such hits as Purple Rain, Kiss, Little Red Corvette, The Beautiful Ones, Raspberry Beret, If I Was Your Girlfriend, Diamonds and Pearls and The Most Beautiful Girl in the World.

Prince himself drew inspiration from the likes of Jimi Hendrix and Sly and the Family Stone's Larry Graham. Artists as diverse as Justin Timberlake, Darius Rucker, Questlove, Chromeo and Bruno Mars have been inspired by his music.
The son of a jazz pianist and signed to his first record contract as a teenager, Prince released his debut album For You in 1978. From the start, he was a prolific recording artist, releasing an album a year for the next few years – albums that courted controversy for his mix of explicit sex, eroticism and religion.

The boundary-stretching artist made his name internationally with the albums 1999 and his film-album project Purple Rain, which cemented his status as one of the musical icons of the 1980s.

He drew fans from all quarters for his impressive talent and singular musical style, which fused elements of funk, soul, jazz, rock and pop into chart-topping hit after hit.
An accomplished multi-instrumentalist, he continued to write, compose, arrange, produce, perform and record music over the years, experimenting with different sounds nearly every time. He also mentored a host of musicians, from Sheila E to Judith Hill.

On the side, the celebrated and versatile songwriter penned tracks for a wide range of artists, from Madonna to Sinead O'Connor, the Bangles and M.C. Hammer. Tom Jones, Chaka Khan and Alicia Keys are just a few of the singers who count Prince covers among their best-known or signature songs.

Noted perfectionist, outspoken artist

Prince waged a high-profile contract battle with his record company Warner Bros. over control of his material and even his name — famously changing it to a symbol and performing as The Artist Formerly Known as Prince for some time.

The noted perfectionist, who was fiercely protective of his music, even went so far as scrawling the word "slave" on his face in protest. He and Warner Bros. would eventually bury the hatchet, with a 2014 deal returning him ownership of his master recordings.

Prince was a fierce and early opponent of digital music distribution and sales, arguing that artists aren't appropriately compensated, and even declared the internet to be "completely over" in 2010.

"What I meant was that the Internet was over for anyone who wants to get paid, and I was right about that," he told the U.K.'s Guardian in November.

"Tell me a musician who's got rich off digital sales...Apple's doing pretty good though, right?"

After some quieter career years of late, he stepped back into the spotlight and dazzled a new generation of fans with a high-octane 2004 Grammy Awards performance alongside pop singer Beyoncé — one that helped boost his album Musicology and the subsequent tour. He was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame that year.

Just three years later, his gig as the 2007 Super Bowl halftime show headliner proved that a rainstorm couldn't dampen his larger-than-life stage presence, ferocious guitar solos and immense talent. It's often cited among the best Super Bowl halftime show ever.

Along with seven Grammy wins over his career, Prince also earned an Oscar for Purple Rain's film score, a Golden Globe for the title song to 2006's Happy Feet and a raft of music industry honours.

He had been set to publish a memoir entitled The Beautiful Ones in fall 2017.

Special relationship with Toronto

Prince held a special relationship with Toronto, a city he returned to often to play both official and impromptu shows.

During his marriage to Torontonian Manuela Testolini, he briefly lived in the city and occasionally popped up around town, the avid basketball fan seen at Raptors games or picking up a DJ'ing gig in a local nightclub. The couple divorced in 2006. (He was previously married to backup dancer Mayte Garcia.)

Donna Grantis, who plays guitar in Prince's recent all-female backup band 3rd Eye Girl, was based in Toronto as a studio musician when she was discovered by his team.

Most recently, Prince returned to the city as part of his solo Piano and a Microphone tour, which also included a stop in Montreal in late March.

In Toronto, he played two shows in one night — performing nearly 60 songs across the two, differing setlists — and later ventured out to a club to celebrate afterwards.

"He's up there with Michael Jackson and up there with James Brown. The interesting thing about Prince was that he was able to straddle a whole bunch of different genres," radio host and music critic Alan Cross told CBC News.

In the years to come, it will be interesting to see what Prince's estate discovers in the prolific and innovative artist's archives at Paisley Park, Cross added.

"What kind of music did he make that was never released? We know that Prince spent hours and hours and hours working on his own in his studio, just fiddling with ideas and the stuff that didn't meet his standards was shelved and put away. But that stuff still exists. So it's going to be an interesting archeological dig in the years to come."
Retailers report that sales of Prince's music have soared since news broke of the pop star's death earlier Thursday afternoon.

With files from The Associated Press
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Re: Prince - Dead at 57.

Postby J Kendrick » Thu Apr 21, 2016 9:30 pm

Drugs... found unresponsive in an elevator on his estate. Treated for an overdose just six days ago when his private jet made an emergency stop in Moline, Illinois...
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Re: Prince - Dead at 57.

Postby Howaboutthat » Thu Apr 21, 2016 11:23 pm

J Kendrick wrote:Drugs... found unresponsive in an elevator on his estate. Treated for an overdose just six days ago when his private jet made an emergency stop in Moline, Illinois...


I hope your info is from a real news source and not one of those infotainment outlets.
Houston, We're dealing with morons!.
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Re: Prince - Dead at 57.

Postby Aaron » Fri Apr 22, 2016 3:12 pm

TMZ is an odd combination of sleezy and dead-on accurate.
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Re: Prince - Dead at 57.

Postby Jim Walters » Fri Apr 22, 2016 3:53 pm

Gotta love some of the whacked out statements from the tin foil hat club.

Somewhere I saw a post that suggested Prince and Merle Haggard (who died last week) were both outspoken opponents of chemtrails and they were targeted for their resistance.

Sometimes I just have to shake my head at some of the idiots we waste oxygen on.
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