Prince, born Prince Rogers Nelson, is a singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince was born on June 7, 1958 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Between 1993 and 2000, Prince was also known under the unpronounceable symbol. Prince's father, John L. Nelson, was a pianist and songwriter. His mother, Mattie Shaw, was a jazz singer. Prince has one sister Tika Evene, who was born in 1960. Prince had a childhood nickname which was Skipper. When he was seven, Prince wrote his first song, "Funk Machine" on his father's piano.
Prince and Andre Anderson, who was a neighbor, joined Prince's cousin, Charles Smith, in a band called Grand Central while they were attending Minneapolis's Central High School. In 1976, Prince created a demo tape with producer Chris Moon in Moon's Minneapolis studio. Moon brought the tape to Minneapolis businessman Owen Husney. At 17, Prince was signed by Husney to a management contract. Prince signed a recording contract with Warner Bros, who agreed to give Prince creative control for three albums and ownership of the publishing rights. Prince's first album, For You, was recorded at Record Plant Studios and released in 1978.
Prince has won seven Grammy Awards, a Golden Globe, and an Academy Award. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked Prince number twenty eight on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. Prince founded his own recording studio and label, writing, self-producing and playing instruments on his recordings.
In 1980, Prince released the album, Dirty Mind. In October 1981, Prince released the album, Controversy. In late 1982, Prince released a double album, 1999, which sold over three million copies.
Prince has many albums. Here are a few: Prince (1979), Purple Rain (1984), Lovesexy (1988), Graffiti Bridge (1990), Diamonds and Pearls (1991), The Black Album (1994), The Rainbow Children (2001), Planet Earth (2007), and 20Ten (2010).
Prince has been romantically involved with many celebrities, including Kim Basinger, Madonna, Vanity, Carmen Electra, Anna Fantastic, Sheila E., Sherilyn Fenn, and Susan Moonsie.
