April 21--Prince, a quintuple threat instrumentalist-singer-songwriter-producer-performer who became one of the towering figures in music the last four decades, has died at 57.
He was found dead Thursday morning at his Paisley Park estate in Chanhassen, Minnesota, outside Minneapolis. It was in that very studio that he created most of his iconic music. Last week, Prince had to be taken to a hospital after his flight home from Atlanta made an emergency landing in Moline, Ill. A representative said the singer had been fighting the flu for several weeks.
The Minneapolis-born artist released 39 studio albums, and had at least as much unreleased music in his archives. His hits included the album and movie "Purple Rain," which established him as a major star in the mid-'80s. He famously broke away from the major-label system in the mid-'90s to become an independent artist. The hits dried up, but he continued to steadily release music and pioneered the use of the Internet as a distributor for his music. His toured infrequently in recent years, but when he did, he continued to be a huge draw. A 2004 arena tour produced $87 million in revenue.
In 2004, Prince was inducted into the Rock and Roll of Fame, which hailed him as a musical and social trailblazer.
"He rewrote the rulebook, forging a synthesis of black funk and white rock that served as a blueprint for cutting-edge music in the Eighties," reads the Hall's dedication. "Prince made dance music that rocked and rock music that had a bristling, funky backbone. From the beginning, Prince and his music were androgynous, sly, sexy and provocative."
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