Prince Found Unresponsive at his Paisley Park Residence … Dead at 57, RIP

PURPLE RAIN HAS PASSED AWAY … WHEN DOVES CRY.

Prince Rogers Nelson, better known as the iconic music superstar Prince has passed away at the age of 57. According to reports, Prince was briefly hospitalized last Friday with what his representatives said was the flu, which caused him to cancel two shows earlier in April. The medical examiners office has received Prince’s body and will perform an autopsy Friday. However, TMZ is reporting that it may have been a drug overdose before his death. Sadly, we have lost another music giant far too soon.

This one stings a bit, especially when the music artists of your youth start dying, and far too soon. We did not know it at the time in the 1980′s, but we were not just listening to Prince and the Revolution, but a revolutionary performer. Prince was inducted into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, and performed a legendary version of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” to close the ceremony. REST IN PEACE.

1999

Prince passed away Thursday morning at his Paisley Park recording studio. He was 57.

Prince’s publicist, Yvette Noel-Schure, confirmed the pop music superstar’s death early Thursday afternoon.

“It is with profound sadness that I am confirming that the legendary, iconic performer, Prince Rogers Nelson, has died at his Paisley Park residence this morning at the age of 57,” Noel-Schure said. “There are no further details as to the cause of death at this time.”

Carver County Sheriff Chief Deputy Jason Kamerud says deputies responded to Paisley Park at 9:43 a.m. on the report of a medical situation.

When deputies and medical personnel arrived, they found Prince unresponsive in the elevator. Responders attempted to provide lifesaving CPR, but were unable to revive him.

He was pronounced dead at 10:07 a.m.

Purple Rain

UPDATE I: Prince’s 40 Biggest Billboard Hits.

The man born Prince Rogers Nelson was an icon on Billboard’s Hot 100 songs chart (and fittingly won Billboard’s Icon Award at the 2013 Billboard Music Awards), where he racked up an impressive array of hits, including five No. 1s. They range from his unforgettable chart-toppers (“Let’s Go Crazy,” “Kiss”) to funk workouts (“Hot Thing,” “Controversy”) to gorgeous love songs (“The Most Beautiful Girl in the World,” “Take Me With U”).

Billboard is looking back on Prince’s long career with his 40 top Hot 100 hits. The list is led by his No. 1 smash from the Purple Rain soundtrack, “When Doves Cry.”

Here are Prince’s 40 biggest Billboard Hot 100 hits:

Rank, Title, Hot 100 Peak Year, Position (Weeks Spent at No. 1)
1, “When Doves Cry,” 1984, No. 1 (5)*
2, “Kiss,” 1986, No. 1 (2)*
3, “Let’s Go Crazy,” 1984, No. 1 (2)*
4, “Cream,” 1991, No. 1 (2)**
5, “Batdance,” 1989, No. 1 (1)
6, “Raspberry Beret,” 1985, No. 2*
7, “U Got the Look,” 1987, No. 2
8, “Purple Rain,” 1984, No. 2*
9, “The Most Beautiful Girl in the World,” 1994, No. 3
10, “Sign ‘O’ the Times,” 1987, No. 3

One of my favorites – Little Red Corvette

WAPO Obit:

An eccentric, eclectic and electrifying singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and arranger, Prince Rogers Nelson became one of popular music’s leading stars in the 1980s — a towering figure who found enormous critical and commercial success by blending R&B and rock to make a relentlessly funky, soulful and sensual stew.

Recording Academy President Neil Portnow referred to Prince — a seven-time Grammy winner — as “one of the most uniquely gifted artists of all time.”

“Never one to conform, he redefined and forever changed our musical landscape,” Portnow said in a statement. “Prince was an original who influenced so many, and his legacy will live on forever. We have lost a true innovator and our sincerest condolences go out to his family, friends, collaborators, and all who have been impacted by his incredible work.”

Prince, the son of a jazz musician, was born Prince Rogers Nelson in June 1958. His debut album, “For You,” was released in 1978; one year later came “Prince,” an album that contained “I Wanna Be Your Lover,” his first hit.

That pair of albums “unveiled a budding genius and one-man band,” the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame said.

In the early 1980s, Prince released “1999.”

Then, in 1984, came “Purple Rain,” which “elevated Prince from cult hero to superstar,” the Rock Hall said.