Prince

Prince Rogers Nelson was born in Minneapolis on June 7, 1958. He was playing piano at age seven. He wrote his first song, "Funk Machine," at eleven.

He taught himself guitar, bass, and drums before he finished high school. At 19 he signed to Warner Bros. with a contract giving him full artistic control — unheard of for a teenage debut artist.

For You (1978) was the debut where he played every instrument himself. Prince (1979) had "I Wanna Be Your Lover." Dirty Mind (1980) shocked with its sexual explicitness.

Controversy (1981) was the political statement. 1999 (1982) introduced the world to the Linn LM-1 drum machine. Then came Purple Rain.

Purple Rain (1984) turned him from a cult funk artist into a global superstar overnight. The album sold 25 million copies. The film won an Oscar for Best Original Song Score.

"When Doves Cry" was the first chart-topping single with no bass line. He was 25 years old.

He died on April 21, 2016, from an accidental fentanyl overdose. He was 57. He left behind a vault of thousands of unreleased recordings — enough for a new album every year for the next century.

Purple Rain (June 1984) is the cultural landmark. "Let's Go Crazy" opens with the sermonising spoken intro before the power chord hits. "When Doves Cry" has no bass — Prince removed it in the final mix because it sounded better without.

"Purple Rain" is the nine-minute arena rock masterpiece. "I Would Die 4 U." The album won an Oscar.

Prince was 25. It's still the benchmark.

Sign o' the Times (March 1987) is the critical peak. A double album after Prince scrapped a triple album called Crystal Ball. "Sign o' the Times" is the funk social commentary.

"U Got the Look" is the rock-funk hybrid with Sheena Easton. "Adore" is the slow-burn ballad. Most critics rank it the greatest album of the 80s.

Love Symbol Album (1992) was released during his dispute with Warner Bros. — he changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol in protest. "7" is the apocalyptic track.

"My Name Is Prince" is the declaration. "Gold" is the rock anthem. The album is an underrated masterpiece.

Diamonds and Pearls (1991) with The New Power Generation spawned "Cream" (his first #1 as a co-credit), "Gett Off," "Diamonds and Pearls," and "Money Don't Matter 2 Night." Musicology (2004) was the comeback — 3 million copies sold, Grammy for Best R&B Album.

Prince is the template for every self-contained superstar since. Lenny Kravitz, D'Angelo, Bruno Mars, The Weeknd, Janelle Monáe — every multi-instrumentalist artist who plays everything on their own records traces back to Prince. Every late-period Stevie Wonder album influenced Prince, and every early-period Prince album influenced everyone after.

He won 7 Grammy Awards and an Academy Award. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004. Rolling Stone ranks him #27 on the list of greatest artists of all time.

His guitar solo on Purple Rain is one of the ten greatest rock guitar solos ever recorded. His guitar solo on While My Guitar Gently Weeps at the 2004 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony (with Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne, and Dhani Harrison) is the most replayed guitar moment of the last 20 years.

150 million records sold worldwide. 39 studio albums. Thousands of unreleased tracks in the Paisley Park vault.

He was 57 years old when he died. He should have had another 30 years.