Prince dead at age 57

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Prince
Prince

Updated: 1:30 p.m.

Prince, the groundbreaking, colorful and Oscar-winning musician whose work and fashion sense inspired a generation of musicians, has died at his suburban Minneapolis estate. He was 57.

“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,” publicist Yvette Noel-Schure said in a statement.

Paisley Park is the compound where Prince lived, recorded music and hosted parties, including one just a few days ago, KMSP reported. CNN cited that an Atlanta Constitution Journal report earlier this month that the musician said he wasn’t feeling well and canceled a concert in Atlanta.

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported that just last weekend, Prince’s private plane made an emergency landing early Friday morning in Illinois as he was returning to the Twin Cities from two shows in Atlanta on Thursday.

Afterward, a source close to Prince told the Star Tribune that the singer was dehydrated on the flight home. Prince himself wanted to clarify the situation on Saturday, saying, “Wait a few days before you waste any prayers.”

The newspaper added that mourners gathered outside the studio on Audubon Road on Thursday and began posting condolences on social media.

Prince, born Prince Rogers Nelson, was born in Minneapolis on June 7, 1958, about 2 1/2 months before another icon who died too young, Michael Jackson. His legacy includes forays into rock, R&B, soul, hip-hop, disco, jazz and pop.

Prince was nominated for 30 Grammy awards and won seven. Five of his singles have topped the charts and 14 other songs hit the Top 10. He won an Oscar for the original song score to the classic film “Purple Rain.”

He was a multi-instrumentalist who was a major figure in pop music for three decades. His music has 166 credits on IMDB. He also has eight acting and direction credits.

Between 1984 and ’87, Prince referred to his band as The Revolution, which featured Lisa Coleman, Dr. Fink, Bobby Z., Mark Brown and Dez Dickerson. Prince’s 1984 album “Purple Rain” sold more than 13 million copies, and spawned a film of the same name, starring Prince and Appolonia Kotero.

Prince was hospitalized last week after his plane for was forced to make an emergency landing in Moline, Ill. Released a few hours later, a rep told TMZ that he had been battling a bad case of the flu.

Prince has sold over 100 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling artists of all time. He went solo form 1987to 1991, and in 1991, debuted his new band, the New Power Generation. In 1993, Prince changed his name to an unpronouncable glyph, and even had his guitars custom-shaped in the image.

The glyph incorporated the ancient symbols of male and female, and Prince became known as “The Artist Formerly Known as Prince.”

In February 2007, he played the Super Bowl halftime show in Miami, performing three Purple Rain tracks (“Let’s Go Crazy”, “Baby I’m a Star” and the title track), along with cover versions of “We Will Rock You” by Queen, “All Along the Watchtower” by Bob Dylan, the Foo Fighters song “Best of You” and “Proud Mary” by Creedence Clearwater Revival, according to Wikipedia.

In April 2008, he headlined Coachella.

The outpouring of grief and tributes on Twitter has begun: