Kallie Horton

MU 333-801

Semester Project Essay

Prince and Rock n’ Roll

Early Life and Career

Prince was born June 7, 1958 in Minneapolis, Minnesota as Prince Rogers Nelson and

died April 21, 2016 in Chanhassen, Minnesota as one of history’s most talented artists; a singer,

songwriter, guitarist, producer, dancer, and performer on keyboards, drums, and bass. Prince took

an interest in music early on in his life and his music career began shortly after that. His style

explored unconventional and broad avenues while winning numerous awards and titles and

influencing not only the Rock n’ Roll genre but the whole of the music industry, popular culture,

society, and the world.

At a young age Prince was very much influenced by his mother and father, John Lewis

Nelson and Mattie Della Shaw. Prince shared an early memory of being enchanted by his fathers

piano playing at just three years old. His Parents were both involved in music and met through

music when his father was playing a show and found his mother to sing in his band- the Prince

Rogers Trio. As Prince grew he became less intimidated by his fathers music and more inspired

by it. Prince began playing the piano at the age of seven years old, and by the time he was

fourteen and joining his first band he could play the guitar and drums as well. Growing up in

Minnesota, the chances of him becoming a major Black star were very unlikely yet Prince made

it and helped lead other local musicians, a couple being Jimmy Jam and Terry Louise, to major

success as well. Price developed his love more music more over the years when he found himself

in the band Grand Central; learning a wide array of the top hits to cater to broad audiences,

Prince and Grand Central became more known and played not just at community centers in

North Minneapolis but at proms and dances across the South as well. Grand Central became one

of the youngest and hottest bands on the North Side.

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 In these yearly years Prince began to develop a new sound that would set the stage for his

career to come. Using both black and white musical influences, Prince blended funk, rock, punk,

disco, modern dance, old school jazz, and blues; he developed the “Minneapolis Sound”. After

high school Prince’s career took off. Prince set off to New York with the intention of selling

himself to a record company, meanwhile back in Minnesota, Chris Moon, a young producer who

had recorded a demo with Prince “Soft and Wet”, had met with Owen Husney at an advertising

office. Husney was a musician and concert promoter who immediately saw something special in

the demo. Prince was soon on a plane back to Minnesota to sign a management contract with

Husney who would work to get Prince label attention. Hesney negotiated with Warner Bros

Records, A&M, and Columbia, who were all offering to sign Prince. In a month, Nusney

negotiated a three-album deal with Warner Bros Records, which would be the largest record deal

for an untested artist in modern rock history. Prince’s rapid creativity began to clash with the

record when he wanted to release more music. In 1996 Prince released the album

“Emancipation” to celebrate the forthcoming end to his contract with Warner Bros where he

would then be able to release as much music as he liked. Price stood for rights of artists, creating

his own record label and releasing his music on his own terms. He broke barriers that helped

bring African-american artists and talent and music to and diversity popular music stations.

Prince was awarded an Oscar and Grammys, inducted into the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame, took

Top Charts in singles and albums, reached millions of fans worldwide, and changed the music

industry and history forever.

Prince didn’t only change music but influenced society and challenged cultural norms

throughout his career as well. Prince created his image in his individuality that threatened people

who would try to put him in a box when being unsure of his race, gender blending style, sexually

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ambiguous expressions, and even his fluid range of vocals. Prince did not conform and thus

people began to see an artist like never before. An article wrote “ he was an individual who

stood as a standard bearer for individuality, his influence helping empower millions of others to

own their uniqueness, shaping the more diverse, accepting, colourful world that’s crystallising in

the 21st century. No wonder he was so hated by the forces of conformity. And loved by pretty

much everyone else.” (Barker, 2016). Prince undeniably changed pop culture, societal

expectations and norms, and the world.

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Meaningful Contributions

Prince contributed to and influenced the Rock n’ Roll genre and music history in many

different ways. The main ways we see his direct influence in music is through his developed

sound, his battle with the record industry, his individuality, and his album film. These are among

his most notable contributions but we know that Price influenced the music industry and the

world in even more ways.

Prince was influenced by his mother’s and father’s musical career from a young age, as

well as from growing up in Minneapolis. His musical style developed into what is referred to as

the “Minneapolis Sound”. Prince used influences from both black and white music and blended

funk, rock, punk, disco, modern dance, old school jazz, and blues. Throughout his career, Prince

experimented with different music and sound. He won seven grammys, made the Top Charts for

both singles and albums, and reached millions of fans worldwide. His sound was like nothing

heard before and he is still known as one of the most esteemed musicians and musical pioneers

in history.

Prince contributed to the music industry as well, through his battles with the record

industry. Prince fought and stood for artists rights. He inspired others to take back creative

power. Prince left his original record company and continued to stand by his principles when

starting his own record label and selling his music online. Prince empowers many other artists in

this way and wasn't afraid to stand up against anyone who treated his art. Using not only his

music but his business mindset, Prince contributed to the way music is sold by artists to this day.

Prince empowered people to embrace their individuality and creativing by always being

his authentic self, even in the eyes of millions. Conservative and closed minded people hated

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Prince for being himself. They couldn't stand not being able to put him in a box and control him.

Prince expressed himself not only through his music but through this style and persona as well.

He pushed society's boundaries of sexuality, style, and personality. Even the Rock n’ Roll Hall of

Fame stated “From the beginning, Prince and his music were androgynous, sly, sexy and

provocative. His colorful image and revolutionary music made Prince a figure comparable in

paradigm-shifting impact to Little Richard, James Brown, Jimi Hendrix and George Clinton.”

(Wong, 2016).

Last but not least, Prince changed the world of MTV, and music with his album film

Purple Rain. Prince was one of the first Black artists whose music was played on popular music

stations such as MTV. Prince broke down this barrier which helped create a new era of diversity

on popular music stations. Prince also released an Oscar winning album film “Purple Rain”, and

became the first trifecta winning top American film, single, and album at the same time. In all of

these ways and so many more, Prince contributed to and influenced music and culture and will

not be forgotten anytime soon.

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Album Analysis

- Sign O’ The Times (1887)

Sign O’ The Times was the ninth studio album by Prince. Not as successful as

Purple Rain, Sign O’ The Times was Prince’s most acclaimed album; voted 1987’s best

album in Pazz and Jop critics poll, and inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2017.

- Purple Rain (1984)

Prince’s album Purple Rain sold more than thirteen-thousand copies in the US

and spent twenty-four consecutive weeks at #1 on the Billboard 200. The accompanying

film grossed more than eighty-million dollars in the US aone.

- 1999 (1982)

1999 broke Prince into the Mainstream in the US and around the world and

became his first top ten hit internationally. This album was placed #6 in the Pazz & Jop

Critics Poll in 1983.

- Dirty Mind (1980)

The album Dirty Mind is particularly notable for its sexually explicit material and

for being controversial. During this time Prince began to attract a lot of attention for his

never before seen individuality and style.

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Appendix

Key Albums:

Controversial Era

- Dirty Mind (1980)

- Controversy (1981)

- 1999 (1982)

The Prince Revolution

- Purple Rain (1984)

- Around The World In A Day (1985)

- Parade (1986)

Solo

- Sign O’ The Times (1987)

- Lovesexy (1988)

- Batman (1989)

NPG

- Graffiti Bridge (1990)

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 - Diamonds and Pearls (1991)

- Love Symbol (1992)

Increased Release

- The Black Album (1994)

- Come (1994)

- The Gold Experience (1995)

- Chaos and Disorder (1996)

Free

- Emancipation (1996)

- Crystal Ball (1998)

- The Vault: Old friends 4 Sale (1999)

The 00s

- Rainbow Chicken (2001)

- One Night Alone… (2002)

- Xpectation (2003)

- NEWS (2003)

- Musicology (2004)

Universal Records

- 3121 (2006)

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 - Planet Earth (2007)

- LotusFlow3r (2009)

Rejection of the Internet

- 20ten (2010)

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Bibliography

Barker, C. (2016, April 22). How prince changed the world. The Rake. Retrieved

November 20, 2021, from

https://therake.com/stories/news/how-prince-changed-the-world/.

How prince changed music forever. Olimpus Music Store. (2017, October 3). Retrieved

November 20, 2021, from https://olimpusmusic.com/prince-changed-music-forever/.

Prince. (n.d.). Retrieved November 20, 2021, from

https://www.princevault.com/index.php?title=Prince.

Prince's Early Years . Prince's Early Years. (n.d.). Retrieved November 20, 2021, from

https://becoming.prince.com/story/.

Walser, R. (n.d.). Prince: American singer, songwriter, musician, and producer.

Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved November 20, 2021, from

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Prince-singer-and-songwriter.

Wikimedia Foundation. (2021, November 8). Prince Albums discography. Wikipedia.

Retrieved November 20, 2021, from

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_albums_discography.

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Wong, J. (2016, April 24). In style, genre and sexuality, Prince Bent all the rules - usually

expertly | CBC News. CBCnews. Retrieved November 20, 2021, from

https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/prince-musical-legacy-1.3548053.

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