A little something about Prince
Prince, aka Prince Rogers Nelson, aka Alexander Nevermind, aka the artist formerly known as Prince, aka The Artist, put out his first album in 1978, but it was his 1999 album, and the success of singles 1999 and Little Red Corvette, that put him on the early '80s map. Like many of his contemporaries, Prince was a neatly packaged pop star: he found a unique look reminiscent of both Bowie and Hendrix, pumped out danceable tunes, and surrounded himself with beautiful people. He was one of the earliest black artists to find a place on MTV, and he made a successful leap to the big screen with Purple Rain, the accompanying album of which would contain his first U.S. number 1, When Doves Cry. Over the years he's scored five U.S. chart toppers, seen some success in the U.K., and had the honor(?) of having one of his songs covered by the envy of aged '60s teen idols, Tom Jones. And while working on his own music, Prince has found time over the years to further the careers of such female artists as Sinead O'Connor, Vanity, Sheena Easton and Sheila E through writer and producer roles. As Prince's music matures (?), the artist we all knew as Prince has become something of a pop oddity. He confounded the record industry by taking a symbol for a name (something Freur couldn't get away with in the '80s) and ever since the world has been looking for a title for the man. The last I heard, however, was that he's back to being called "Prince".