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Music icon Prince dead at 57
| CNN | - |
(CNN)
Prince, who defined the sound of the '80s with songs such as "Kiss" and
"Purple Rain" and defied the music industry in a fight for creative
freedom, died Thursday.
Music icon Prince dead at 57
Story highlights
- Authorities release a 911 call; an autopsy is scheduled for Friday
- The music icon died at his Paisley Park residence, his publicist says
- The singer's death spurs a massive outpouring of grief on social media
(CNN)Prince,
who defined the sound of the '80s with songs such as "Kiss" and "Purple
Rain" and defied the music industry in a fight for creative freedom,
died Thursday.
The 57-year-old
singer was found unresponsive in an elevator at Paisley Park Studios in
Chanhassen, Minnesota, Carver County Sheriff Jim Olson said.
Paramedics
tried to perform CPR but were unable to revive him, the sheriff said.
He was pronounced dead at 10:07 a.m., less than 30 minutes after
sheriff's deputies responded to a medical call at the scene.
Authorities are investigating the circumstances surrounding his death, Olson said. An autopsy is scheduled to take place Friday.
Prince's publicist confirmed his death but didn't provide details about the possible cause or who was with the musician.
"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.
A
man called 911 at 9:43 a.m. from Prince's estate, first reporting an
unconscious person and then reporting a death, according to a transcript of the call released by authorities.
"The
person is dead here. ... And the people are just distraught," the man
said as he struggled to find an address to give the dispatcher.
The
person who died, deputies soon discovered, was Prince. Authorities
haven't identified who made the call to 911 or details about the
circumstances surrounding the call.
Fans flock to Paisley Park
Word of Prince's death sparked a massive outpouring of grief on social media, outside his famed studios and even from the White House.
Fans rushed to record stores to pick up albums and other Prince memorabilia. Some said the icon's death "is what it sounds like when doves cry," a reference to his monster hit from 1984.
"As
one of the most gifted and prolific musicians of our time, Prince did
it all. Funk. R&B. Rock and roll. He was a virtuoso instrumentalist,
a brilliant bandleader and an electrifying performer," U.S. President
Barack Obama said in a statement. " 'A strong spirit transcends rules,'
Prince once said -- and nobody's spirit was stronger, bolder, or more
creative."
Kaleena Zanders cried in
the car as she drove to Amoeba Music in Los Angeles on Thursday. She
spent $173 on Prince-related items at the store, including a vinyl
edition of Prince's iconic album "Purple Rain."
"Prince
means the future, because he's changed music, everyone in music, he's
influenced every person," she said, "and I believe that he represents
our future, and it kind of died with him in a way."
Fans
camped out by Paisley Park, the artist's home and recording studio,
leaving bouquets of flowers and signs at a makeshift memorial.
They also flocked to First
Avenue, the downtown Minneapolis dance club that became a landmark after
Prince used it in the movie "Purple Rain," CNN affiliate WCCO reported.
Mourners left flowers, cards and candles on the sidewalk outside, and
snapped photos of the wall where Prince's name is painted inside a large
star. Many lined up for an all-night dance party in Prince's honor.
Asher
Wade, 27, spent the day listening to Prince music with friends and came
to First Avenue with a purple teardrop painted on his face.
"I grew up listening to his music," he said. "My parents loved him. I grew to love him. ... (it's) heartbreaking."
Last days: Postponed concerts, emergency landing
Just
this month, Prince made news, but it wasn't for his music. Hours before
he was set to go onstage, the singer postponed two shows he'd been
scheduled to perform at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta.
"The entertainer is battling the flu," the Fox said in a statement that day.
A
week later, he took the stage in Atlanta to perform two concerts with
80-minute sets, unusually short for him. The stage was engulfed in
lavender smoke. It was just Prince at his piano. He played his classic
songs but kept the mood light and fun -- at one point showing off his
skills with a version of the Peanuts theme song.
That
concert, a week ago, earned rave reviews. Prince himself seemed to feel
the power of his performance, posting afterward on social media, "I am
transformed."
But as he headed back home to Minnesota, Prince made an unexpected stop.
The singer's plane made an emergency landing Friday and he reportedly was rushed to a hospital in Moline, Illinois.
Afterward, his publicist said, "He is fine and at home."
On
Saturday, he appeared before a small gathering of fans at a Paisley
Park dance party, proudly showing them a new purple Yamaha piano and a
guitar that was made for him in Europe. The appearance, Minneapolis Star Tribune music critic Jon Beam wrote the next day, seemed aimed at proving he was alive and well.
"He
never intended to perform on Saturday. There was no microphone stand
next to his piano," Beam wrote. "He just wanted to demonstrate that
reports of his dire health were greatly exaggerated."
The music critic noted that Prince showed off his new guitar, but didn't perform with it.
"I
have to leave it in the case, or I'll be tempted to play it," Prince
told the crowd, according to Beam. "I can't play the guitar at all these
days, so I can keep my mind on this (the solo piano) and get better."
'He was more connected to us'
During
that appearance, Prince made a passing reference to the emergency
landing his plane had made in Illinois, according to fans.
"He basically said, when you hear news, give it a few days before you waste any prayers," DJ Michael Holz told WCCO.
Mike Rendahl, who was also at Paisley Park Saturday, said he was devastated by the news of the singer's death.
"He was more connected to us Saturday night than I had ever seen," he told WCCO.
Reflections like that about Prince performing are no surprise, Michaela Angela Davis told CNN.
The
writer and cultural critic, who was once Prince's stylist, said he
played as brilliantly for 75 people as he did for 75,000.
"He
was playing for the music. He was the music," she said. "He literally
told me that he thought in music. .... Sometimes, you could be at lunch
with him, and he would get up and leave, because there was a melody so
urgent, a music so real, that he would just go to the studio and put it
down."
Fame reached fever pitch
Prince's
sound was as unique and transfixing as he was. He created what became
known as the Minneapolis sound, which was a funky blend of pop, synth
and new wave.
Controversy followed the singer and that, in part, made his fans adore him more.
The
singer's fame never waned through the decades, but he was considered
synonymous with the 1980s. His fame reached a fever pitch with the 1984
film "Purple Rain," about an aspiring musician, his troubled home life
and a budding romance.
He was a
prolific musician. Between 1985 and 1992, he released eight albums, one
per year, including the soundtrack for Tim Burton's "Batman." He starred
in two more movies during that era: "Under the Cherry Moon" and
"Graffiti Bridge." He also put out a concert film. "Sign 'o' the Times"
hit theaters in 1987.
He infamously
changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol in the 1990s during a
dispute with his record label, Warner Bros. He started to become known
then as the "Artist Formerly Known as Prince."
How Prince describes his music (1999 interview) 00:59
In 2000, when the singer's publishing contract with the company expired, he reclaimed the name Prince.
Prince
won seven Grammy Awards and earned 30 nominations. Five of his singles
topped the charts and 14 other songs hit the Top 10. He won an Oscar for
best original song score for "Purple Rain."
The
singer's predilection for lavishly kinky story-songs earned him the
nickname "His Royal Badness." He was also known as the "Purple One"
because of his colorful fashions.
Speaking with Larry King on CNN almost two decades ago, Prince said he knew what was always important to him.
"I kind of did what I wanted to do. I wanted my music, even now, to speak loudest for me."
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