Prince Rogers Nelson Biography

FRP 2017 Name: Camille Rose
Final
English 9 Per: 5

Most people are familiar with the simple music star rule book. Your songs consist of one strong hook, a catchy phrase that gets caught in people’s heads. A few verses and a bridge are included in the song between choruses to make the song interesting. Most of the songs are about happy love or sadness and you dress according to your gender. When Prince Rogers Nelson enters the music industry at the ripe age of 22, he is to follow these rules and guidelines, right? Wrong. Prince took every possible expectation and flipped it upside down to create what Rock and Roll Hall of Fame reporters describe as “his own blueprint for success”. Prince ended up changing the world forever by introducing
One large influence on Prince’s sound was James Brown who CNN claims to be “The Godfather of Soul” and “ [he] was an obvious influence on some of Prince’s funkiest, most percussive tracks.” As some fans may know, Prince became a Jehovah’s Witness as of 2001, this was the influence of Larry Graham. “Graham was a member of the Family Stone. He later collaborated with Prince on music and reportedly encouraged Prince’s interest in the Jehovah’s Witnesses.” (Hayes, Fowler, McCloy, O’Key). Prince’s sound was recognizable and distinct in its own way, however, his influences were a long running list of wonderful artists on their own. Some of these artists are; Joni Mitchell, Stevie Wonder, and Jimi Hendrix. Including groups like; Earth Wind & Fire, Sly and the Family Stone, and Parliament Funk. Most of these groups include funk elements, with a flavor of R&B and soul. Each wonderful songwriters and musicians, it’s no surprise that Prince’s sound was influenced by wonderful stars from all realms of life. He may seemed to have lived a wonderful life paved by the biggest of stars. On the contrary, he also trekked the unforgiving uphill battle that comes along before the peak of
He has reached fields far beyond anyone thought possible and has touched the hearts and souls of many people we see today. A few examples of artists that wouldn’t be the same without Prince include; D’Angelo, Justin Timberlake, Beyonce, Lenny Kravitz, Rihanna, Alicia Keys, and Bruno Mars. These are examples of empowered, multi-talented, and nearly as influential artists that got their start from the same man. D’Angelo was five years old when Prince’s ‘I Wanna Be Your Lover’ came out. He told Okayplayer, “When that album came out, it was just huge. He really, literally, was the talk of the town. Everybody was wondering, ‘Who is this guy? Is he a guy? Is it a girl?’ No one really knew who it was. I remember we had the album, and my brothers were just enamored by this guy. They told me, ‘He plays everything, he writes everything, he’s singing everything,’ so I was hooked from then on. I learned how to play every song on that album, note for note, at five years old.” (D’Angelo) Hits such as “Uptown Funk”, “Hey Ya”, “Untitled (How Does It Feel)”, “1 plus 1”, “Blow”, “Like You’ll Never See Me Again”, and so many others might not have existed if it weren’t for Prince’s musical sound inventions. Artist Bruno Mars claims that Prince has been one of his largest influences throughout his lifetime especially in regards to his hits “Locked Out of Heaven” and “Moonshine”. Mars claims that “Moonshine” couldn’t have