Prince Dead at 57

Prince Rogers Nelson, the icon known to the world simply as Prince, has died, TMZ reports and the Associated Press confirms. He was found this morning at his Paisley Park estate in Chanhassen, Minnesota. He was 57 years old. The cause of death has not been confirmed, but last week, Prince had been on a flight home from Atlanta when his pilot was forced to make an emergency landing to take Prince to the hospital. A representative said he had the flu.

Prince's influence on modern pop music cannot be overstated. His incredible run from the late '70s through the '90s, including albums such as Purple Rain, 1999, Dirty Mind, Sign O' the Times, Controversy, Lovesexy, and Diamonds and Pearls, was nearly unparalleled in its combination of diversity, popularity, and innovation. 

Prince's most recent albums were 2015's HITNRUN Phase One and Two. His final concert was last Thursday at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, as part of his "Piano and a Microphone" tour. His memoir, The Beautiful Ones, is scheduled for release this fall.

Pitchfork named the title track of Purple Rain the best song of the 1980s.

 

via Amy Phillips and Matthew Strauss