AP: Prince’s publicist says singer is dead
As reported by MPRNews:
The Associated Press is quoting Prince’s publicist saying Prince is dead.
Andrea Swensson, a local music reporter for MPR News’ sister station The Current has also confirmed the death.
The news comes while Carver County deputies are on the scene of a “death investigation” at Paisley Park, the studios of Prince in Chanhassen.
The Carver County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the investigation but offered no other details and have not yet said who died.
Prince, 57, was reportedly treated last week for dehydration in Illinois after an unscheduled stop of a plane he was on while returning from a performance in Georgia.
On Saturday night at Paisley Park, Prince threw a dance party and made a brief appearance to assure people he was fine. “Wait a few days before you waste any prayers,” he told people at Paisley Saturday.
MPR News reporters are on the scene. More reporting to come.
Here’s how Jay Gabler, a digital producer with the Current, summed up Prince today:
One of the greatest stars in rock history, Prince bridged rock and R&B to fuse a “Minneapolis sound” that helped define the sound of the 1980s.With over 100 million albums sold worldwide, Prince is one of the best-selling artists of all time, widely cited as an influence by artists from the worlds of pop, R&B, rock, hip-hop, and beyond.
Born Prince Rogers Nelson in Minneapolis in 1958, Prince remained a lifelong Minnesotan and had a profound impact on the community here. With the hit movie and soundtrack Purple Rain, he turned First Avenue from a hot local club to an international music landmark.
Artists including Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis went from Prince collaborations to performing and producing chart-topping hits that spread the “Minneapolis Sound” across the musical landscape.
Prince’s genius seemed to arrive fully formed, almost as if by magic: he released his debut album (For You, 1978) at the age of 19, and its eponymous follow-up, released the following year, made him a breakout success with instant classics like “I Wanna Be Your Lover” and “I Feel For You.”
He wrote, played, sang, and produced the entire collection himself, adding to the sense that somehow lightning had struck in Minneapolis.
It had, but recently released compilations like Purple Snow: Forecasting the Minneapolis Sound (Numero Group) and Twin Cities Funk & Soul (Secret Stash Records) are finally shining a long-overdue spotlight on the small but tight-knit and inventive local R&B scene that spawned Prince.
