Prince & The Revolution - Purple Rain 1984

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Midi playing "Purple Rain" by Prince & The Revolution. To download midi click on title. DO NOT directly link to this file. When in doubt view the TERMS OF USE

I never meant 2 cause u any sorrow I never meant 2 cause u any pain I only wanted 2 one time see u laughing I only wanted 2 see u laughing in the purple rain Purple rain Purple rain Purple rain Purple rain Purple rain Purple rain I only wanted 2 see u bathing in the purple rain I never wanted 2 be your weekend lover I only wanted 2 be some kind of friend Baby I could never steal u from another It's such a shame our friendship had 2 end Purple rain Purple rain Purple rain Purple rain Purple rain Purple rain I only wanted 2 see u underneath the purple rain Honey I know, I know, I know times are changing It's time we all reach out 4 something new That means u 2 U say u want a leader But u can't seem 2 make up your mind I think u better close it And let me guide u 2 the purple rain Purple rain Purple rain Purple rain Purple rain If you know what I'm singing about up here C'mon raise your hand Purple rain Purple rain I only want 2 see u, only want 2 see u In the purple rain

Brief biography courtesy of Wikipedia
Prince Rogers Nelson (born June 7, 1958 in Minneapolis, Minnesota) is an American musician. He uses the stage name Prince and is best known by that name or as The Artist Formerly Known As Prince, though the name he has used has varied over the years. His music has spanned myriad styles: from his early material, rooted in R&B, funk, and soul, he has constantly expanded his musical palette throughout his career, absorbing many other genres including New Wave, pop, rock, blues, jazz, and hip hop. The distinctive characteristics of the early-to-mid 1980s work which brought him to super-stardom (including sparse and industrial-sounding drum machine arrangements, and the use of synthesizer riffs to serve the role traditionally occupied by horn riffs in earlier R&B, funk and soul music) became known as the "Minneapolis sound," which proved heavily influential. Prince has been a remarkably prolific artist, having released several hundred songs, both under his own name and through other artists. Regarded as a perfectionist, Prince is known for being highly protective of his music. He produces, composes, arranges and performs nearly all of the songs on his albums. Many pop critics have dubbed him a musical genius due to the quality of his compositions and proficiency with various instruments. Prince Rogers Nelson was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota at Mount Sinai Hospital on Saturday June 7, 1958 to John L. Nelson and Mattie Shaw. John was a pianist and songwriter. Mattie was a singer. He is named after the Prince Rogers Trio, his father's jazz band. As a boy, he was called Skipper. There are a number of myths regarding PrinceÕs ethnicity, some spread by Prince himself. In fact, according to an April 28, 1983 Rolling Stone article, Prince's father is African-American and his mother Italian-American. This has proven to be a myth also, as both his parents are of mixed European and African-American descent. After the birth of his sister Tyka, in 1960, Prince's parents gradually drifted apart. After they formally separated, he had a troubled relationship with his stepfather, causing him to run away from home. He lived briefly with his father, who bought him his first guitar. Later, Prince moved in with a neighborhood family, the Andersons, and became friends with their son, Andre Anderson (later called AndrŽ Cymone). Prince and Anderson joined PrinceÕs cousin Charles Smith in a band called Grand Central, formed in junior high school. Initially his involvement was just part of a mainly instrumental band, that played clubs and parties in the Minneapolis area. As time went by and Prince's musical knowledge broadened he found himself dictating the arrangements to the rest of the band. Before long he had become the band's front man. By the time Prince had entered high school, Grand Central evolved into Champagne and started playing original music already drawing on a range of influences including Sly Stone, James Brown, Jimmy Page, and Jimi Hendrix. At some point Prince was a student at the Minnesota Dance Theatre. In 1976, he started working on a demo tape with producer Chris Moon in a Minneapolis studio. He also had the patronage of Owen Husney, to whom Moon introduced him, allowing him to produce a quality demo. Husney started contacting major labels and ran a campaign promoting Prince as a star of the future, resulting in a bidding war eventually won by Warner Bros. Records. They were the only label to give Prince creative control of his songs and offered him a contract. Pepe Willie, husband of Prince's cousin, Shantel, was an influential presence in PrinceÕs early career. Willie acted as mentor and manager, along with Husney, for Prince in the Grand Central days, and employed Prince in the studio for his own recordings. In 1977, Willie formed 94 East, a band with Marcy Ingvoldstad and Kristie Lazenberry. 94 East comprised a group of singers and musicians which included Andre Cymone and Prince. Prince composed the music for Willie's lyrics and usually played guitar and keyboards in the studio. He wrote numerous songs for the group, including "Just Another Sucker". The band recorded an album entitled, "Minneapolis Genius Ð The Historic 1977 Recordings." Although it was not a solo album and it wasnÕt commercially released until many years later, this was PrinceÕs first professional album. For reasons which have never been disclosed by Prince, he refuses to acknowledge the existence of this album. Even the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame lists his first album as, For You -- which was released on April 7, 1978. For You was the first album that Prince released on a major record label, Warner Bros. This album had no band on it -- Prince supposedly played all 27 instruments on the album himself. Members of his band, the New Power Generation, however, say that Prince only knows how to play 25 instruments. In 1995, the original recordings with Prince and Cymone were released by Willie as 94 East featuring Prince, Symbolic Beginning. The majority of the album was written and performed by Prince, except for the song "Soft and Wet" (Music by Prince; Lyrics by Prince and C. Moon). Tommy Vicari was the Executive Producer in For You. Starting with For You, one can read in all of PrinceÕs albums the now ubiquitous legend: Produced, Arranged, Composed and Performed by Prince. Prince spent twice his initial advance recording the first album, which sold modestly, making the bottom reaches of the Billboard 200, while the single ÒSoft and WetÓ performed well on the R&B charts. In the album For You, Prince used PrinceÕs Music Co. for publishing his songs. By 1979, Prince had recruited his first backing band with Cymone on bass, Gayle Chapman and Doctor Fink on keyboards, Bobby Z on drums and Dez Dickerson on guitar. Prince intentionally enlisted a multi-racial, mixed-gender group, much like the backing band of one of PrinceÕs most salient influences, Sly Stone. He recorded his second, self-titled album still mostly on his own, which made the Billboard 200 and contained two R&B hits in ÒWhy You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?Ó and ÒI Wanna Be Your Lover.Ó These two R&B hits were performed on January 26, 1980 on the TV show American Bandstand with his first backing band. Legend has it that Prince became annoyed when, during the interview segment, Dick Clark expressed surprise that Prince & his bandmates hailed from Minneapolis "of all places". For the rest of the interview, Prince refused to speak, instead answering questions by gesturing with his face & hands. For his second album, Prince used Ecnirp Music - BMI for publishing his songs, which he would also use for the album Dirty Mind. Prince often attracted attention for the clothes he wore onstage. He wore high-heeled shoes and boots, and when questioned by the press, he remarked he liked the way he looked in them. He also was known to strongly flaunt and express his sexuality while on stage and in his music, which had people questioning his sexual orientation early on. This brought him some trouble as an opening act for The Rolling StonesÕ two Los Angeles Coliseum shows in 1981, where he was infamously pelted with garbage whilst wearing bikini briefs, leg warmers, high-heeled boots and a trench coat and subsequently booed off the stage. In 1980, Prince released Dirty Mind, a solo effort released using the original demos. On stage, Lisa Coleman replaced Chapman in the band, who felt the sexually explicit lyrics and stage antics of PrinceÕs concerts conflicted with her religious beliefs. Dirty Mind was particularly notable for its sexually explicit material. Prince opened for Rick James in a 1980 tour with the label "punk funk" being applied to both artists, although it reportedly didnÕt sit comfortably with Prince. He recorded the album Controversy, released in 1981, with the single of the same name making international charts for the first time. In February of 1981, Prince performed ÒPartyupÓ on the now-infamous season six episode of Saturday Night Live hosted by Charlene Tilton that brought Jean Doumanian's lackluster tenure as executive producer down when cast member Charles Rocket uttered the word, "fuck" at the end of the program. Starting with the album Controversy, Prince used Controversy Music[5] - ASCAP for publishing his songs, which he would use for his following sixteen records until Emancipation came out in 1996. In 1981 Prince formed a side project band called The Time. Prince was able to do this due to a clause in his contract with Warner Bros. The Time created four albums between 1981 and 1990 where Prince wrote and performed all instruments and backing vocals throughout. The band's vocals were led by Morris Day. In the coming decade, Prince would also collaborate with Vanity (of Vanity 6), Apollonia (of Apollonia 6) and Sheila E. He also composed material, using former band-mates as another outlet for his prolific output. He also wrote hits for artists such as Sheena Easton, Celine Dion (As she talked about in an interview with Arsenio Hall in 1993) and The Bangles and his songs would be covered in hit versions by artists as diverse as Chaka Khan, Mariah Carey, Tom Jones with Art of Noise, and SinŽad O'Connor. OÕConnorÕs cover of a song Prince initially wrote for The Family, ÒNothing Compares 2 U,Ó was a huge commercial success in 1990. Prince was backed in the '80s by The Revolution, and in the '90s by the New Power Generation. He also worked on different occasions with famous jazz and funk musicians, such as Miles Davis, Larry Graham, George Clinton, and Maceo Parker. Miles Davis was a huge fan, proclaiming Prince to be "the most exciting artist of his time", and saying that "he could be another Duke Ellington". The two were planning to collaborate on an album prior to Davis's death. Throughout his career, Prince has also recorded with Ani DiFranco, Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, Kate Bush, Rosie Gaines, Carmen Electra, No Doubt, Chuck D, Angie Stone, Stevie Wonder, Chaka Khan, and Sheryl Crow. In 1982 Prince released the 1999 double-album which proved to be a breakthrough album both in the U.S. and internationally, selling over three million copies. The title track was a protest about nuclear proliferation and became his first top ten hit internationally. With ÒLittle Red CorvetteÓ he joined Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie as part of the first wave of black artists on MTV and ÒDeliriousÓ also went top ten on the Billboard Hot 100. The album was placed at number six in The Village VoiceÕs annual Pazz & Jop critics poll. Stevie Nicks related a story in a television interview that she had come up with her 1983 song ÒStand BackÓ after being inspired by the synthesizer part in ÒLittle Red Corvette.Ó When it was time to record the song, it happened that Prince was in Los Angeles near her recording studio. She called his people and soon afterwards Prince came by the studio, sat down at the synthesizer, and played the song-opening riff. In the early 80's Prince brought to life the idea of B-Sides (songs that were not previously released on the b-side of a single). Some greats and fan favorites include "How Come You Don't Call Me Anymore"; b-side for "1999":, "17 Days"; b-side for "When Doves Cry". To show how great and popular his B-Sides became, the above two were redone by Alicia Keys and Living Colour. Prince had many more B-Sides, not all of which appeared on his 3-Disc set, Hits 1 and 2 and B-Sides. Purple Rain (in conjunction with the film of the same name) sold more than thirteen million copies in the U.S. and spent twenty-four consecutive weeks at the top of the Billboard 200. The film grossed more than $80 million in the United States alone, and would prove to be PrinceÕs biggest cinematic success. Two songs from Purple Rain, ÒWhen Doves CryÓ and ÒLet's Go CrazyÓ would both top the U.S. singles charts and were hits around the world, while the title track would go to number two on the Billboard Hot 100. Simultaneously, Prince held the spot of number one film, number one single, and number one album in the U.S. Prince won the Academy Award for Best Original Song Score for "Purple Rain", and the album ranks in the top 100 of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list,[6] released in late 2003; the album is also listed in The All-TIME 100 Albums of TIME Magazine. When Tipper Gore overheard her twelve-year-old daughter, Karenna, playing ÒDarling Nikki,Ó she founded the Parents Music Resource Center, which has spurred the use of Òexplicit lyricÓ stickers and imprints on album covers. In 1985, after the U.S. Purple Rain Tour, which was a smash hit in the U.S. and Canada, Prince announced he was giving up live performances and making videos on the release of Around the World in a Day, which went to the top of the U.S. album charts for three weeks. PrinceÕs ban on videos ended as the album stalled in the charts with a video for ÒRaspberry BeretÓ which reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100. In 1986, Prince released the album Parade. The album went to number three on the Billboard 200 album chart and number two on the R&B album charts. The first single, ÒKiss,Ó would top the Billboard Hot 100. At the same time, ÒManic MondayÓ by The Bangles reached number two on the Hot 100, which Prince had written under the pseudonym ÒChristopher.Ó Parade served as a soundtrack to Prince's second film, a romantic comedy, Under The Cherry Moon in which Prince starred and directed. Following the film and album, Prince returned to touring with a stripped-down show. After a few isolated dates (dubbed "the Hit and Run Tour") in the United States, he embarked on his first full scale European Tour in the summer of 1986. He ended the tour with his first live performances in Japan in September of that year. Sign Ò?Ó the Times, released in 1987 as a double album, reached the top 10 of the Billboard 200 and achieved the greatest critical acclaim of his career, topping the annual and highly reputable Pazz & Jop critics poll, reaching the top 100 of Rolling Stone's list[6] and The All-TIME 100 Albums of TIME Magazine, which declared it was the best album of the 1980s. Following the album, Prince launched the Sign Ò?Ó the Times Tour in Europe. At the end of the last tour Prince disbanded his long-time performance band, known since the release of the movie and album Purple Rain as The Revolution (although 'The Revolution' is mentioned on the album "1999"), and parted ways with Wendy Melvoin, Lisa Coleman, Bobby "Z" Rivkin, and Mark Brown (Brown Mark). His follow-up live performance band retained Matt Fink on keyboards, and added Boni Boyer on keyboards, Sheila E on drums, Levi Seacer, Jr. on bass, and Miko Weaver on guitar. 1987 saw the potential for two of popÕs biggest stars coming together to perform a duet. Michael Jackson talked with Prince about performing a duet together for the title track of his new album Bad. However, Jackson and Prince ended up having creative differences, and Jackson ended up cutting the title track for the album on his own. Also in 1987, Prince planned to release The Black Album, a funk-oriented album whose erotically-charged lyrics and club-focused beats were perceived by many as his attempt to woo back the black audience he was supposed to have lost with his mid-80s forays into rock, pop and psychedelia. In reality, it was a collection of random tracks recorded during the previous few years, some of which had initially been created for Sheila E's birthday party in 1986. The album's release was suddenly cancelled at Prince's behest mere days before its intended release. While many manufactured copies were meant to be destroyed, several escaped and became the source for numerous bootleg editions. The album circulated through the bootleg underground music world until it was finally given an official release in 1994. Prince later attributed his eleventh-hour request that the album be pulled from release to a spiritual epiphany, but rumors still abound that this epiphany was in fact the product of a bad experience with the drug Ecstasy. The 1988 album Lovesexy was PrinceÕs spiritual answer to the dark message of The Black Album. Lovesexy was a disappointment in its chart performance, only reaching number eleven on the Billboard 200, but reaching number one in the UK. (One track from The Black Album, "When 2 R in Love," also appeared on Lovesexy.) The Lovesexy World Tour's portion in the U.S. also proved to be commercial disappointment. Prince lost money as dates failed to sell out. Prince recouped his losses with the European and Japanese legs of the tour. In 1989, Prince would record the soundtrack for Batman, which would return him to the top of the U.S. album charts at number one, with the single and worldwide hit ÒBatdanceÓ reaching number one of the Billboard Hot 100, while another track, "Partyman" which featured the vocals of his then girlfriend "Anna Garcia" would be the most remembered song from the film. Prince next released the film sequel to Purple Rain, titled Graffiti Bridge, which performed poorly at the box office. The soundtrack to "Graffiti Bridge" featured Prince and other artists such as Tevin Campbell, Mavis Staples of the Staple Singers, and Morris Day and The Time. It would reach a chart peak of number six in the U.S. and number one in the UK. He also collaborated with Madonna on her Like a Prayer album for the song entitled "Love Song". The Diamonds and Pearls album in 1991 gave Prince his fifth U.S. number one single with the song ÒCreamÓ. Diamonds and Pearls also marked the debut of Prince's new band, the New Power Generation featuring rapper Tony M, Rosie Gaines on vocals, Michael Bland on drums, Levi Seacer on guitar, Sonny T on bass, and Tommy Barbarella on keyboards. After thanking Kate Bush in the credits of his Diamonds and Pearls album, Prince worked on BushÕs 1993 album, The Red Shoes. Collaborating chiefly on the song ÒWhy Should I Love You,Ó Prince added bass, guitar, keyboards, his vocals and other arrangements to the mix. This would be the final ÒPrinceÓ credit, until 2000. Kate Bush reciprocated in 1996 and is featured on background vocals on the Emancipation track, ÒMy Computer.Ó PrinceÕs twelfth album was titled Ò,Ó dubbed by some as The Love Symbol Album. It reached the top ten of the U.S. album charts. In 1993, he would change his name to . The symbol is said to be a melding of the symbols for male (�‰) and female (�Š). Because was unpronounceable, he was often referred to as ÒThe Artist Formerly Known as Prince,Ó or simply ÒThe Artist.Ó Some called him "TAFKaP." In 1993, at the request of Warner Bros., Prince released a 3-CD greatest hits compilation entitled The Hits/The B-Sides. The first two discs were also sold separately as The Hits 1 and The Hits 2. In addition to featuring the majority of Prince's hit singles (with the exception of ÒBatdance,Ó which was omitted), The Hits includes an array of previously hard-to-find recordings, notably B-sides spanning the majority of PrinceÕs career, as well as a handful of previously unreleased tracks, such as the Revolution-recorded ÒPower Fantastic.Ó A new song, ÒPeach,Ó was chosen as a promotional single to accompany the album. Unfortunately, neither the album nor single performed as well on the charts as Prince and Warner Bros. would have hoped. To this day, however, The Hits remains the closest thing to a definitive overview of Prince's musical output from 1978 to 1993. In 1993, during negotiations regarding the release of Prince's album The Gold Experience, a battle between Warner Bros. and Prince ensued, struggling over the artistic and financial control of PrinceÕs output. During that time, Prince only appeared in public with the word ÒSLAVEÓ written on his cheek. Prince explained his name change as follows: The first step I have taken towards the ultimate goal of emancipation from the chains that bind me to Warner Bros. was to change my name from Prince to . Prince is the name that my Mother gave me at birth. Warner Bros. took the name, trademarked it, and used it as the main marketing tool to promote all of the music that I wrote. The company owns the name Prince and all related music marketed under Prince. I became merely a pawn used to produce more money for Warner Bros.É I was born Prince and did not want to adopt another conventional name. The only acceptable replacement for my name, and my identity, was , a symbol with no pronunciation, that is a representation of me and what my music is about. This symbol is present in my work over the years; it is a concept that has evolved from my frustration; it is who I am. It is my name. PrinceÕs strategy behind the name change seems to have been to reinvent himself, going back to a smaller audience to redevelop his style. One commentator noted: Prince started his career as a big R&B star with limited mainstream success. At that point, he left the middle of the road and headed for the ditch. In 1980, it was risky to record new wave songs with lusty lyrics that assured no radio airplay (the classic Dirty Mind), but it paid off. Critics took notice and he became an underground favorite. This paved the way for his huge success with 1999 and Purple Rain. Certainly that was the pinnacle of his career, as far as worldwide earnings and universal adulation are concerned. But by heading for the ditch again, by changing his name and experimenting with his style, by lowering his stock value and escaping his record contract, Prince has become an underground artist again. In late 1996, the first collection of Prince music since his break with Warner Bros. appeared in record stores, a sprawling three-hour extravaganza integrating great dance grooves and slow-burning ballads. Critical response has been overwhelmingly positive, and sales have been brisk despite the high price of a 3-CD set. It's no coincidence that he titled this album Emancipation. In 1994, Prince's attitude towards his artistic output underwent a notable shift. He began to view releasing albums in quick succession as a means of ejecting himself from his contractual obligations to Warner Bros. The label, he believed, was intent on limiting his artistic freedom by insisting he release albums on a more sporadic basis. He also blamed it for the poor commercial performance of his latest work (namely the album), claiming it had failed to market the album effectively. Out of this state of affairs a proposal came about to subject the aborted Black Album to an official release, approximately seven years after its initial creation. This new release, which was already in wide circulation as bootlegs, also sold relatively poorly. Following that disappointing venture, Warner Bros. succumbed to Prince's wishes to release an album of new material, to be entitled Come. The label had refused to grant the album a release in the past, believing the music on it to be dreadfully mediocre and lacking a potential hit single. When Come was eventually released, it confirmed all of Warner's worst fears. It became Prince's poorest-selling album to date, struggling to even shift 500,000 copies. Even more frustrating was the fact that Prince insisted on crediting the album to "Prince 1958Ð1993". Prince pushed to have his next album The Gold Experience released simultaneously as ÒÓ material. As a test case, Warner Bros. allowed the single "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" to be released via a small, independent distributor, Bellmark Records, in February 1994. The release was successful, reaching #3 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and #1 in many other countries, but this was not to be a forerunner of what was to come. Warner Bros. still resisted releasing The Gold Experience, fearing poor sales and citing "market saturation" as a defense. When eventually released in September 1995, The Gold Experience failed to sell well, although it reached the top 10 of the Billboard 200 initially, and many reviewed it as Prince's best effort since Sign Ò?Ó the Times. The album is now out-of-print. The Chaos And Disorder album of 1996 was his final album of new material for Warner Bros., and was one of his least successful. Many people like the funky sounds on the album though but it never sold too well. Prince attempted a major comeback later that year, when, free of any further contractual obligations to Warner Bros., he released Emancipation. The album was released via his own NPG Records with distribution through EMI. To publish his songs in Emancipation, Prince for the first time did not use Controversy Music - ASCAP, which he had used in all his records since 1981, rather he used Emancipated Music Inc.- ASCAP. While certified platinum by the RIAA, some critics felt that the sprawling 36-song, 3-CD set (each disk was exactly 60 minutes long) lacked focus. Emancipation would be Prince's first album in which he would include covers of songs of other artists; for example, CD number three includes Joan Osborne's Top 10 hit song of 1995 "One of Us". The other covers on the album are "Betcha By Golly Wow!" (written by Thomas Randolf Bell and Linda Creed) "I Can't Make You Love Me" (written by James Allen Shamblin II and Michael Barry Reid) and "La-La Means I Love You" (written by Thomas Randolf Bell and William Hart). Prince released Crystal Ball, a 4-CD collection of unreleased material, in 1998. The distribution of this album was shambolic, with some fans pre-ordering the album on his website up to a year before it was eventually shipped to them, and months after the record had gone on sale in retail stores. The Newpower Soul album released three months later failed to make much of an impression on the charts. In 1999, Prince once again teamed up with a major record label, this time Arista Records, for a new album, Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic. In an attempt to make his new album a success, Prince gave more interviews than he'd ever done in his career yet Rave failed to make much of a commercial impression. A few months earlier, Warner Bros. had also released The Vault: Old Friends 4 Sale, a collection of unreleased material recorded by Prince throughout his career, and his final recording commitment on his contract with Warner Bros. The greatest success he had during the year was with the EP 1999: The New Master, released in time for Prince to collect a small portion of the sales dollars Warner Bros. had been seeing for the album and singles of the original 1999. Both critics and fans panned The New Master, declaring it unimaginative. A pay-per-view concert, Rave Un2 the Year 2000, was held on December 31, 1999 of concerts taped on December 17 and 18 and had appearances by many guest stars such as Lenny Kravitz, George Clinton and The Time. It was released to home video the following year. Also, a remix album, Rave In2 The Joy Fantastic, was released exclusively through Prince's NPG Music Club in April 2000. On May 16, 2000, Prince ceased using the "" moniker and returned to using "Prince" again, after his publishing contract with Warner-Chappell expired. In a press conference stating that he was now free from undesirable relationships associated with the name "Prince", he formally reverted to his original name. Prince still occasionally uses the symbol as a logo and on album artwork and continues to play a -shaped guitar. (While using the name "", he was generally referred to as "The Artist Formerly Known As Prince". After he resumed the name "Prince", he was sporadically referred to as "The Artist Formerly Known As The Artist Formerly Known As Prince".) For several years, after the release of "Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic", Prince primarily released new music through his Internet subscription service, NPGOnlineLtd.com (later NPGMusicClub.com). However, two albums which showcased the substantial influence of jazz music on Prince did surface at record stores for the general public: The Rainbow Children in 2001 and the all-instrumental N.E.W.S in 2003. That later received a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Instrumental Album. Another album of jazz, "Xpectation", was also released, via download to members of the NPGMusicClub, in 2003. In 2002, Prince released his first-ever live album, One Nite Alone... Live!, which features performances from the One Nite Alone tour. The 3-CD box set, which also includes a disc of "aftershow" music entitled It Ain't Over!, failed to make an impact on the charts. During this time, Prince sought to engage more effectively with his fan base via the NPG Music Club, pre-concert sound checks, and at yearly "celebrations" at Paisley Park. Fans were invited into Prince's studios for tours, interviews, discussions and music-listening sessions. Some of these fan discussions were filmed for an unreleased documentary, directed by Kevin Smith. Smith discusses what happened during those days at length in his An Evening with Kevin Smith DVD. Performances were also arranged to showcase Prince himself, as well as related artists and guests (including Alicia Keys, The Time, Erykah Badu, Nikka Costa, George Clinton, Norah Jones and others). On February 8, 2004, Prince appeared at the Grammy Awards with BeyoncŽ Knowles. In a performance that opened the show, Prince and BeyoncŽ performed a medley of classic "Purple Rain", ÒLet's Go CrazyÓ, ÒBaby I'm a StarÓ and BeyoncŽ's ÒCrazy in LoveÓ, to rave reviews. The following month, Prince was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The award was presented to him by Alicia Keys, along with Big Boi and AndrŽ 3000 of OutKast. As well as performing a trio of his own hits during the ceremony, Prince also participated in a tribute to fellow inductee George Harrison in a rendition of the deceased artistÕs ÒWhile My Guitar Gently WeepsÓ, playing a long guitar solo that ended the song. In April 2004, Prince released Musicology through a unique one-album agreement with Columbia Records. This deal was constructed in such a way that ensured Prince himself still garnered the majority of the royalties (as he had been accustomed to through his own independent music service). The album, which rose to the top 5 in the album charts of several countries (including the United States, United Kingdom, Germany and Australia), featured some of the artistÕs most economical and commercially appealing music in years. That same year, Pollstar named Prince the top concert draw among musicians in America. Grossing an estimated $87.4 million, PrinceÕs Musicology Tour was the most profitable tour in the industry during 2004. The artist played an impressive run of 96 concerts, the average ticket price for each being $61. On the Musicology tour in Dallas, Texas, Prince was surprised by a female audience member jumping out of her front row seat, getting onto the stage while he was singing, and kissing him. The woman had to be escorted out by security. Further highlighting the success of the album, PrinceÕs Musicology went on to receive two Grammy wins, for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for ÒCall My NameÓ and Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance for the title track. It was also nominated for Best R&B Song, Best R&B Album, and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for "Cinnamon Girl." The album became the artistÕs most commercially lucrative since Diamonds and Pearls, partly due to a radical scheme devised on his part which enabled copies of the album presented to those who purchased tickets on the Musicology tour to be included in the albumÕs overall sales as compiled by Billboard. In 2004, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked Prince #28 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. In December 2004, Rolling Stone's readers named the best male performer and most welcome comeback even though he says he never went anywhere. During that same month, Prince was named number five on the Top Pop Artists of the Past 25 Years chart. In April 2005, Prince played guitar (along with En Vogue singing backing vocals) on Stevie WonderÕs first new single in six years, ÒSo What The Fuss.Ó In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the city of New Orleans on August 29, 2005, Prince offered a personal response by recording two new songs, ÒS.S.T.Ó and the instrumental ÒBrand New Orleans,Ó at Paisley Park Studios in the early hours of September 2. The artist, in a typical moment of inspiration, played all instrumental and vocal parts without collaboration. These recordings were quickly dispersed to the public via PrinceÕs NPG Music Club, and ÒS.S.T.Ó was later picked up by iTunes, where it reached number one on the R&B chart. On October 25, Sony Records released a version of the single on CD. In late 2005 Prince struck a deal with Universal Records to release his next album, 3121, on March 21, 2006 (3/21). The debut single from the album was the Latin-tinged ÒTe Amo Coraz—n,Ó the video for which was directed by actress Salma Hayek. The piece was filmed in Marrakesh, and showed Prince accompanied on-screen by M’a Maestro. The song was covered by Viktoria Tolstoy on her new album Pictures of Me, along with another Prince cover, "Strollin'". The video for the second single, ÒBlack SweatÓ, was nominated in the MTV VMAs for Best Cinematography. Prince achieved his first career number-one debut on the Billboard 200 with the album. To promote the new album, Prince was the musical guest on Saturday Night Live on February 4, 2006, sixteen and a half years after his last SNL appearance. He performed two songs from the album, ÒFuryÓ and ÒBeautiful, Loved & Blessed,Ó with T‡mar. Prince also held a contest to win a trip to see a 'Purple Ticket Concert' at his private residence in Hollywood, California. Seven winning tickets were placed inside 3121 CD packages in the US, and other tickets were given away in various contests on the Internet and around the world. On May 6, 2006, Twenty-four prize winners with one guest each attended a star-studded private party and performance at Prince's home. The "Purple Ticket Concert" marked the end of a long run of private performances for the Hollywood elite that began in 2005. Much to the dismay of his fans (and only weeks after winning a Webby Award), Prince abruptly shut down his official NPGMC website at 12:00 AM on July 4, 2006. It had been in existence for over five years. The NPGMC sent out an email, claiming that "in its current 4m there is a feeling that the NPGMC gone as far as it can go. In a world without limitations and infinite possibilities, has the time come 2 once again make a leap of faith and begin anew? These rÊ?s we in the NPG need 2 answer. In doing so, we have decided 2 put the club on hiatus until further notice." Incidentally, the club was shut down on the same day that an opposition to the NPG trademark was filed against it by the British company HM Publishing (owners of the Nature Publishing Group, also NPG). Despite these events occurring on the same day, Prince's attorney reports that it was purely coincidental and that the site did not close due to the trademark dispute. Prince appeared at multiple award ceremonies in 2006. On February 15, 2006, Prince performed at the BRIT Awards alongside Wendy and Lisa and Sheila E. He played ÒTe Amo Coraz—nÓ and ÒFuryÓ from 3121 and ÒPurple RainÓ and ÒLet's Go CrazyÓ from Purple Rain, in a performance which was generally regarded as the best of the night. Later, on June 12, 2006, Prince was honored with a Webby Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his "visionary" use of the Internet that included becoming the first major artist to release an entire album Ñ 1997's Crystal Ball Ñ exclusively on the Web. Orders for Crystal Ball had been placed on Prince's then-website, 1800newfunk.com, but the album was also released shortly afterwards to traditional brick-and-mortar retailers. However, many customers did not receive their orders placed online until long after the album was available in retail stores. On June 27, 2006, Prince appeared at the BET awards. He was awarded Best Male R&B artist. In addition to receiving this award, Prince performed a medley of Chaka Kahn songs in honor of the BET Lifetime award. Prince has previously written and performed several songs with the singer. On November 14, 2006, Prince was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame, appearing to collect his award but not performing. Also in November 2006, Prince opened a nightclub named 3121 in Las Vegas at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino. He performed weekly, on Friday and Saturday nights, through April 2007. On August 22, 2006, the album Ultimate was released. The double disc set consists of one CD of hits, while the second disc contains extended versions and mixes that, for the most part, were previously unavailable on CD. Prince wrote and performed a song for the hit 2006 animated film Happy Feet. The song, entitled "Song of the Heart," appears on the film's soundtrack, which also features a rendition of Prince's classic song "Kiss," sung by Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman. In January 2007, "Song of the Heart" won the Golden Globe for Best Original Song. Prince arrived late because of traffic and thus was unable to make an acceptance speech, though Hugh Grant asked him later in the awards to take a bow. On February 2, 2007 Prince played at the Super Bowl XLI press conference. He and the band played a set of Chuck Berry's hit: Johnny B. Goode", "Anotherloverholenyohead" from Parade and "Get On the Boat" from 3121. Prince performed at the Super Bowl XLI halftime show in Miami, Florida on February 4, 2007. The performance consisted of three Purple Rain tracks ("Let's Go Crazy", "Baby, I'm a Star" and the title track), along with cover versions of "All Along the Watchtower","Best of You" and "Proud Mary". Coincidentally, Miami had rain on the day of the Super Bowl, which was lit purple during the performance of "Purple Rain". He played on a large stage shaped as his famous symbol. The event was carried to 140 million television viewers, the largest audience of his life. It also holds the record of the most watched TV performance of the 21st century in the U.S.A. On May 8, 2007, it was announced that Prince is to play 21 concerts in London over the summer. The "Earth Tour" will include 21 nights at the 20,000 capacity O2 Arena. Tickets for the O2 arena were priced at £31.21 (including a free copy of PrinceÕs latest album), in order to make the concerts "affordable for everybody". The residency at the O2 arena was increased to 15 nights after all 140,000 tickets for the original seven sold out in just 20 minutes and then further extended to 21 nights. On May 10, 2007 Prince performed a 'secret' gig at London's Koko in front of a small crowd (between) fans and celebrities. Tickets went on sale that morning on a first-come-first-served basis (again at £31.21). A prelude to the forthcoming summer gigs in London, Prince played a relaxed set of classic hits ("Kiss", changing the lyric from 'You don't have to watch Dynasty to Desperate Housewives; "Girls & Boys"; and "Nothing Compares 2 U") alongside more recent tracks, plus a well-received cover version of Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy". There was controversy as one of the fans brought up on stage by Prince to dance later kissed him only to be ejected by one of his bouncers. Although it appeared it may have been an overreaction as Prince seemed to take the kiss in good humour. On 5 June, 2007, Prince made an appearance at the 2007 ALMA Awards, performing with Sheila E. On June 28, 2007, the UK national newspaper The Mail on Sunday revealed that it had made a deal to give Prince's new album, Planet Earth, away for free with an "imminent" edition of the paper, making it the first place in the world to get the album. The date chosen was July 15, 2007. This move has sparked controversy among music distributors and has also led the UK arm of Prince's distributor, Sony BMG, to withdraw from distributing the album in UK stores. The UK's largest high street music retailer, HMV decided to stock the paper on release day due to the giveaway. On July 7, 2007 Prince played three concerts in his hometown of Minneapolis. Beginning at the Macy's Downtown store, he delighted a small group of fans and VIP's with a set on the 8th floor auditorium featuring his band with special guest Shiela E. This concert coincided with the launch of his new perfume, 3121. Prince delighted the gathering with "3121," "Girls & Boys," "A Love Bizarre," and "Guitar." Sheila E. sang "The Glamorous Life" with him and Shelby kicked out her rendition of "Crazy." Prince then performed a concert at the Target Center in downtown Minneapolis and ended his night with an aftershow at the famous First Avenue (where Purple Rain was filmed). On July 16, 2007 Prince was the surprise guest of Montreux Jazz Festival. On August 3, 2007, Prince was in Prague shooting a video for the song "Somewhere Here on Earth". The video has yet to air. In the 1980s and early 1990s Prince was romantically linked to many celebrities, including Vanity, Madonna, Sheila E, Anna Fantastic, Carmen Electra, Kirstie Alley, Whitney Houston, Apollonia Kotero, Kim Basinger, Sheena Easton, Troy Beyer, Susanna Hoffs, and Nona Gaye. He married his backup singer and dancer, Mayte Garcia on Valentine's Day, 1996. They had one son, Gregory, who was born with Pfeiffer syndrome and died shortly after birth. They were divorced in 2000. In 1997, Prince approached one of his childhood idols, funk bassist Larry Graham, with questions about his Jehovah's Witness faith. In a later interview, Graham told that Prince was in need of Biblical answers and advice, and Graham was glad to answer. Apparently, Prince became very interested in the religion, and soon started censoring some of his more "dirty" song lyrics in concerts, as well as editing various religious pieces in his songs which he now found to be Biblically-inaccurate. In 2001, he was baptized officially into the religion. This was marked by the release of his album The Rainbow Children, which relied heavily on Jehovah's Witness themes. He married Manuela Testolini in 2001 in a private Kingdom Hall ceremony but she filed for divorce in May 2006.

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