For many years, Prince tickets were among the most sought-after concert tickets in the music world. Prince has been a legend almost since he stormed onto the scene in the early 1980’s, and his longevity and ability to change his style to fit the times and his own development as a musician has been nothing short of amazing. A look at Prince’s life will help to paint a picture of just how this iconic musical figure came to occupy his current status as a legend.
Early Life
Prince Rogers Nelson was born on June 7, 1958 in Minneapolis. His name came from his father’s jazz band, which was called the “Prince Rogers Trio.” He was introduced to music early, but his family life as a child was a bit rocky. Prince’s parents separated and divorced, and Prince did not have a good relationship with his stepfather, ultimately running away from home as an early teen.
Prince moved in with his father for a brief time, and his father bought him his first guitar. However, he soon moved in with a neighborhood friend’s family and began to explore his musical talent and interests in junior high school. He joined his first band, Grand Central, and began to jam mostly with instrumental songs. Grand Central played in local clubs and at parties, and they soon morphed into a new name, Champagne, and started playing more traditional rock and roll music.
Career Beginnings
Through a series of connections, Prince produced a solo demo tape in 1976, and this demo was circulated among record producers. Ultimately, a bidding war ensued, and Prince finally signed a recording contract with Warner Bros., as it was the only label that offered Prince artistic control over his work.
Prince released his first two full-length albums in the late 1970’s, and neither was a commercial success. However, he continued to hone is style and put together is backup band, and his third release, Dirty Mind, got him some attention based on its unique sound and sexually-explicit lyrics. After another mildly successful release, Controversy, which came out in 1981, the stage was set for Prince to become a star.
A Star is Born
In 1982, Prince released 1999, an album that sold millions of copies and contained several successful singles. Prince was suddenly a name that was recognized around the world, and Prince tickets began to sell in a big way for his concerts, as he gained a reputation for his hot-and-bothered live performances. All of this momentum led to his next release, which would ultimately make him an icon.
In 1984, Prince released a soundtrack for a movie in which he starred, Purple Rain. Although the film was widely-panned by critics, it was a commercial success, and the album generated even more revenue, as it sold over 13 million copies. Purple Rain was responsible for the newfound genre of the “Minneapolis sound,” which was a very influential phenomenon.
Career Highlights
Since the release of Purple Rain, Prince has remained busy. He has released 20 subsequent albums of varying styles, reinvented his own persona several times, and captured the intrigue of the world when he demanded that his name needed to be a symbol.
Prince has continued to draw the interest of music fans everywhere with his unquestionable talent and legendary work ethic, as Prince is known as a perfectionist. That attitude continues to bleed into his live performances, and is one of the reasons that Prince tickets are still in high demand.