Singer and songwriter Prince performs onstage during his Purple Rain Tour in 1984. The artist, who pioneered "the Minneapolis sound" and took on the music industry in his fight for creative freedom, died in April 2016 at age 57.
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Prince performs in New York in 1980. Prince won seven Grammy Awards, and earned 30 nominations. Five of his singles topped the charts and 14 other songs hit the Top 10.
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He performs at the Palladium in New York in 1981.
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Prince at the Lyceum in London in 1981.
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Prince and Apollonia Kotero in a scene from the movie "Purple Rain," which was released in 1984.
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Prince, seen here on set, won an Oscar for the original song score for the classic film.
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Prince performs in New York in 1984. Controversy followed the singer and that, in part, made his fans adore him more. His 1984 song, "Darling Nikki," details a one-night stand and prompted the formation of the Parents Music Resource Center. Led by Al Gore's then-wife, Tipper Gore, the group encouraged record companies to place advisory labels on albums with explicit lyrics.
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Prince performs at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit in 1984.
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Prince performs live at the Fabulous Forum in 1985, in Inglewood, California.
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Prince in 1985.
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Prince, circa 1985.
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Prince performs live at the 1985 Fabulous Forum in Inglewood, California. He created what became known as the Minneapolis sound, which was a funky blend of pop, synth and new wave.
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Prince in the United Kingdom in the 1980s.
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Prince, circa 1985.
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Prince in a scene from the 1986 film "Under the Cherry Moon."
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Prince performs in London in 1986.
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Prince performs in London in 1986.
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Prince performs at London's Wembley Arena in 1986.
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Prince in 1987.
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Prince performs at Wembley Arena in London in 1988.
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The singer's predilection for lavishly kinky story-songs earned him the nickname "His Royal Badness." He is also known as the "Purple One" because of his colorful fashions. He is seen here in 1990.
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Prince performs in 1990.
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Prince, 1990.
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Prince performs during "The Nude Tour" in Birmingham, United Kingdom, in 1990.
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Prince listens to the crowd during a 1991 concert.
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Prince performs at the MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles in 1991.
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Prince performs at the Globe Arena in Stockholm in 1993.
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Prince arrives at the Ritz Hotel in Paris in 1994.
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A disguised Prince appears at a Virgin Records in London in 1995.
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As dozens of singers perform "We Are The World" on the 10th anniversary of the African famine relief anthem, the artist formerly known as Prince stands sucking on a lollipop next to Quincy Jones at the American Music Awards in Los Angeles in 1995.
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Prince poses for a photo in Toronto in 1996.
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Muhammad Ali pats Prince's head prior to a news conference where they were to announce plans for a benefit concert in 1997.
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Prince performs in 1998.
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A disguised Prince speaks at GQ magazine's third annual Men of the Year Awards in 1998.
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Prince, circa 1999.
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Prince performs in Hong Kong on October 17, 2003. Prince's concert was the the opening act in a four-week government-sponsored music festival titled "Hong Kong Harbor Fest," aimed at boosting the image of SARS-battered Hong Kong.
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Prince arrives with his then-wife, Manuela Testolini, for the 77th Academy Awards on February 27, 2005, in Los Angeles.
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Prince at the 2005 NAACP Image Awards in Los Angeles.
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Prince performs during a news conference for Super Bowl XLI in 2007.
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He left his imprint on many aspects of popular culture, from film to movies to sports to politics. As the Minnesota Vikings prepped to take on the New Orleans Saints in the 2010 NFC championship game, Prince wrote a fight song entitled "Purple and Gold" to inspire his home team. The Vikings lost. He was the half-time performer at the Super Bowl in 2007 in Miami Gardens, Florida, seen here.
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Prince performs onstage during the 2007 NCLR ALMA Awards.
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Prince performs on the runway at the spring/summer 2008 collection fashion show by Matthew Williamson during London Fashion Week in September 2007.
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Prince performs during his Welcome 2 America tour at Madison Square Garden in 2011 in New York.
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American pop legend Prince is pictured performing on the final night of the Hop Farm Music Festival in Kent, United Kingdom, in 2011.
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Prince performing at the Femoren on August 6, 2011, in Copenhagen, Denmark.
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Prince on stage with singer Mary J. Blige during the 2012 iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas.
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Prince presents the winner for Record of the Year to Gotye and Kimbra during the 55th Grammy Awards in 2013.
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A year later, Prince performs during the 2013 Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas.
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Prince performs at the 2013 Skanderborg Festival in Denmark.
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Prince is seen in the stands during the 2014 French Open in Paris.
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Left to right: Zooey Deschanel, Prince, and Jake Johnson in a scene from the TV show "New Girl" which aired in 2014.
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Prince speaks at the 2015 Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. Additionally, last year, Prince released the song "Baltimore," addressing the unrest after the death of Freddie Gray while in police custody. He performed at a benefit concert in the city and gave a portion of the proceeds to youth groups in Baltimore.
