Prince, Dead At 57, Was Found Unresponsive In Paisley Park Elevator
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO/AP) -- Prince passed away Thursday morning at his Paisley Park recording studio. He was 57.
Prince's publicist, Yvette Noel-Schure, confirmed the pop music superstar's death early Thursday afternoon.
"It is with profound sadness that I am confirming that the legendary, iconic performer, Prince Rogers Nelson, has died at his Paisley Park residence this morning at the age of 57," Noel-Schure said. "There are no further details as to the cause of death at this time."
Carver County Sheriff Chief Deputy Jason Kamerud says deputies responded to Paisley Park at 9:43 a.m. on the report of a medical situation.
When deputies and medical personnel arrived, they found Prince unresponsive in the elevator. Responders attempted to provide lifesaving CPR, but were unable to revive him.
He was pronounced dead at 10:07 a.m.
Prince's body has been received by the Midwest Medical Examiner's Office in Ramsey on behalf of Carver County. The autopsy was scheduled to be performed on Friday.
Last Friday, Prince was briefly hospitalized. Prince's representatives say he had been recovering from the flu, which caused him to cancel two shows earlier in April.
Gallery: A Look At Prince, The Pop Superstar
There was an event at Paisley Park on Saturday. According to reports, Prince appeared and showed off a new guitar, but did not perform.
Prince was also at a Dakota Jazz Club show Tuesday night to watch Lizz Wright perform, according to the venue's owner Lowell Pickett.
The Carver County Sheriff's Office, with the assistance of the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office and The Midwest Medical Examiner's Office, are investigating the circumstances surrounding his death.
Paisley Park is located in Chanhassen, Minnesota.
The singer, songwriter, arranger and instrumentalist broke through in the late 1970s with the hits "Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?" and "I Wanna Be Your Lover," and soared over the following decade with such albums as "1999" and "Purple Rain." The title song from "1999" includes one of the most widely quoted refrains of popular culture: "Tonight I'm gonna party like it's 1999."
The Minneapolis native, born Prince Rogers Nelson, stood just 5 feet, 2 inches tall, and seemed to summon the most original and compelling sounds at will, whether playing guitar in a flamboyant style that openly drew upon Jimi Hendrix, switching his vocals from a nasally scream to an erotic falsetto or turning out album after album of stunningly original material. Among his other notable releases: "Sign O' the Times," ''Graffiti Bridge" and "The Black Album."
He was also fiercely protective of his independence, battling his record company over control of his material and even his name. Prince once wrote "slave" on his face in protest of not owning his work and famously battled and then departed his label, Warner Bros., before returning a few years ago.
"What's happening now is the position that I've always wanted to be in," Prince told the AP in 2014. "I was just trying to get here."
The same year, Prince was inducted into the Rock and Roll of Fame, which hailed him as a musical and social trailblazer.
"He rewrote the rulebook, forging a synthesis of black funk and white rock that served as a blueprint for cutting-edge music in the Eighties," reads the Hall's dedication. "Prince made dance music that rocked and rock music that had a bristling, funky backbone. From the beginning, Prince and his music were androgynous, sly, sexy and provocative."
Rarely lacking in confidence, Price effortlessly absorbed the music of others and made it sound like Prince, whether the James Brown guitar riff on "Kiss" or the Beatle-esque, psychedelic pop of "Raspberry Beret."
He also proved a source of hits for others, from Sinead O'Connor's "Nothing Compares 2 U" to Cyndi Lauper's "When You Were Mine." He also wrote "Manic Monday" for the Bangles
Prince had been touring and recording right up until his death, releasing four albums in the last 18 months, including two on the Tidal streaming service last year. He performed in Atlanta last week as part of his "Piano and a Microphone" tour, a stripped down show that has featured a mix of his hits like "Purple Rain" or "Little Red Corvette" and some B-sides from his extensive library.
Prince debuted the intimate format at his Paisley Park studios in January, treating fans to a performance that was personal and was both playful and emotional at times.
The musician had seemed to be shedding his reclusive reputation. He hosted several late-night jam sessions where he serenaded Madonna, celebrated the Minnesota Lynx's WNBA championship and showcased his latest protege, singer Judith Hill.
Ever surprising, he announced on stage in New York City last month that he was writing his memoir. "The Beautiful Ones" was expected to be released in the fall of 2017 by publishing house Spiegel & Grau. The publishing house has not yet commented on status of book, but a press release about the memoir says: "Prince will take readers on an unconventional and poetic journey through his life and creative work." It says the book will include stories about Prince's music and "the family that shaped him and the people, places, and ideas that fired his creative imagination."
A small group of fans quickly gathered in the rain Thursday outside his music studio, Paisley Park, where Prince's gold records are on the walls and the purple motorcycle he rode in his 1984 breakout movie, "Purple Rain," is on display. The white building surrounded by a fence is in Chanhassen, about 20 miles southwest of Minneapolis.
Steven Scott, 32, of Eden Prairie, said he was at Paisley Park last Saturday for Prince's dance party. He called Prince "a beautiful person" whose message was that people should love one another.
"He brought people together for the right reasons," Scott said.
MORE HEADLINES
President Obama On Prince: He Was One Of The 'Most Gifted' Musicians
Klobuchar, Franken Pay Tribute to Prince
Best Prince Quotes: 'No One Can Dictate Who You Are'
WCCO Archives: Life Of Prince Before Hall Of Fame Induction
