10 Facts About Prince You May Not Know

Prince performs during the Super Bowl XLI Half-Time Press Conference at the Miami Convention Center on February 1, 2007 in Miami, Florida.
Credit: Evan Agostini

By NAN ET Editor

News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. April 22, 2016: Caribbean nationals and celebrities alike took to social media yesterday afternoon to voice shock, sadness and disbelief at the sudden passing of musical genius Prince, 57, who was found dead at his Paisley Park recording studio and home in Chanhassen, Minnesota, after two weeks of experiencing flu-like symptoms. Here are 10 facts about the ‘Purple Rain’ icon, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and actor you may not know:

1: Prince was his real name. He was actually named Prince Rogers Nelson at birth by his parents. Prince was born and stayed in his home state of Minnesota despite the fortune and fame he achieved but his family ancestry is centered in Louisiana, with all four of his grandparents hailing from that state.

2: Prince admitted he was “born epileptic” and “used to have seizures” when he was young.

3: Despite the sexually charged musical performances and songs Prince delivered, he was actually a very Conservative Christian. He was born Seventh Day Adventist but later became a Jehovah Witness in 2001. His belief was so strong that in an interview with Tavis Smiley he once revealed: “My mother told me one day I walked in to her and said, ‘Mom, I’m not going to be sick anymore,’ and she said, ‘Why?’ and I said, ‘Because an angel told me so’.”

4: Prince attended Jehovah Witness meeting and occasionally knocked on people’s doors to discuss his faith. And when he needed double hip-replacement surgery he would not undergo the operation unless it was a bloodless surgery because Jehovah’s Witnesses do not accept blood transfusions. He also did not approve of same sex marriage.

5: Prince was renowned as a multi-instrumentalist. The precise number of instruments he was capable of playing remains obscure. On his debut album, he was credited with having played 27 instruments. On his first five albums, he played nearly all the instruments.

6: Prince used pseudonyms to separate himself from the music he wrote (either his own or that of others). These pseudonyms included: Jamie Starr and The Starr Company (for the songs he wrote for The Time and many other artists from 1981–1984); Joey Coco (for many unreleased Prince songs in the late 1980s, as well as songs written for Sheena Easton & Kenny Rogers); Paisley Park (occasionally used in the early 1990s for his production credits on songs, including those written for Martika and Kid Creole; Alexander Nevermind (for writing the 1984 song “Sugar Walls” by Sheena Easton and Christopher (used for his song writing credit of “Manic Monday” for the Bangles).

7: In May last year, following the death of Freddie Gray and the subsequent riots, Prince released a song entitled “Baltimore” in tribute to Gray and in support of the protesters in Baltimore. He also held a surprise tribute concert for Gray at his Paisley Park estate called ‘Dance Rally 4 Peace’ in which he reportedly encouraged fans to wear the color gray in honor of Freddie Gray.

8: Prince tweeted for the first time in 2013. On August 14, 2013, Prince officially sent his first tweet through the 3RDEYEGIRL Twitter account.

9: Prince liked playing basketball. He played basketball in high school and continued to play it for recreation as an adult, which later inspired a famous Dave Chappelle sketch.

10: Prince was a vegetarian and at the time of his pass was writing a memoir, tentatively titled The Beautiful Ones.’