Prince
1958 – 2016 · United States
Known for: Musical genius who played every instrument himself
“A strong spirit transcends rules.”
Biography
He played 27 instruments on his debut album, all of them himself, and never stopped being the most gifted, unpredictable musician of his generation. Prince fused funk, rock, pop, soul and psychedelia into something entirely his own, wrote hits for half the industry, and turned Purple Rain into an album, a film and a legend at once.
He fought his record label by changing his name to an unpronounceable symbol, mastered the guitar so completely that his Rock Hall solo left legends slack-jawed, and guarded a vault of thousands of unreleased songs. When he died suddenly at 57, the world lit its landmarks purple, the only fitting colour for a one-man revolution.