Prince

Prince was an American singer, songwriter and filmmaker who helped shape the Minneapolis sound. Raised in Minneapolis, he signed with Warner Bros. Records at 18 and released his debut album, For You, two years later. Dirty Mind, Controversy and 1999 brought him critical success, and in 1984 he starred in Purple Rain (1984), the film that made him the first singer to simultaneously hold the top album, single and movie in the United States; its soundtrack brought him an Academy Award. He also appeared in Under the Cherry Moon (1986), Prince: Sign o' the Times (1987) and Graffiti Bridge (1990). In 1993 he adopted an unpronounceable symbol as his stage name, becoming known as the Artist Formerly Known as Prince, and he returned to his original name in 2000. Musicology (2004) won two Grammys, and he entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame that same year.