Quotes by Prince
Welcome to our collection of quotes (with shareable picture quotes) by Prince. We hope you enjoy pondering them and that you will share them widely.
Wikipedia Summary for Prince
Prince Rogers Nelson (June 7, 1958 – April 21, 2016), known simply as Prince, or , was an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, actor, and director. Regarded as one of the greatest musicians of his generation, he worked across multiple genres and often played most or all instruments on recordings. He was known for his flamboyant and androgynous persona, with a wide vocal range which included a far-reaching falsetto and high-pitched screams.
Prince's music integrated a wide variety of styles, including funk, R&B, Latin, rock, new wave, classical, soul, synth-pop, psychedelia, pop, jazz, and hip hop. He pioneered the Minneapolis sound, a funk rock subgenre that emerged in the late 1970s. He was also known for his prolific output, releasing 39 albums during his life, with a vast array of unreleased projects left in a vault at his home after his death; it is believed that the vault contains dozens of fully produced albums and over 50 music videos that have never been released, along with various other media. He released hundreds of songs both under his own name and multiple pseudonyms during his life, as well as writing songs that were made famous by other musicians, such as "Nothing Compares 2 U" and "Manic Monday". Estimates of the complete number of songs written by Prince range anywhere from 500 to well over 1,000.
Born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Prince signed a recording contract with Warner Bros. Records at the age of 19. Prince went on to achieve critical success with the innovative albums Dirty Mind (1980), Controversy (1981), and 1999 (1982). His sixth album, Purple Rain (1984), was recorded with his backup band the Revolution, and was the soundtrack to his film acting debut of the same name. Purple Rain spent six consecutive months atop the Billboard 200. Prince won the Academy Award for Best Original Song Score.
After disbanding the Revolution, Prince went on to achieve continued critical success with Sign o' the Times (1987). In the midst of a contractual dispute with Warner Bros. in 1993, he changed his stage name to the unpronounceable symbol (known to fans as the "Love Symbol"), and was sometimes referred to as The Artist Formerly Known as Prince or TAFKAP, or simply the Artist.
He signed with Arista Records in 1998 and began referring to himself by his own name again in 2000. After returning to mainstream prominence following a performance at the Grammy Awards ceremony in 2004, he scored six US top ten albums over the following decade.
In mid-life, Prince reportedly experienced considerable pain from injuries to his body (mainly hips) sustained through his dynamic stage performances (which included leaping off speaker stacks in high heels), and was sometimes seen using a cane.
In April 2016, at the age of 57, Prince died of an accidental fentanyl overdose at his Paisley Park home and recording studio in Chanhassen, Minnesota. Prince sold over 150 million records worldwide, ranking him among the best-selling music artists of all time. His awards included the Grammy President's Merit Award, the American Music Awards for Achievement and of Merit, the Billboard Icon Award, an Academy Award, and a Golden Globe Award. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2006, and the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame in 2016.
Success can also cause misery. The trick is not to be surprised when you discover it doesn't bring you all the happiness and answers you thought it would.
I'm going down 2 Alphabet Street I'm gonna crown the first girl that I meet I'm gonna talk so sexy She'll want me from my head 2 my feet.
Peace will come when it becomes irrelevant to strike out at people. When you see that it's striking out against your own genome.
I always wanted to make a three-record set. 'Sign o' the Times' was originally supposed to be a triple album, but it ended up as a double.
It gets embarrassing to say something untrue because you put it online and everyone knows about it, so it's better to tell the truth.
I knew a girl named Nikki
I guess u could say she was a sex fiend
I met her in a hotel lobby
Masturbating with a magazine
She said how'd u like 2 waste some time?
And I could not resist when I saw little Nikki grind.
Don't know what 2 say about Dunk-a-roos. They're just good! Sometimes you want a food that is comfortable and takes you back. For me, it's those crazy little kangaroo crackers.
There is something that happens when you get emancipated. You approach life differently. You eat differently. You respect yourself more. You respect the gift you have been given.
Oh yeah In France a skinny man Died of a big disease with a little name By chance his girlfriend came across a needle And soon she did the same At home there are seventeen-year-old boys And their idea of fun Is being in a gang called The Disciples High on crack, totin' a machine gun.
I've grown up, everyone's got to grow up. But there's something inside me, I'm always going to have that little sort of, how do you say, child streak.
Everything has changed for me since I've changed my name. It's one thing to be called Prince but it's better to actually be one. I have such a reverence for life.
Real music lovers are actually my favourite kind of people because they like to know, rather than just be told what to think.
There is a park that is known 4 the face it attracts colorful people whose hair On 1 side is swept back The smile on their faces It speaks of profound inner peace Ask where they're going They'll tell U nowhere They've taken a lifetime lease On Paisley Park.
I try not to repeat myself. It's the hardest thing in the world to do -- there are only so many notes one human being can master. .
Michael Jackson's album was only called Bad because there wasn't enough room on the sleeve for Pathetic.
Doubts of our conviction
Follow where we go
And when the world's compassion
Ceases, still I know
For your every touch, I
Thank you so much
For your every kiss, I
I wish you love
I wish you heaven
I wish you heaven.
Cool means being able to hang with yourself. All you have to ask yourself is 'Is there anybody I'm afraid of? Is there anybody who if I walked into a room and saw, I'd get nervous?' If not, then you're cool.
Capulet! Montague!
See what a scourge is laid upon your hate,
That heaven finds means to kill your joys with love!
It's been so lonely without you here.
Like a bird, without a song.
Nothing can stop these lonely tears from falling.
So tell me baby, where did I go wrong?
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.' Now, I don't remember saying it; that's just what she told me.
I do pay performance royalties on others' songs I perform live, but I'm not recording these songs and putting them up for sale.
From its conception and that one and only meeting, 'HITNRUN' took about 90 days to prepare its release. If that's what freedom feels like, 'HITNRUN' is what it sounds like.
Hip-hop is very diverse, but if you only focus on one aspect of it, then what you get is this image of Black America that is completely contrary to what actually goes on.
When you don't talk down to your audience, then they can grow with you.
Longer Version/[Notes]:
When you don't talk down to your audience, then they can grow with you. I give them a lot of credit to be able to hang with me this long, because I've gone through a lot of changes, but they've allowed me to grow, and thus we can tackle some serious subjects and try to just be better human beings, all of us.
I don't talk to old people; they try to find ways to stay static. Young folks are the ones with the ideas and constantly moving forward.
I don't know who was the one that came up with the notion that you have to play the same songs every concert.
'When Doves Cry' came out -- it sounded like nothing that was on the radio. 'Let's Go Crazy' was number one on RandB stations, and there's nothing that's been like that on radio since.
My father left his piano at the house when he left, and I wasn't allowed to play it when he was there because I wasn't as good as him. So when he left, I was determined to get as good as him, and I taught myself how to play music, and I just stuck with it, and I did it all the time.
People don't understand real musicians anymore. Jack White is great -- he's the real thing -- but he isn't having hits.
Young people have decided they like to listen to music in a certain way, through ear buds, and that's fine with me as long as it doesn't bother them that they're not hearing 90 percent of the music that way.
I used to have seizures when I was young. My mother and father didn't know what to do or how to handle it but they did the best they could with what little they had.
Anyway, all these computers and digital gadgets are no good. They just fill your head with numbers and that can't be good for you.
Every day I feel is a blessing from God. And I consider it a new beginning. Yeah, everything is beautiful.
There's this thing called compulsory licensing law that allows artists through the record companies to take your music at will without your permission.
I learned from Jimi Hendrix. They all wanted him to do the tricks, and at the end of his career, he just wanted to play. I lived longer than he did, and I can see how those pressures can really play with your head.
It's fun being in Islamic countries, to know there's only one religion. There's order. You wear a burqa. There's no choice. People are happy with that.
Sometimes ideas are coming so fast that I have to stop doing one song to get another. But I don't forget the first one. If it works, it will always be there. It's like the truth: it will find you and lift you up. And if it ain't right, it will dissolve like sand on the beach.
So much has been written about me, and people don't know what's right and what's wrong. I'd rather let them stay confused.
