Prince

The Purple Rain album was released on June 25, 1984, by Warner Bros. Records, serving as the soundtrack to the accompanying film. It spent 24 consecutive weeks at number one on the Billboard 200 and won the Academy Award for Best Original Song Score.

Prince changed his name to an unpronounceable love symbol in 1993 as a protest against his Warner Bros. recording contract, which he felt gave him insufficient ownership of his master recordings and controlled his release schedule. During this period he was widely referred to as "The Artist Formerly Known as Prince."

Prince was a virtuoso multi-instrumentalist credited with playing 27 instruments on his 1978 debut album "For You," which he also produced entirely himself. Throughout his career he played piano, guitar, bass, drums, and synthesizers, often performing most or all parts on his studio recordings.

Paisley Park was Prince's recording studio and creative complex located in Chanhassen, Minnesota, a suburb of his hometown of Minneapolis. After his death on April 21, 2016, Paisley Park was opened to the public as a museum and memorial, offering tours of the studios where he recorded many of his albums.