52 Facts About Prince Rogers

1. Prince Rogers provided the tunes for the reception when the Star Wars creator tied the knot with his wife, Mellody Hobson, back in 2013.

2. Prince Rogers joins Twitter and posts his first selfie: A timeline.

3. Prince Rogers once sought legal action against Adobe Photoshop CS6 to prevent fans doctoring photos of him.

4. Prince Rogers once paid a salon in Washington to close down, black out all the windows, and do his hair.

5. Prince Rogers used to write fan mail to Joni Mitchell, who says she once spotted the singer aged 15 in the front row at one of her concerts.

6. In 2012, Prince Rogers was ordered to pay a perfume company $4 million, after failing to promote one of their fragrances.

7. Prince Rogers wrote more songs than The Beatles, with a back catalogue that expands to over 600 tracks.

8. Prince Rogers says his cause is what helped fuel him to make it a cross.

9. Prince Rogers got an early break as a musician when he was hired to open for the Rolling Stones at a concert in LA in 1981, but it didn't go well.

10. In 2001, Prince Rogers married Manuela Testolini in a private ceremony.

11. Prince Rogers was one of a small handful of musicians to deny "Weird Al" Yankovic permission to parody his music.

12. Prince Rogers wrote "U" for Paula Abdul, appearing on her 1991 release Spellbound.

13. Prince Rogers wore high-heeled shoes and boots both on—and off-stage.

14. Prince Rogers shopped that evening at the Electric Fetus in Minneapolis for Record Store Day and made a brief appearance at an impromptu dance party at his Paisley Park recording studio complex, stating that he was feeling fine.

15. Prince Rogers was seen bicycling the next day in his hometown of Chanhassen.

16. Prince Rogers held a tribute concert for Gray at his Paisley Park estate called "Dance Rally 4 Peace" in which he encouraged fans to wear the color gray in honor of Freddie Gray.

17. In February 2014, Prince Rogers performed concerts with 3rdeyegirl in London titled the Hit and Run Tour.

18. In January 2013, Prince Rogers released a lyric video for a new song called "Screwdriver".

19. Prince Rogers headlined the Hop Farm Festival on July 3, 2011, marking his first UK show since 2007 and his first ever UK festival appearance.

20. Prince Rogers was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame on December 7, 2010.

21. Prince Rogers started the Welcome 2 Tour on December 15, 2010.

22. On July 4, 2010, Prince Rogers began his 20Ten Tour, a concert tour in two legs with shows in Europe.

23. In 2010, Prince Rogers was listed in Time's annual ranking of the "100 Most Influential People in the World".

24. In January 2010, Prince Rogers wrote a new song, "Purple and Gold", inspired by his visit to a Minnesota Vikings football game against the Dallas Cowboys.

25. Prince Rogers gave them a CD with four songs to premiere on their radio station.

26. Prince Rogers cancelled a concert, planned at Dublin's Croke Park on June 16, 2008, at 10 days' notice.

27. Prince Rogers performed weekly on Friday and Saturday nights until April 2007, when his contract with the Rio ended.

28. In November 2006, Prince Rogers was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame; he appeared to collect his award but did not perform.

29. Prince Rogers played 96 concerts; the average ticket price for a show was US$61.

30. On February 8, 2004, Prince Rogers appeared at the 46th Annual Grammy Awards with Beyonce.

31. In 2002, Prince Rogers released his first live album, One Nite Alone.

32. Prince Rogers released Crystal Ball, a five-CD collection of unreleased material, in 1998.

33. Prince Rogers began appearing with the word "slave" written on his face.

34. In 1990, Prince Rogers went back on tour with a revamped band for his back-to-basics Nude Tour.

35. Prince Rogers went back in the studio for eight weeks and recorded Lovesexy.

36. Prince Rogers recruited new band members Miko Weaver on guitar, Atlanta Bliss on trumpet, and Eric Leeds on saxophone.

37. In 1986, Prince Rogers began a series of live performances called the Hit n Run—Parade Tour.

38. In 1985, Prince Rogers announced that he would discontinue live performances and music videos after the release of his next album.

39. In late 1982, Prince Rogers released a double album, 1999, which sold over three million copies.

40. In 1981, Prince Rogers formed a side project band called the Time.

41. Prince Rogers played several dates in support of it, as the first of three opening acts for the Rolling Stones, on their US tour.

42. In February 1981, Prince Rogers made his first appearance on Saturday Night Live, performing "Partyup".

43. Prince Rogers was the opening act for Rick James' 1980 Fire It Up tour.

44. Prince Rogers performed both these songs on January 26, 1980, on American Bandstand.

45. In 1976, Prince Rogers created a demo tape with producer Chris Moon, in Moon's Minneapolis studio.

46. Prince Rogers met Jimmy Jam in 1973 in junior high, and impressed Jimmy with his musical talent, early mastery of a wide range of instruments, and work ethic.

47. Prince Rogers wrote his first song, "Funk Machine", on his father's piano when he was seven.

48. Prince Rogers was not fond of his name and wanted people to instead call him Skipper, a name which stuck throughout his childhood.

49. Prince Rogers was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004.

50. Prince Rogers released 16 albums after that, including the platinum-selling Musicology.

51. Prince Rogers released five records between 1994 and 1996 before signing with Arista Records in 1998.

52. Prince Rogers released three more solo albums before debuting The New Power Generation band in 1991.