Prince

Prince

Music fans and professionals are mourning the loss of revolutionary performer Prince Roger Nelson, better known as Prince.

The artist was found dead in his home near Minneapolis, Minnesota, Thursday. He was 57 years old.

Prince was a highly skilled musician. He played many instruments including guitar, piano and drums. He wrote popular songs that crossed many musical borders. He had a powerful voice with a wide high to low range.

Prince’s music brought together many musical styles including jazz, rhythm & blues¹, rock and roll, funk, and disco. He had his own unmistakable sound.

Prince had music in his blood. His father was a jazz musician and his mother was a singer. He became a performer at a young age. His first album, “For You” came out in 1978. Prince was 19 at the time.

Prince was famous for more than just his music. He wore makeup² and bright, sexy clothing, including pink furs, shiny purple brocade, and high boots. Sometimes he wore very little at all.

Many of the performer’s lyrics³ described or referred to sex. One song, “Darling Nikki,” came under special attack by a powerful critic: Tipper Gore⁴. Tipper Gore was married at the time to then Senator Al Gore.

Tipper Gore helped lead a parents' movement to place parental⁵ advisory⁶ messages on albums that included offensive words or language about sex and drugs. She said that she decided⁷ to act after watching her young daughter listen to “Darling Nikki.”

Another of Prince’s best-known songs is the 1984 single, “Purple Rain.” The album of the same name sold 20 million copies. “Purple Rain” was also made into a movie starring Prince. He won an Academy Award for the movie’s music.

Prince was a seven-time Grammy award winner. He was admitted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004. The Hall of Fame said Prince “rewrote the rule book, forging a synthesis of black funk and white rock that served as a blueprint⁸ for cutting edge music in the 80s.”

Yet, the performer also fought with his record company, Warner Bros., over control of his music. He even temporarily changed his name to a symbol after a contract dispute. For a time, reporters called him “The Artist Formerly⁹ Known as Prince.” He left the record company, but returned several years ago.

Prince sold more than 100 million albums around the world with hit songs such as “Little Red Corvette,” “1999,” and “When Doves Cry.”

He also wrote hit music for other performers including Sinead O’Connor’s “Nothing Compares 2 U,” and The Bangles’ “Manic Monday."

Many celebrities¹⁰ have been remembering Prince on social media sites.  Stevie Wonder praised him for bringing different cultures together in music. Katy Perry tweeted “the world lost a lot of magic.” Madonna called him “a true visionary.”

President Barack Obama also honored the musician. He called the artist “a creative icon¹¹.” He said, “As one of the most gifted and prolific¹² musicians of our time, Prince did it all.”

Doctors will examine Prince’s body to try to learn the cause of death.

Official say police found the musician in his home after they received an emergency call. They tried to rescue him but he died.

Prince was hospitalized last week. His private airplane made an emergency landing in Illinois after concerts in Georgia. Some reports said he was suffering from the flu.

Words in This Story

range – n. from highest to lowest, including all parts of a set

in his blood – idiom meaning a person was born with an ability

forge – v. to create with great effort

synthesis – n. bringing two or more things, often ideas, together to create something new

blueprint – n. the plans for building something

cutting edge – n. the newest, most modern part of some activity or movement

symbol – n. an object that represents an idea, movement or group

icon – n. someone who is the object of devoted¹³ attention

prolific – adj. producing a large amount of something

1 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。

2 makeup   

n.组织；性格；化装品

参考例句：

• Those who failed the exam take a makeup exam.这次考试不及格的人必须参加补考。
• Do you think her beauty could makeup for her stupidity?你认为她的美丽能弥补她的愚蠢吗？

3 lyrics   

n.歌词

参考例句：

• music and lyrics by Rodgers and Hart 由罗杰斯和哈特作词作曲
• The book contains lyrics and guitar tablatures for over 100 songs. 这本书有100多首歌的歌词和吉他奏法谱。

4 gore   

n.凝血，血污；v.（动物）用角撞伤，用牙刺破；缝以补裆；顶

参考例句：

• The fox lay dying in a pool of gore.狐狸倒在血泊中奄奄一息。
• Carruthers had been gored by a rhinoceros.卡拉瑟斯被犀牛顶伤了。

5 parental   

adj.父母的；父的；母的

参考例句：

• He encourages parental involvement in the running of school.他鼓励学生家长参与学校的管理。
• Children always revolt against parental disciplines.孩子们总是反抗父母的管束。

6 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。

7 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

8 blueprint   

n.蓝图，设计图，计划；vt.制成蓝图，计划

参考例句：

• All the machine parts on a blueprint must answer each other.设计图上所有的机器部件都应互相配合。
• The documents contain a blueprint for a nuclear device.文件内附有一张核装置的设计蓝图。

9 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。

10 celebrities   

n.（尤指娱乐界的）名人( celebrity的名词复数 )；名流；名声；名誉

参考例句：

• He only invited A-list celebrities to his parties. 他只邀请头等名流参加他的聚会。
• a TV chat show full of B-list celebrities 由众多二流人物参加的电视访谈节目

11 icon   

n.偶像，崇拜的对象，画像

参考例句：

• They found an icon in the monastery.他们在修道院中发现了一个圣像。
• Click on this icon to align or justify text.点击这个图标使文本排齐。

12 prolific   

adj.丰富的，大量的；多产的，富有创造力的

参考例句：

• She is a prolific writer of novels and short stories.她是一位多产的作家，写了很多小说和短篇故事。
• The last few pages of the document are prolific of mistakes.这个文件的最后几页错误很多。

13 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。