Pick a Day

Prince (Prince Rogers Nelson) is born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He's named after his father's jazz combo, the Prince Rogers Trio.

Prince releases his debut album, For You. It reaches #163 in the US and contains his first Hot 100 entry: "Soft and Wet," which reaches #92.

Prince releases his sophomore album, Prince, containing the #1 R&B hit "I Wanna Be Your Lover" and the original version of "I Feel For You," later a hit for Chaka Khan. It's his first album certified Platinum for sales over 1 million.

Prince performs on American Bandstand, where he's interviewed on national TV for the first time. Host Dick Clark has a hard time getting more than a few words out of him. When he asks how many instruments Prince plays, he pauses before answering, "a thousand."

Prince makes his national television debut, performing "I Wanna Be Your Lover" and "Why You Want To Treat Me So Bad" on the NBC variety show Midnight Special.

In Fort Worth, Texas, Rick James launches his first headlining tour, with Prince as opening act. Both released their debut albums in 1978, but James is the more popular artist at this point.

Prince releases his third album, Dirty Mind. The title hints at the lascivious songs within, including "Head" and "Sister." The biggest hit from the set is the modest "Uptown," which goes to #5 on the R&B chart.

Prince makes his live British debut at The Lyceum Ballroom in London. He does not play the UK again for five years.

Opening a show for The Rolling Stones at Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, Prince gets booed off the stage. The Stones have good intentions in bringing in a rising star, but his act isn't a good fit for this crowd, and when he opens his trench coat to reveal bikini briefs, it gets ugly. Prince never again performs as an opening act.

In Pittsburgh, Prince begins his Controversy tour with a band he created, The Time, as his opening act. Members of The Time include Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, who go on to become a top production team, best known for their work with Janet Jackson.

Prince releases his fifth album, 1999. It's a breakthrough, selling well over 5 million copies worldwide, thanks to "Little Red Corvette" and the title track.

Prince begins his 1999 tour with a show in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The opening acts are two groups he put together in Minneapolis: The Time and Vanity 6.

"Little Red Corvette" goes to #6 in the US, giving Prince his first Top 10 hit on the Hot 100. The video is one of the first by a black artist to go in hot rotation on MTV.

Prince becomes the first person to have a #1 song and star in a #1 movie at the same time as Purple Rain tops the box office while "When Doves Cry" stays perched atop the Hot 100 for its fourth consecutive week.

Prince stars in the film Purple Rain. The movie, in which he plays as an upstart musician who clashes with his band, parallels his life story, but is not strictly autobiographical, and he didn't write or direct it.More

"When Doves Cry" goes to #1 on the Hot 100, giving Prince his first chart-topper on the tally. The song is from his upcoming movie Purple Rain.

The Prince album Purple Rain, which also serves as the soundtrack to the film of the same name, hits #1 in the US, where it stays for an amazing 22 weeks.

"Let's Go Crazy" by Prince and the Revolution hits #1 for the first of two weeks.

Prince kicks off his Purple Rain tour with a show in Detroit. His opening act is Sheila E., whose Prince-penned song "The Glamorous Life" reached #7 in America the previous month.

Prince wins an Oscar for Best Original Score for the film Purple Rain.

Prince releases his seventh album, Around The World In A Day, the follow-up to Purple Rain. It's his first issued on his Paisley Park imprint and primarily recorded at his Paisley Park studios.

The Prince album Around The World In A Day goes to #1 in the US, where it stays for three weeks. Hits from the album include "Raspberry Beret" and "Pop Life."

Rolling Stone publishes their interview with Prince, who has not spoken to the press in three years. He remains elusive, but explains why he made up stories in his early years to appease and confound reporters: "I used to tease a lot of journalists early on, because I wanted them to concentrate on the music."More

The Space Shuttle Challenger explodes shortly after liftoff, killing the seven crew members on board. The disaster inspires a lyric in the Prince song "Sign O' the Times": Silly, no? When a rocket ship explodes and everybody still wants to fly.

You don't have to watch Dynasty to have an attitude: Prince hits #1 in the US with "Kiss." The #2 song is "Manic Monday" by the Bangles, which he wrote.More

The second Prince movie, Under the Cherry Moon, hits theaters. Unlike the first, Purple Rain, Prince directs it himself.More

Prince goes to a Bonnie Raitt concert at the Beverly Theater in Los Angeles. Impressed, he invites her to his home studio in Minnesota where they work on some songs together, but nothing comes of it.

Prince releases his ninth album, Sign o' the Times.

Prince is named Worst Actor and Worst Director for Under the Cherry Moon at the 7th Golden Raspberry Awards. The film also earns Razzies for Worst Picture (tied with Howard the Duck), Worst Supporting Actor (Jerome Benton), and Worst Original Song ("Love or Money").

Prince releases his 10th album, Lovesexy, which becomes his first chart-topper in the UK.