Prince : NPR

Prince at the burned-out building he and Randee St. Nicholas found in the mid-1990s in Hollywood. Randee St. Nicholas/My Name Is Prince hide caption

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Randee St. Nicholas/My Name Is Prince

It's Been a Minute with Sam Sanders

The Iconic Moments of Prince

January 28, 2020 • Randee St. Nicholas met Prince for the first time in 1991, when she was hired to do their first shoot together. From there she captured some of his highest moments doing sold out shows across the world, to his most vulnerable, in hotel rooms late at night. Randee recalls her memorable relationship with Prince that spanned years and led to countless memories. She's published her photos of the iconic singer in a new book called My Name Is Prince.

The Iconic Moments of Prince

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Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

The Best Reissues And Archival Albums Of 2019

December 11, 2019 • The past is always present — but with a practically endless selection of music to choose from via the web, it's nice when some of the world's best record labels help excavate it for us.

Prince's '1999' Sees Another Life — This Time With 35 New Songs

The remastered album mines Prince's creative era between Nov. 1981 and Jan. 1983. Allan Beaulieu/Courtesy of the artist. hide caption

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Allan Beaulieu/Courtesy of the artist.

Prince's '1999' Sees Another Life — This Time With 35 New Songs

November 24, 2019 • Vault archivist Michael Howe confirms the rumor that Prince has enough unreleased songs for an album every year until the 22nd century.

Prince's '1999' Sees Another Life — This Time With 35 New Songs

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Prince Wanted To 'Break The Mold Of The Memoir,' Says His Co-Writer

Prince performs during the 2007 Super Bowl halftime show in Miami, Fla. Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images hide caption

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Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

Prince Wanted To 'Break The Mold Of The Memoir,' Says His Co-Writer

Fresh Air

October 28, 2019 • The musician left behind an unfinished memoir when he died in 2016. Dan Piepenbring, his co-writer, recalls the moment he knew he could make The Beautiful Ones happen — even in Prince's absence.

Prince Wanted To 'Break The Mold Of The Memoir,' Says His Co-Writer

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Prince Memoir, 'The Beautiful Ones,' Brings To Life A Vision In One's Mind

Penguin Random House

Review

Prince Memoir, 'The Beautiful Ones,' Brings To Life A Vision In One's Mind

October 27, 2019 • You won't get a full picture of Prince from this book, but it does manage to pierce through some of the mystery the renowned artist purposely cultivated around and about himself.

Courtesy of the artist

Hear Prince's Acoustic 'I Feel For You' Demo, Fresh From The Vault

October 18, 2019 • "I Feel for You" was a smash for Chaka Khan in 1984. Five years earlier, it existed only as a solo demo by a 20-year-old Prince.

Prince's Estate Condemns Trump's Use Of 'Purple Rain' At Campaign Rally

Prince's estate was not happy with President Trump on Thursday night. Frank Micelotta/Getty Images hide caption

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Frank Micelotta/Getty Images

Prince's Estate Condemns Trump's Use Of 'Purple Rain' At Campaign Rally

October 11, 2019 • According to Prince's estate, President Trump had promised not to use any of the icon's music during his campaign.

Happy & Sad: 31 Bittersweet Bops For Summer's End

Summer doesn't last forever, but it's always summer if you have roséwave in your heart. Emily Bogle/NPR hide caption

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Emily Bogle/NPR

Happy & Sad: 31 Bittersweet Bops For Summer's End

August 28, 2019 • Like a pink ombré hair dye, some of the best pop songs illuminate the shades of change — whether they are seasonal, emotional, romantic or the big questions of life.

Moon Tunes: Songs To Celebrate Our Glowing Orb

In this playlist, musicians imagine what it might be like to take a step on that bright glowing ball in the sky. A. Dagli Orti/De Agostini via Getty Images hide caption

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A. Dagli Orti/De Agostini via Getty Images

Moon Tunes: Songs To Celebrate Our Glowing Orb

July 18, 2019 • To mark the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing, a far-reaching playlist of off-the-beaten-orbit tracks for your space travels.

Bruce Springsteen belts out his hit song "Born in the USA" before a sellout crowd in 1985. Bettmann/Bettmann Archive hide caption

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Bettmann/Bettmann Archive

XPN

July 3, 2019 • Stream a playlist of songs about the red, white and blue, perfectly equipped for a July Fourth barbecue.

How Prince Worked His Magic On The Bangles' 'Manic Monday'

"We Bangles hovered around the cassette machine... and we were smitten with the song," Bangle Susanna Hoffs says of first hearing Prince's demo of "Manic Monday." Virginia Turbett/Courtesy of The Prince Estate hide caption

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Virginia Turbett/Courtesy of The Prince Estate

New Music

How Prince Worked His Magic On The Bangles' 'Manic Monday'

June 21, 2019 • In the 1980s, Prince wrote one of the Bangles' biggest hits, "Manic Monday." Now, The Prince Estate has released the demo version of the track as part of the artist's posthumous album, Originals.

How Prince Worked His Magic On The Bangles' 'Manic Monday'

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New Music Friday: Our Top 7 Albums For June 21

Lil Nas X. His debut EP 7 is on our shortlist for the best releases out on June 21. Tanima Mehrotra/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Tanima Mehrotra/Courtesy of the artist

All Songs Considered

New Music Friday: Our Top 7 Albums For June 21

June 21, 2019 • It's another packed release week; Lil Nas X's debut EP is finally here, along with a posthumous release from Prince, a solo album from producer Mark Ronson, the return of The Raconteurs and more.

New Music Friday: Our Top 7 Albums For June 21

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An Album From Prince's Vault, And His Memoir, Are Coming

The latest release from the Prince Estate is a collection of demos of songs he wrote and recorded for other artists between 1981 and 1991. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist

Music News

An Album From Prince's Vault, And His Memoir, Are Coming

April 25, 2019 • The Prince Estate has announced plans to release Originals, another album of previously unreleased tracks — many of which were hits for other artists — he recorded between 1981 and 1991.

In 2018, Prince's estate released a recording from the artist's fabled vault called Piano & A Microphone 1983. Allen Beaulieu/The Prince Estate hide caption

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Allen Beaulieu/The Prince Estate

Best Music Of 2018

The Best Reissues Of 2018

December 19, 2018 • This year, fueled by the vinyl resurgence and recent deaths of major stars, the field of archival music percolated with releases of music both well-known and relatively unknown.

Watch 3 Rare Prince Videos For 'Endorphinmachine,' 'Rock And Roll Is Alive,' 'Dolphin'

Opening the vault of Prince music videos precedes a forthcoming Netflix documentary directed by Ava DuVernay in cooperation with the artist's estate. Rob Verhorst/Redferns/Getty Images hide caption

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Rob Verhorst/Redferns/Getty Images

Music News

Watch 3 Rare Prince Videos For 'Endorphinmachine,' 'Rock And Roll Is Alive,' 'Dolphin'

November 5, 2018 • The Prince Estate has announced that it will be digitally uploading videos from the artist's visual archive on a weekly basis.

New Music Friday For Sep. 21: Eight Albums You Should Hear Now

Prince's posthumous release Piano and a Microphone, 1983 is on our list of the best albums out on Sep. 21. Mike Maloney/Mirrorpix/Getty Images hide caption

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Mike Maloney/Mirrorpix/Getty Images

All Songs Considered

New Music Friday For Sep. 21: Eight Albums You Should Hear Now

September 21, 2018 • Intimate home recordings from Prince, ragged rock from Metric, the angelic harmonies of Mountain Man, and Richard Swift's final, posthumous album are among this week's essential new releases.

New Music Friday For Sep. 21: Eight Albums You Should Hear Now

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Prince's first posthumous album, Piano & A Microphone 1983, is out now. Kevin Winter/Getty Images hide caption

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Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Review

Music Reviews

The Gift Of Posthumous Prince Music

September 21, 2018 • Rachel Martin talks to NPR Music critic Ann Powers about Piano & a Microphone 1983, Prince's first posthumous album of previously unreleased material, out now.

The Gift Of Posthumous Prince Music

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