Prince Roger Nelson

Surprising Facts About Prince

How Tall was Prince Roger Nelson?

Prince was 5 ft 2 in tall in height, however, the musician showed the world that people who are the small stature can have the biggest impact. Prince is widely considered the pioneer of the Minneapolis Sound that was created in the 1980s. Which he more than made up by his collection of jaw–dropping 8 in heel boots and shoes. Prince knew how to maneuvered better in his high heels than most stiletto–clad women do. He would do the splits, jump up, high kick, squat, and run back and forth onstage with specially built 4–inch and 3 1/3–inch height boosters at his soles. After all, Prince Rogers Nelson was a man of mega–talent and charisma but was also of diminutive size. He was famously 5–foot–2 and chose to wear heels to lift himself up a bit, though he certainly didn’t need it. Prince also once said that he liked to wear heels because women were attracted to them–and why not?

Prince had many aliases

A few of Prince’s nicknames were The Kid, Alexander Nevermind, The Purple Purv, The Minneapolis Midget, Christopher Tracy & lastly, the most notable, The Artist Formerly Known As Prince. Many of songs wrote by Prince for other artists, were credited for under different names like; Alexander Nevermind, Jamie Starr, Joey Coco, Christopher, and more.During his storied career the performer adopted several pseudonyms: Alexander Nevermind (for a 1984 song he wrote for Sheena Easton), Jamie Starr (for songs he wrote for The Time and others in the early 1980s), Joey Coco (for songs he wrote for Sheena Easton and Kenny Rogers) and Christopher (for the writing credit on The Bangles’ “Manic Monday”). He also went by several nicknames, including the Purple One, His Royal Badness, the High Priest of Pop and the Prince of Funk. Probably the most un–Prince–like of all was the nickname his family gave him as a child: Skipper.His most dramatic name change came in 1993, when he adopted an unpronounceable symbol as his name as a protest against his label Warner Bros.

Prince asked Stevie Nicks to write the lyrics for his song “Purple Rain”

According to legend, “Purple Rain”was originally meant to be a country song and collaboration with legendary artist Stevie Nicks. Nicks said she received a 10–minute instrumental version of “Purple Rain” from Prince with a request to pen the lyrics but she felt too overwhelmed to do so. “I listened to it and I just got scared,” explained Nicks. “I called him back and said, ‘I can’t do it. I wish I could. It’s too much for me.'”

Prince went on to write the lyrics, and good thing he did. “Purple Rain” won Prince Best Original Score Oscar at th’e 57th Academy Awards for the film!

The song is included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. In 2007, Prince performed the song for the Super Bowl XLI halftime show. The track was the final one performed during the set, which is considered one of the best halftime shows to date, and the experience was made even more impactful when actual rain began to fall during the tune, as the stadium was lit up in purple lights.

Prince worked on the soundtrack of Batman, but for a sneaky reason

Prince was initially uncertain, until visiting the movie set in January 1989, where he met Burton, discussed the concept, and watched a rough cut portion of the movie. He became so interested in writing music for the movie that he considered cancelling the Japanese leg of the Lovesexy Tour, but it would have been too costly to do so.

Prince had a motive when asked to work on the soundtrack of Tim Burton’s “Batman” film. It turns out he had a crush on the female lead, Kim Basinger. Apparently, it was the opportunity he needed, as Prince and Kim then dated for about a year.

Batman (the motion picture soundtrack to the Tim Burton movie Batman) is the eleventh full–length studio album by Prince, and the first and only soundtrack album by Prince for a movie in which he was not involved as an actor. It was released worldwide in June 1989.

Prince Fun Facts

Prince’s name (Prince Rogers Nelson) came from his father’s stage name. His father John Nelson was a jazz musician who played under the stage name “Prince Rogers” . His group was called The Prince Rogers Trio.
Prince was raised a Seventh–Day Adventist, but later became a member of the Jehovah’s Witness Church (in 2001). He was baptized into the church in 2003
Prince’s childhood home from 1972 to about 1977 was in the 1200 block of Russell Avenue North in Minneapolis. This home is under interim historical protection by the Minneapolis Heritage Preservation Commission until the designation process is completed. (source: Preservation Alliance of Minnesota)
His net worth at time of death (April 2016) is estimated to be around $300 million. (source: bizjournals.com)
In 2016 Prince sold more albums than any other artist that year (source: Nielsen Music), even more than the 2016 Grammy Award winner, Adele.
Prince owned the following properties at the time of his death. We have removed the street numbers of the non–Paisley Park properties in respect of the privacy of those at those areas. (source: bizjournals.com):
- Paisley Park studio (7801 Audubon Road Chanhassen, MN 55317)
  : nine acres valued at $7.01 million (2016 Carver County property tax records).
- 187 acres of undeveloped land (Chanhassen, MN): With an estimated value of $16.43 million (2016 Carver County property tax records).
- Newton Avenue North, Minneapolis: Built in 1904, this was one of his childhood homes. Hennepin County assessed its value at $87,000 in 2016.
- A single–family home on King Creek Road in Golden Valley. The half–acre lot and 1985–built one–story house is worth $431,000, according to Hennepin County (2016).
- An undeveloped lot on Aztec Drive in Eden Prairie, MN: 0.91 acres with an assessed value of $247,000. Prince apparently bought the land with the intent to build Paisley Park there. The City Council turned him down after nearby homeowners raised concerns about the potential noise, according to a reader who owns an adjacent parcel in Eden Prairie.