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Shop nowThe Beautiful Ones
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Learn moreBrought to you by Penguin.
The brilliant coming-of-age-and-into-superstardom story of one of the greatest artists of all time, in his own words - featuring the exquisite memoir he began writing before his tragic death.
Prince was a musical genius, one of the most beloved, accomplished, and acclaimed musicians of our time. He was a startlingly original visionary with an imagination deep enough to whip up whole worlds, from the sexy, gritty funk paradise of 'Uptown' to the mythical landscape of Purple Rain to the psychedelia of 'Paisley Park'. But his most ambitious creative act was turning Prince Rogers Nelson, born in Minnesota, into Prince, one of the greatest pop stars of any era.
The Beautiful Ones is the story of how Prince became Prince - a first-person account of a kid absorbing the world around him and then creating a persona, an artistic vision, and a life, before the hits and fame that would come to define him. The audiobook is told in four parts. The first is composed of the memoir Prince was writing before his tragic death, which brings us into his childhood world through his own lyrical prose. The second part takes us through Princeās early years as a musician, before his first album was released, via an evocative scrapbook of Princeās writing. The third section shows us Princeās evolution, going up to the cusp of his greatest achievement, which we see in the audiobookās fourth section: his original treatment for Purple Rain - the final stage in Princeās self-creation, where he retells the autobiography of the first three parts as a heroic journey.
The audiobook is framed by editor Dan Piepenbringās riveting and moving introduction about his profound collaboration with Prince in his final months - a time when Prince was thinking deeply about how to reveal more of himself and his ideas to the world, while retaining the mystery and mystique heād so carefully cultivated.
This work is not just a tribute to an icon, but an original and energising literary work in its own right, full of Princeās ideas and vision, his voice and image - his undying gift to the world.
Prince Rogers Nelson is one of the most popular and influential musical acts of all time. Known for his style and range, Princeās prolific music career included an ever-evolving sound that blended pop, R&B, hip-hop, jazz and soul. Prince sold over 100 million albums worldwide, making him one of the best-selling artists of all time. He won seven GRAMMYĀ® Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and an Academy AwardĀ® for the film āPurple Rain.ā He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, the first year of his eligibility. Prince tragically passed away at his Paisley Park home on April 21, 2016. His legacy lives on through the timeless messages of love in his music and the countless ways his work has touched lives.
Dan Piepenbring is a writer and former editor at The Paris Review.