Editing Prince (musician) (section)

== Early life ==
Prince Rogers Nelson was born in [[Minneapolis]] on June 7, 1958, the son of jazz singer Mattie Della (née Shaw) and pianist and songwriter [[John L. Nelson|John Lewis Nelson]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/prince-june-7-1958-april-21-2016-the-nme-obituary-767463 |title=Prince Obituary: June 7, 1958 – April 21, 2016 |magazine=NME |last=Nicolson |first=Barry |date=April 22, 2016 |access-date=June 7, 2018 |archive-date=June 12, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612150319/http://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/prince-june-7-1958-april-21-2016-the-nme-obituary-767463 |url-status=live }}</ref> All four of his grandparents were from [[Louisiana]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Smolenyak|first=Megan|title=Hey, Prince, Your Roots Are Showing|work=[[HuffPost]]|url=https://huffingtonpost.com/megan-smolenyak-smolenyak/prince-geneology_b_2638616.html|access-date=February 12, 2013|date=February 8, 2013|archive-date=February 12, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130212024635/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/megan-smolenyak-smolenyak/prince-geneology_b_2638616.html?|url-status=live}}</ref> His grand-aunt was the [[black nationalist]] [[Mittie Maude Lena Gordon]], who established the [[Peace Movement of Ethiopia]] and advocated [[Back-to-Africa movement|emigration to West Africa]] in response to American [[white supremacy]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Mittie Maud Lena Gordon |url=https://www.geni.com/people/Mittie-Gordon/6000000008901198563 |website=Geni |year=1884 |access-date=February 21, 2022 |archive-date=February 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220221031321/https://www.geni.com/people/Mittie-Gordon/6000000008901198563 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=John Lewis Nelson |url=https://www.geni.com/people/John-Lewis-Nelson/6000000007748549638 |website=Geni |date=June 29, 1916 |access-date=February 21, 2022 |archive-date=February 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220221031322/https://www.geni.com/people/John-Lewis-Nelson/6000000007748549638 |url-status=live }}</ref> The jazz drummer [[Louis Hayes]] was his paternal cousin.<ref>{{cite news|last=Gannij|first=Joan|url=https://www.allaboutjazz.com/louis-hayes-still-moving-straight-ahead-louis-hayes-by-joan-gannij.php?width=1024|title=Louis Hayes: Still Moving Straight Ahead|work=All About Jazz|date=May 23, 2017|access-date=June 14, 2021|archive-date=June 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210614133503/https://www.allaboutjazz.com/louis-hayes-still-moving-straight-ahead-louis-hayes-by-joan-gannij.php?width=1024|url-status=live}}</ref>

Prince was named after his father's most popular stage name, Prince Rogers, which his father used while performing with Prince's mother in a jazz group called the Prince Rogers Trio.<ref name="BMRJ">{{Cite journal|last=Woodworth|first=Griffin|date=2013|title=Prince, Miles, and Maceo: horns, masculinity, and the anxiety of influence|journal=Black Music Research Journal|volume=33|issue=2|pages=117+|doi=10.5406/blacmusiresej.33.2.0117|s2cid=191456792| issn=0276-3605}}</ref> In 1991, Prince's father told ''[[A Current Affair (U.S. TV series)|A Current Affair]]'' that he named his son "Prince" because he wanted Prince "to do everything I wanted to do".{{sfn|Hahn|2004}} Prince was not fond of his name and wanted people to instead call him "Skipper", a name which stuck throughout his childhood.<ref name="BMRJ"/>{{sfn|Gulla|2008|p=483}}{{sfn|Ro|2011|p=6}} Prince said he was "born [[Epilepsy|epileptic]]" and had seizures when he was young. He stated, "My mother told me one day I walked in to her and said, 'Mom, I'm not going to be sick anymore,' and she said, 'Why?' and I said, 'Because an angel told me so.{{'"}}<ref>{{cite web| last = Lynch| first = Jason| title = Prince Talks about His Struggle with Epilepsy| work = [[People (magazine)|People]]| date = April 28, 2009| url = https://people.com/celebrity/prince-talks-about-his-struggle-with-epilepsy/| access-date = May 4, 2016| archive-date = August 6, 2016| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160806124442/http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20275184,00.html| url-status = live}}</ref> Prince's younger sister, [[Tyka Nelson|Tyka]], was born on May 18, 1960.<ref name="auto"/>{{sfn|Nilsen|2003|p=19}} Both siblings developed a keen interest in music, which was encouraged by their father.<ref name="prince">{{cite news|title=Obituary: John Nelson|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/john-nelson-729400.html|access-date=April 25, 2016|work=[[The Independent]]|date=September 1, 2001|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110919034257/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/john-nelson-729400.html|archive-date=September 19, 2011}}</ref> His parents were both members of the [[Seventh-day Adventist Church]], an [[Evangelicalism|evangelical]] denomination.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.essence.com/celebrity/12-celebrities-who-were-raised-seventh-day-adventist/|title=12 Black Famous Faces Who Were Raised Seventh-Day Adventist|date=October 26, 2020|access-date=October 27, 2020|archive-date=November 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101055243/https://www.essence.com/celebrity/12-celebrities-who-were-raised-seventh-day-adventist/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2022, during a Minneapolis teachers' strike, [[Minneapolis-St. Paul]] news station [[WCCO-TV]] was researching a previous [[1970 Minneapolis teachers' strike|teacher's strike in April 1970]] and accidentally uncovered an interview they had done with Prince about that 1970 strike. Prince, who was 11 years old at the time, said about the strike, "I think they should get a better education too cause, um, and I think they should get some more money cause they work, they be working extra hours for us and all that stuff." While he never identifies himself in the interview, it was confirmed to be him through interviews with a historian in Minneapolis who is also a fan of Prince, as well as by a former classmate who was a member of Prince's first band. The video is one of very few videos of Prince from that stage of his life.<ref>{{cite web |title=Film Of Prince At Age 11 Discovered In Archival Footage Of 1970 Minneapolis Teachers Strike |url=https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2022/04/03/prince-rare-footage-1970/ |website=CBSLocal.com |date=April 5, 2022 |access-date=April 4, 2022 |archive-date=April 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220404061333/https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2022/04/03/prince-rare-footage-1970/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Prince wrote his first song, "Funk Machine", on his father's piano when he was seven years old.<ref name="prince" /> His parents divorced when he was 10. His mother remarried Hayward Baker, with whom she had a son named Omarr; Prince had a fraught relationship with Omarr, to the extent that it caused him to repeatedly switch homes, sometimes living with his father and sometimes with his mother and stepfather.<ref name="prince" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://purplerain120.weebly.com/biography.html|title=Biography – Prince: Idiosyncratic, Individualistic, Innovative, Ingenious|website=Purplerain120.weebly.com|access-date=December 23, 2017|archive-date=October 7, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171007120851/http://purplerain120.weebly.com/biography.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Baker took Prince to see [[James Brown]] in concert, and Prince credited Baker with improving the family's finances. After a brief period of living with his father, who bought him his first guitar, Prince moved into the basement of the Anderson family, a neighbor, after his father threw him out.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://blog.thecurrent.org/2016/09/princes-childhood-homes-mndot-research-helps-create-a-timeline/|title=Prince's childhood homes: MnDOT research helps create a timeline|work=The Current|first=Jay|last=Gabler|access-date=February 23, 2018|archive-date=February 23, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180223171433/https://blog.thecurrent.org/2016/09/princes-childhood-homes-mndot-research-helps-create-a-timeline/|url-status=live}}</ref> He befriended the Andersons' son, Andre, who later collaborated with Prince and became known as [[André Cymone]].<ref name="guardiansweeting">{{cite news|last1=Sweeting|first1=Adam|author-link1=Adam Sweeting|title=Prince obituary: 'the music flowed out in an unstoppable torrent'|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/apr/22/prince-obituary|access-date=April 23, 2016|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|date=April 22, 2016|archive-date=December 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211210101341/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/apr/22/prince-obituary|url-status=live}}</ref>

Prince attended Minneapolis's Bryant Junior High, where he helped test the original ''[[The Oregon Trail (1971 video game)|The Oregon Trail]]'',<ref name="gh20240411">{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QbjlHeoLdc |title=The Story of The Oregon Trail |date=2024-04-11 |publisher=Gaming Historian |time=23:22 |access-date=2024-04-21 |via=YouTube}}</ref> then [[Central High School (Minneapolis, Minnesota)|Central High School]], where he played football, basketball, and baseball. He played on Central's [[junior varsity]] basketball team, and continued to play basketball for fun as an adult.<ref>{{cite news |last=Rothman |first=Michael |title=Prince's Bryant Junior High Basketball Photo is Amazing |work=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] |date=March 4, 2015 |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/princes-amazing-junior-high-basketball-photo/story?id=29385119 |access-date=May 1, 2016 |archive-date=May 7, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160507121226/http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/princes-amazing-junior-high-basketball-photo/story?id=29385119 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web| last = Tevlin| first = Jon| title = The Quiet One: A High School Classmate Recalls the Artist as a Young Man| work = Star Tribune| date = March 13, 2004| url = http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/11527586.html| access-date = May 4, 2016| archive-date = February 19, 2015| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150219215454/http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/11527586.html| url-status = dead}}</ref> He was trained in classical ballet at the [[Minnesota Dance Theatre]] through the Urban Arts Program of [[Minneapolis Public Schools]],<ref>{{cite news|title=Dancers recall Prince as a hard-working 'darling' in tights and ballet slippers|url=http://www.startribune.com/dancers-recall-prince-as-a-hard-working-darling-in-tights-and-ballet-slippers/378179261/|first=Caroline|last=Palmer|work=[[Star Tribune]]|date=May 5, 2016|access-date=May 3, 2018|archive-date=May 4, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180504011637/http://www.startribune.com/dancers-recall-prince-as-a-hard-working-darling-in-tights-and-ballet-slippers/378179261/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Prince became an advocate for dancers, and used his wealth to save the failing [[Joffrey Ballet]] in Chicago during the 1990s.<ref>{{Cite web|url = https://mspmag.com/arts-and-culture/prince-always-in-motion/#:~:text=Included%20in%20his%20multitude%20of,of%20the%20Urban%20Arts%20Program.|title = Prince: Always in Motion|first=Dara Moskowitz|last=Grumdahl|author-link=Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl|date = December 5, 2016|access-date = October 28, 2020|archive-date = October 31, 2020|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201031043548/https://mspmag.com/arts-and-culture/prince-always-in-motion/#:~:text=Included%20in%20his%20multitude%20of,of%20the%20Urban%20Arts%20Program.|url-status = live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dancespirit.com/a-tribute-to-prince-2326783392.html|title=A Tribute to Prince|date=April 21, 2016|website=Dance Spirit|access-date=October 28, 2020|archive-date=November 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201102110251/https://www.dancespirit.com/a-tribute-to-prince-2326783392.html|url-status=live}}</ref> He met songwriter and producer [[Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis|Jimmy Jam]] in 1973 and impressed Jam with his musical talent, early mastery of a wide range of instruments, and work ethic.<ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Nolfi|first1=Joey|title=Jimmy Jam Remembers School Days with Prince: 'Everything was so Forward Thinking'|url=https://ew.com/article/2016/04/21/jimmy-jam-remembers-prince|access-date=April 23, 2016|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|date=April 21, 2016|archive-date=April 23, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160423233136/http://www.ew.com/article/2016/04/21/jimmy-jam-remembers-prince|url-status=live}}</ref>