'High Priest of Pop' Would Have Turned 68 Today

A little over 10 years after Prince's death, the legendary musician would have turned 68 today.

On June 7, 1958, Prince Rogers Nelson was born in Minneapolis, going on to build a legacy that earned him numerous iconic nicknames, including "The Purple One," "His Royal Badness," and 'The High Priest of Pop.'

Sadly, Prince passed away on April 21, 2016, at his Paisley Park home in Minnesota at the age of 57. But his long-lasting impact continues to live on.

From a young age, music was Prince's passion; he taught himself to play the piano, guitar, and drums. At the age of 18, Prince began his career when he signed a record deal with Warner Bros. Records and went on to release his first album, For You, in which he produced, arranged, composed, and performed.

From there, he went on to release numerous other albums over the following years, including Prince (1979), Dirty Mind (1980), Controversy (1981), and 1999 (1982).

But it was in 1984 when Purple Rain came out, which sat atop the US Billboard 200 chart for 24 consecutive weeks. This was one of the defining albums of the 1980s, and it remains his best-selling album. He also won an Oscar for the film's musical soundtrack, winning for Best Original Song Score.

He didn't stop there and continued to release numerous other iconic albums including Around the World in a Day (1985), Parade (1986), Sign o' the Times (1987), Lovesexy (1988), Batman (1989), Graffiti Bridge (1990), Diamonds and Pearls (1991), Love Symbol Album (1992), Come (1994), The Black Album (1994), The Gold Experience (1995), Chaos and Disorder (1996), Emancipation (1996), Crystal Ball (1998), Newpower Soul (1998), Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic (1999), The Rainbow Children (2001), One Nite Alone... (2002), Xpectation (2003), N.E.W.S (2003), The Chocolate Invasion (2004), The Slaughterhouse (2004), Musicology (2004), 3121 (2006), Planet Earth (2007), Lotusflow3r / MPLSound (2009), 20TEN (2010), Plectrumelectrum (2014), Art Official Age (2014), HITnRUN Phase One (2015), and HITnRUN Phase Two (2015).

Ultimately, he released 39 studio albums, which is one of the many reasons we take a moment to remember him today.

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This story was originally published June 7, 2026 at 3:00 AM.