Rock Musician Prince Dead At 57

Iconic rock musician Prince has died, his publicist confirmed to the Associated Press. He was 57.

Police and EMTs responded to a 911 call at his Paisley Park studio Thursday. Sheriffs in Chanhassen, Minnesota, confirmed that there was one fatality.

Last week, Prince was briefly hospitalized for the flu, necessitating his private jet to make an emergency landing in Moline, Illinois, so that he could receive medical attention but was said to be recovering.

Born Prince Rogers Nelson, the flamboyant musician rose to fame on a first-name basis with with his breakthrough albums "Dirty Mind" in 1980 and "1999" in 1982, developing a reputation for risqué lyrics and costumes, overt sexuality and a unique blend of rock, R&B and soul.

He shot to super-stardom with the 1984's "Purple Rain" and its wildly successful soundtrack. The film was a seemingly autobiographical tale of a rebellious young musician in the Minneapolis club scene. His work helped define 1980s popular music, with hits like "When Doves Cry," "Little Red Corvette" and "Let's Go Crazy," but he was just as successful penning hits for other artists, including the Bangles' "Manic Monday," Tevin Campbell's "Round and Round" and Sinead O'Connor's "Nothing Compares 2 U."

He also helped shape popular culture in more controversial ways, as Tipper Gore cited his song "Darling Nikki" as a main motivation to start the Parents Music Resource Center and launch the Senate hearings that led to the record industry's "voluntary" parental control album-stickering policy.

He continued to be a creative and commercial force in the music world into the 1990s, when a contract dispute with Warner Bros. prompted him to begin going by an unpronounceable symbol, referring to himself in print as "The Artist Formerly Known as Prince." When that publishing contract expired at the end of 1999, Prince reclaimed his name and saw something of a career resurgence, beginning with 2004's "Musicology."