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Thread started 11/07/17 2:26am

rossamoran

Best Prince Biography

Recently I was thinking about Prince’s autobiography that was in the works. It saddens me that it potentially will never see the light of day. Anyway, since I may never get to read the story of his life in his own words, I was trying to find out if there are any books written about Prince that cover his entire (or majority) of his career that are factual. Any suggestions?
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Reply #1 posted 11/07/17 3:24am

KoolEaze

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Per Nilsen´s Dance Music Sex Romance is a must-read but it does not cover his whole career.

The same goes for Prince-A Pop Life by Dave Hill. It stops at the Lovesexy era and is a bit dated but it remains one of my all time favorite biographies....a highly enjoyable read.

Alex Hahn´s Possessed (or his latest, updated book The Rise of Prince) also come to mind.

There are many more but these are my personal favorites so far.

" I´d rather be a stank ass hoe because I´m not stupid. Oh my goodness! I got more drugs! I´m always funny dude...I´m hilarious! Are we gonna smoke?"
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Reply #2 posted 11/07/17 3:32am

NorthC

rossamoran said:

Recently I was thinking about Prince’s autobiography that was in the works. It saddens me that it potentially will never see the light of day. Anyway, since I may never get to read the story of his life in his own words, I was trying to find out if there are any books written about Prince that cover his entire (or majority) of his career that are factual. Any suggestions?

The book by Matt Thorne goes all the way up to the 3rd Eye Girl era, so I think that one comes closest.
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Reply #3 posted 11/07/17 4:13am

KoolEaze

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NorthC said:

rossamoran said:
Recently I was thinking about Prince’s autobiography that was in the works. It saddens me that it potentially will never see the light of day. Anyway, since I may never get to read the story of his life in his own words, I was trying to find out if there are any books written about Prince that cover his entire (or majority) of his career that are factual. Any suggestions?
The book by Matt Thorne goes all the way up to the 3rd Eye Girl era, so I think that one comes closest.

I haven´t read that one yet. Do you like it?

" I´d rather be a stank ass hoe because I´m not stupid. Oh my goodness! I got more drugs! I´m always funny dude...I´m hilarious! Are we gonna smoke?"
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Reply #4 posted 11/07/17 5:33am

NorthC

Yeah, I liked it's about the music, not gossip or personal stories. Matts
is obviously a fan, he discusses a lot of outtakes and isn't any about giving his opinion, which we may or may not agree with, but it's a good read.
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Reply #5 posted 11/07/17 10:04am

TrivialPursuit

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KoolEaze said:

Per Nilsen´s Dance Music Sex Romance is a must-read but it does not cover his whole career.

The same goes for Prince-A Pop Life by Dave Hill. It stops at the Lovesexy era and is a bit dated but it remains one of my all time favorite biographies....a highly enjoyable read.

Alex Hahn´s Possessed (or his latest, updated book The Rise of Prince) also come to mind.

There are many more but these are my personal favorites so far.


Co-sign on this. These are three (four if you read both Hahn books) really good starter books to read about Prince. I still reference DMSR quite regularly for a date or a story. Jason Draper's book is fun, and there is a revised version. It's a bigger coffee table sized book, FYI. DMSR covers the first 10 years, POP LIFE stops at Lovesexy.

Definitely, skip Purple Rain by Liz Jones. She basically retells the Oprah interview, using it as a basis for her book, ever credits her sources, and is a shitty rehash at best. Ro Ronin's book is garbage, too. I checked it out at the library and literally took it back the same day.

"eye don’t really care so much what people say about me because it is a reflection of who they r."
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Reply #6 posted 11/10/17 5:32pm

PeteSilas

didn't like alex hahn's book, was slanted by his vindictiveness. Poplife was probably the best. the later ones have interesting info in them but most of them are tabloidy or gossipy. the Alan Light book was a great study on Prince's golden pop moment, the Purple Rain era. Actually the Steven Ivory book, although kind of geared to teen fans was actually pretty informative and the first book I came across that told me about the man himself, behind the scenes.

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Reply #7 posted 11/11/17 3:26am

anangellooksdo
wn

Which book(s) are best which include the 2010s, for getting to know Prince the man? That is what I'm most interested in. Him as a professional as well.
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