Prince has been posthumously inducted ito the Songwriter’s Hall Of Fame, the “award he wanted more than any other in life”.
The induction – which took place last Saturday (July 27) at the Target Centre in the singer’s native Minneapolis – saw his sister, Sharon Nelson, accept the award. The ceremony also coincided at a 40th anniversary screening of his film Purple Rain (1984).
After being inducted by longtime collaborator Gilbert Davidson, Nelson accepted the award, telling the crowd: “You will always remember his songs.
“This is the award he wanted more than any other in life — to be known as a great songwriter.”
Prince is the second artists to be posthumously inducted into the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame, after the late Cindy Walker was inducted in April.
Prince was originally set to be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2016. The organisation’s policy states that the artist to attend both the annual induction and awards gala to be considered as officially inducted. Though Prince found it difficult to attend both events, he finally was able to make an appearance at the annual induction and gala in 2016, until his eventual death in April that year.
Speaking about Prince’s journey to his induction, Songwriters Hall of Fame president and CEO Linda Moran said: “He reached out at the end of 2015 and said how important the award was to him. It has been a long road, but we are thrilled that one of the world’s most prolific and phenomenal songwriters is finally a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame.”
A long-awaited Prince documentary has been recently blocked and “dead in the water” after multiple disputes.
It comes after representatives for the late artist’s estate claimed a first cut of the Netflix film was filled with “dramatic” factual inaccuracies and “sensationalised” renderings of certain events from his life, according to Variety.
The deal for the documentary also called for a six-hour series but director Ezra Edelman reportedly delivered nine hours, which is said to be a violation of the agreement.
Elsewhere, last month it was reported that the artist’s classic 1984 album ‘Purple Rain’ would be receiving a new audio-immersive Dolby Atmos re-issue for its 40th anniversary.
