John L. Nelson
American jazz musician

John L. Nelson

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American jazz musician
A.K.A.
Prince Rogers
Gender:
Male
Places:
United States of America
Is:
SongwriterJazz musician
Work field:
Music
Birth:
29 June 1916(Louisiana, U.S.A.)
Death:
25 August 2001(Chanhassen, Carver County, Minnesota, U.S.A.)
Family:
Spouse(s):
Mattie Shaw
Vivian Nelson
Children:
Prince
Tyka Nelson
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The details
Biography

Introduction

John Lewis Nelson (June 29, 1916 – August 25, 2001), also known as his stage name Prince Rogers, was an American jazz musician and songwriter. He was the father of musicians Prince and Tyka Nelson and a credited co-writer on some of his son's songs.

Personal life

Nelson was born in Louisiana, the son of Carrie (Jenkins) and Clarence Nelson. The Nelsons had four other children. He traveled to Minneapolis to become a musician in 1948. Playing the piano, he used "Prince Rogers" as a stage name and started a band called "The Prince Rogers Trio" with local musicians.

In 1956, he met Mattie Della Shaw (November 11, 1933 – February 15, 2002) at a show on the north side of Minneapolis. Shaw was an aspiring jazz musician who became the musical group’s singer. She had one son, Alfred Frank Alonzo Jackson (born July 6, 1953). Nelson married Shaw on August 31, 1957, and the couple had two more children, musician Prince (1958–2016) (who was named after his father’s stage name) and daughter singer Tyka Nelson (born 1960). When Nelson’s career failed in late 1960, the couple became estranged and formally separated in 1965 and were divorced on September 24, 1968.

Death

Nelson died on August 25, 2001, aged 85, in his home in Chanhassen, Minnesota. That year Prince dedicated Joni Mitchell’s song "A Case of U", on his One Nite Alone... album, to his father.

Collaboration with Prince

John L. Nelson wrote (or co-wrote) some music which was released by Prince in the 1980s.

ASCAP credits

ASCAP credits, or co-credits, him with the following:

  • "Father’s Song" and "Purple Rain Cues", from the film Purple Rain, 1984
  • "Computer Blue" from the Purple Rain album and film, 1984
  • "Around the World in a Day" (composed with David Coleman and Prince) and "The Ladder" (composed with Prince), from the album Around the World in a Day, 1985
  • "Christopher Tracy’s Parade" (composed with Prince) and "Under the Cherry Moon" (composed with Prince) from the album Parade, 1986
  • "Under the Cherry Moon Cues" from the film Under the Cherry Moon, 1986
  • "Scandalous!" from the Batman album and film, 1989