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Prince Breaks Beatles’ Billboard Chart Record, As Fans Continue To Buy His Music

By Georgia Makitalo
Published on: 11:34 PST, Jun 1, 2016

Since the death of Prince on April 21, fans have flocked to see Purple Rain on the big screen, attending local Prince tribute shows, and have been adding Prince’s music to their collection.

So, it should be of no surprise that nearly six weeks after his passing, Prince has ignited the Billboard charts and has set a single week record for having 19 albums in the Top 200. Previously, this record was held by The Beatles, who, at one time, had 13 albums on the chart in the Top 200 in a single week.

While some longtime fans have been completing their collection of the prolific purple artist’s work, others are listening to the music of this musical genius for the first time. As many musicians cite Prince as a huge influence, young fans are diving deep into Prince’s catalog. Some of the albums on the Billboard 200 include 1999, the Purple Rain soundtrack, The Very Best of Prince, Sign ‘O’ The Times, and The Hits/The B Sides.

Prince Rogers Nelson was found on the morning of April 21 in the elevator at his Paisley Park compound right outside of Minneapolis. By the time paramedics arrived, rigor mortis had already set in and they were unable to save the musician’s life. There is yet to be an autopsy released, but there are strong suspicions that the musical genius overdosed on painkillers. He was taking them for his painful hip injury from years of dancing and jumping off of tall rafters.

Since there is a strong possibility that Prince died of an opioid overdose, his friends have publicly come to his defense insisting that the Minnesota-based musician was not drugged up. His lawyer and friend, L. Londell McMillan, came to his defense and denied that Prince had any sort of substance abuse.

“Everybody who knows Prince knows he wasn’t walking around drugged up.”

Since his death, Prince’s full sister, Tyka Nelson, has declared that a will has not been found. At the time of his death, it was estimated that Prince’s estate was worth about $200 million. With the tremendous popularity of his music and the success on the Billboard charts, this is bound to dramatically increased.

Besides his immediate sibling and half-siblings, over 100 people have come forth claiming to be related to the artist and laying claim to the estate. A filmmaker, Ian Halperin, who is currently chronicling the artist’s final days claims that there is a will, and it is in Canada. Although no attorney has come forth from Canada, the United States or anywhere else to verify that claim.

Halperin insists that the courts set out and search for his will. He believes that not only was the musician talented, but Prince was too shrewd a businessman to have not put his wishes for his extensive wealth into a last will and testament. This was the guy that changed his name into a symbol with the monicker “the artist formerly known as Prince” just to get out of his record contract with Warner Bros.

“He was one of the shrewdest people in the entertainment industry.”

Only a week after his death, a court appointed special administrator was put in charge of protecting the infamous Prince vault. As Prince was the only one with a key to the lock, and since that key was not found, the administrator hired a locksmith to open up the vault so that they could take out the contents and secure the valuable materials inside. The vault held over a thousand more unreleased songs which promises to keep fans entertained for years to come. Prince often spoke of this vault and saved this music for a later time. This included his own work, as well as work he produced. This music is bound to also hit the Billboard Top 200.

Have you attended a Prince memorial show or have you purchased any Prince music since his death?

[Photo by Frank Micelotta/Getty Images]

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