To many Western New Yorkers, his music was a part of growing up in the 1980s. He took on the record industry in the 1990s by replacing his name with a symbol. As as one local music critic put it, Prince - who was found dead Thursday at the age of 57 - was truly a musical genius in the same class as James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Paul McCartney and Brian Wilson.
The pop star's body was found in his estate, Paisley Park, located about 10 miles outside of Minneapolis, Minnesota. He had reportedly been battling the flu for several weeks and was briefly hospitalized last week.
On Thursday, according to Associated Press, local police found Prince unresponsive in an elevator after they were summoned to the scene for a medical call. He was pronounced dead about a half hour later.
In Buffalo, one longtime music critic expressed shock over the news.
"In popular music, in rock music, R & B, all of which Prince excelled at, you can't think of anyone who really appeared to be in better shape, to be more with it, to by all appearances not be involved in drug abuse," said Buffalo News music critic Jeff Miers. "Real disciplined and in incredible shape. So prolific, almost to a fault."
Born Prince Rogers Nelson, the pop star produced numerous hits including "1999," "When Doves Cry," "Little Red Corvette," and was thrust in superstardom with the success of his album Purple Rain, which later led to a feature film of the same name.
He dressed in a mix of men's and women's apparel to create an androgynous look. He also took on the record industry when, in the 1990s, he protested by abandoning his name and went by a symbol. He would sometime be referred to as "the artist formerly known as Prince" during his protest.
Miers says while Prince endured some ridicule at the time, he was making a valid point about the music business.
"He was making a real statement for the right of the artist in the major label music business," Miers said. "He wanted control of his career, of his intellectual property, and of his future, and he demanded it. I just thought it was really cool, and I think time has proven that he was correct in that stance."
While Prince rose up around the same time as pop star Madonna, Miers says Prince was both a pop star and a serious musician. He described Prince as an exceptional guitar player that could make his own music without anyone's help.
"Few could touch him," he said. "I just wrote this, but the word 'genius' gets abused a little bit. He was a genius. There was no question. You're talking like Stevie Wonder level, James Brown level, McCartney, Brian Wilson. He belongs in that kind of company."
