Prince didn't just fall from the sky. While he often cultivated an image of being a self-created mystery, an otherworldly being who arrived on a purple cloud, the truth of his upbringing is grounded in the complex, sometimes painful, and deeply musical lives of his parents. To understand the man who wrote Purple Rain, you have to understand John L. Nelson and Mattie Della Shaw.
They weren't just background characters.
The Jazz Foundation of John L. Nelson
John L. Nelson, Prince’s father, was a jazz pianist who performed under the stage name Prince Rogers. That’s where the name came from. It wasn't a marketing gimmick dreamed up in a boardroom; it was a legacy handed down from a man who wanted his son to do everything he couldn't. John was a disciplined, often stern man who moved from Louisiana to Minneapolis during the Great Migration. He brought with him the strict musicality of the South and a relentless work ethic.
He was the one who bought the piano.
Prince often spoke about how he was forbidden from touching his father’s piano when he was a small child. Of course, that only made him want to play it more. When John eventually moved out after the marriage collapsed, he left the instrument behind. That piano became Prince's lifeline. It was the tool he used to decode the world.
John’s influence on Prince’s music is literally baked into the credits. If you look at the liner notes for Purple Rain, Around the World in a Day, or Parade, you’ll see John L. Nelson credited as a co-writer on tracks like "Computer Blue" and "Christopher Tracy’s Parade." It wasn't just a courtesy credit. John contributed melodies and arrangements that gave Prince’s work a sophisticated, jazzy edge that set him apart from his pop contemporaries.
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Mattie Della Shaw: The Spirit and the Spark
Then there was Mattie. If John provided the structure and the technical foundation, Mattie Della Shaw provided the charisma and the fire. She was a jazz singer, a woman described by those who knew her as vivacious and incredibly sharp. She had a personality that filled the room, a trait her son clearly inherited.
But the relationship was messy.
Mattie and John’s marriage was volatile, and they separated when Prince was just ten years old. This period of Prince’s life was defined by a sort of nomadic existence. He bounced between his mother’s house and his father’s house, never quite feeling like he belonged in either place. He famously struggled with his stepfather, Hayward Baker, leading him to eventually move into the basement of his childhood friend André Cymone’s family home.
That rejection fueled him.
The duality of Prince—the tension between his religious upbringing and his hyper-sexualized stage persona—can be traced directly back to the conflicting energies of his parents. He spent his whole life trying to reconcile John’s rigid discipline with Mattie’s free-spirited nature.
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What Most People Get Wrong About the Family Dynamic
There's a common misconception that Prince hated his father or that they were permanently estranged. It’s a narrative fueled partly by the movie Purple Rain, where the father figure is depicted as a violent, failed musician. While Prince admitted the film had "shades" of reality, it wasn't a documentary.
The reality was much more nuanced.
In his later years, Prince became very close with John. He bought his father a house and they collaborated frequently. Prince actually credited his father with teaching him how to be a professional. John was the one who told him to always stay "a little bit mysterious." He took that advice to heart.
His relationship with Mattie was also complicated by his eventual conversion to the Jehovah's Witness faith. While Mattie was supportive of her son, the shift in his lifestyle and belief system created a different kind of distance. Yet, when she passed away in 2002, Prince was devastated. He had always been "Mattie's boy" in his eyes, even when they weren't speaking.
The Minneapolis Sound as a Family Business
Minneapolis in the 1960s and 70s wasn't exactly a mecca for Black music, which makes the success of Prince’s parents even more remarkable. They were part of a small, tight-knit community of musicians who had to be twice as good to get half the recognition. This environment forged Prince’s competitive streak.
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He saw his father’s struggles. He saw how the industry could grind a talented person down.
Prince used his mother and father’s experiences as a roadmap of what to avoid. He didn't just want to be a local jazz legend; he wanted global domination. He took the "Prince Rogers" name and turned it into a brand that couldn't be ignored.
Practical Insights for Fans and Researchers
If you’re looking to truly understand the DNA of Prince’s artistry, don’t just listen to the hits. Look at the specific contributions and the historical context of his parents' lives.
- Listen to the "Father’s Song" demo: This unreleased (but widely bootlegged and eventually officially released on the Purple Rain Deluxe edition) track shows the direct musical lineage between John’s piano style and Prince’s compositions.
- Research the 1950s Minneapolis Jazz Scene: Understanding the venues like the Flame Cafe where his parents met provides context for the "Minneapolis Sound" that Prince would eventually revolutionize.
- Analyze the lyrics of "Papa": From the Come album, this track offers a raw, if stylized, look at the domestic trauma Prince experienced, highlighting how he processed his parents' relationship through his art.
- Read "The Beautiful Ones": Prince’s unfinished memoir provides his own words on his parents, moving past the tabloid rumors to show the deep-seated respect and occasional resentment he felt for both.
The genius of Prince wasn't a freak accident of nature. It was the result of two talented, complicated people colliding in a city that didn't know what to do with them. He was the synthesis of John’s theory and Mattie’s soul. Without the specific combination of his mother and father, the music that defined a generation would never have existed. He carried their triumphs and their shadows in every note he played.