Prince

“Purple rain, pencil line.”

86STACH SCORE

✂ Pencil Musician Era: 1980s Born 1958

Is this a Legendary Stach?

Stach Stats

Stash Power60

Ruggedness30

Curl Factor5

Legend Status98

Stats are for entertainment purposes. The mustache committee's decisions are final and occasionally arbitrary.

Style: Pencil
Peak Era: 1980s
Born: 1958
Fan Votes: 0 legendary · 0 meh

The Story

About Prince

Prince Rogers Nelson (1958–2016) was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to two musician parents and was writing songs by age seven. He signed with Warner Bros. at 18 and produced his debut album, For You (1978), essentially alone, playing all of its instruments himself. 1999 (1982) broke him to a mass audience, and Purple Rain (1984), both album and film, made him one of the biggest stars in the world and won him an Academy Award for Best Original Song Score.

Through the rest of the 1980s he released a run of albums, including Around the World in a Day (1985), Parade (1986), and Sign o' the Times (1987), that are widely considered among the finest in pop history. He wrote hits for others ("Nothing Compares 2 U," "Manic Monday"), changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol in 1993 during a contract dispute, and built Paisley Park, his Minnesota studio complex.

He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, delivered a legendary Super Bowl XLI halftime show in the rain in 2007, and died in 2016. The thin mustache, sometimes paired with a small beard, was a subtle constant through decades of otherwise dramatic reinvention.

The Verdict

Why the Stach Became Iconic

Prince's mustache was the quietest thing about him, which is exactly why it works. A thin, precise line above the lip, in the tradition of Little Richard and the pencil-mustache matinee idols, it was a small, knowing detail on a man who otherwise dressed in purple lace and high heels.

It is a reminder that a mustache does not have to be big to be legendary. It only has to be exactly right.

On the Record

Appearances

For You (1978)
1999 (1982)
Purple Rain, album and film (1984)
Sign o' the Times (1987)
Batman soundtrack (1989)
Diamonds and Pearls (1991)
Super Bowl XLI halftime show (2007)
Musicology (2004)

Fun Facts

He played all 27 instruments credited on his debut album, For You (1978).
He won the Academy Award for Best Original Song Score for Purple Rain (1984).
He changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol in 1993 during a dispute with Warner Bros.
His 2007 Super Bowl halftime performance, played in a downpour, is routinely ranked among the best ever.
He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, his first year of eligibility.