Born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Prince signed a recording contract with Warner Bros. Records at the age of 19. Prince went on to achieve critical success with the innovative albums "Dirty Mind" (1980), "Controversy" (1981), and "1999" (1982). His sixth album, "Purple Rain" (1984), was recorded with his backup band the Revolution, and was the soundtrack to his film acting debut of the same name. "Purple Rain" spent six consecutive months atop the "Billboard" 200. Prince won the Academy Award for Best Original Song Score. After disbanding the Revolution, Prince went on to achieve continued critical success with "Sign o' the Times" (1987). In the midst of a contractual dispute with Warner Bros in 1993, he changed his stage name to the unpronounceable symbol (known to fans as the "Love Symbol"), and was sometimes referred to as The Artist Formerly Known as Prince or KATAFP, or simply the Artist. He signed with Arista Records in 1998 and began referring to himself by his own name again in 2000. After returning to mainstream prominence following a performance at the Grammy Awards ceremony in 2004, he scored six US top ten albums over the following decade. Joni Mitchell said of Prince, "He's driven like an artist. His motivations are growth and experimentation as opposed to formula and hits."