A Fascinating Story About The Family History Of A Musical Icon.

Everyone knows the story of Prince Rogers Nelson who basically put Minnesota on the global map with his music. What we didn't know until now is the DEEPER roots of Prince's family history, which is now being revealed thanks to an awesome story done by KTAL.

Let's just say, we kind of always had a feeling that Prince had some SOUTHERN blood in him.

Prince's Family History Can Be Traced Back To Cotton Valley, Louisiana.

The family history of Prince can be traced back to a town in Webster Parish, just 2 hours from Tyler, and the story is truly fascinating and reflective of the early struggles of many Black Americans after the Civil War and the "Great Migration" of African Americans from the South to the North after WWII.

Prince's father John Lewis Nelson was born in Cotton Valley in 1916 to Clarence and his wife Carrie (Jenkins) Nelson. The story goes that after WWII, John fled the South for Minnesota where he started up a musical group called the Prince Rogers Trio.

John was a jazz musician who specialized in the piano and after moving to Minnesota, he married Mattie Shaw who just so happened to be a jazz singer.

Their son Prince was named after the Prince Rogers Trio.

Now you may say from here that the "rest is history" but the story from its beginning is truly a fascinating one. Six of Prince’s eight great-grandparents were born into slavery, many in Louisiana.

Just a few generations later, their GREAT-GRANSON became one of the biggest stars in the world. For the complete story on Prince's family history, check it out now at KTAL's website here.