Musical legends gathering for concert honoring Prince on his birthday

Minneapolis musician Tyka Nelson, Prince’s only full sibling, died Monday at North Memorial Health in Robbinsdale, Minnesota, her son President Nelson confirmed to The Associated Press. She was 64.

A cause of death was not immediately available, and President Nelson said he doesn’t expect to know “for a couple of days.”

In a Facebook post Monday, Prince’s cousin, Charles “Chazz” Smith said his family is “very saddened” by the news. 

Born to jazz musician John L. Nelson and Mattie Della Shaw in 1960, two years after Prince, Nelson was a singer-songwriter, releasing four albums across her career, starting with 1988’s “Royal Blue.” That album produced her biggest hits, “Marc Anthony’s Tune,” which spent 11 weeks on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, peaking at No. 33, and “L.O.V.E.,” which spent seven weeks on the chart and topped at No. 52.

It’s an alternative to her brother’s chosen color of purple. Of their relationship, she said: “The funniest thing is people say, ‘How does it feel to be Prince’s sister?’ They don’t actually realize what they’re saying. I’ve been Prince’s sister ever since I got here on Earth.”

The Associated Press described her “Royal Blue” album as “mostly adult-contemporary or easy-listening” material, “far removed from Prince and the so-called Minneapolis sound. Hers is a mature, romantic sound aimed at 25- to 45-year-olds.”

Then came 1992’s “Yellow Moon, Red Sky,” 2008’s “A Brand New Me,” and finally, 2011’s “Hustler.”

Nelson is survived by two sons, President and Sir, and five grandchildren.

“Born 1960, the daughter of Mattie and John Nelson, she was best known as Prince’s sister and worked to keep his legacy alive with his fans attending fan and industry events,” President Nelson shared in a statement. “Services will be private, and in lieu of flowers, the family has asked that you take care of one another.”

Prince died of an accidental fentanyl overdose in 2016 at his home in Minneapolis. He was 57. He had no will, and his six siblings inherited equal interests in the estate: Tyka Nelson and five half-siblings — Sharon Nelson, Norrine Nelson, John R. Nelson, Omarr Baker and Alfred Jackson.

Tyka Nelson, Baker and Jackson, the three youngest, sold their stake to a music publishing company called Primary Wave Music, LLC, which later assigned its interests to an affiliate, Prince OAT Holdings LLC. Jackson has since died.

Representatives for Paisley Park, Prince’s private estate which is also a museum, studio, and concert venue in Chanhassen, Minnesota, did not immediately respond to The Associated Press’ request for comment.

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Note: The video above originally aired on June 7, 2024.

Judy Garland Museum starts campaign to buy back iconic ruby slippers

A pair of ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in “The Wizard of Oz” are on the auction block nearly two decades after a thief stole the iconic shoes, convinced they were adorned with real jewels.

Online bidding has started and will continue through Dec. 7, Heritage Auctions in Dallas announced in a news release Monday.

The auction company received the sequin-and-bead-bedazzled slippers from Michael Shaw, the memorabilia collector who originally owned the footwear at the heart of the beloved 1939 musical. Shaw had loaned the shoes in 2005 to the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota.

That summer, someone smashed through a display case and stole the slippers. Their whereabouts remained a mystery until the FBI recovered them in 2018.

“It’s become an infamous thing for us,” said Janie Heitz, executive director of the Judy Garland Museum. “We will forever be known as a place where the ruby slippers were stolen, which comes with a lot of bad but can also come with some good because it put us on the map.”

Now the museum is among those vying for the slippers, which were one of several pairs Garland wore during the filming. Only four remain.

Grand Rapids raised money for the slippers at its annual Judy Garland festival. The funds will supplement the $100,000 set aside this year by Minnesota lawmakers to purchase the slippers.

At the time they were stolen, the shoes were insured for $1 million. Now they will go on the auction block this December for an estimated valuation of $3.5 million or more. 

The man who stole the slippers, Terry Jon Martin, was 76 when he was sentenced in January to time served because of his poor health. He admitted to using a hammer to smash the glass of the museum’s door and display case in what his attorney said was an attempt to pull off “one last score” after an old associate with connections to the mob told him the shoes had to be adorned with real jewels to justify their $1 million insured value.

The auction of movie memorabilia includes other items from “The Wizard of Oz,” such as a hat worn by Margaret Hamilton’s Wicked Witch of the West and the screen door from Dorothy’s Kansas home.

The Associated Press,

Pauleen Le and

Caroline Cummings

contributed to this report.