Prince has been posthumously inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame

The induction followed a 40th anniversary screening of his film Purple Rain at Minneapolis’ Target Centre. Prince’s sister, Sharon L. Nelson, accepted the award on his behalf. In her speech, she said, “You will always remember his songs. This is the award he wanted more than any other in life — to be known as a great songwriter.”

What makes Prince’s induction into the Songwriters Hall Of Fame even more special is the confirmation that he knew of the intended honour and was planning to attend the ceremony in 2016, it was finally bestowed at Saturday night’s #PurpleRain screening at the Target Centre We… pic.twitter.com/IeSAE4yIQm

SHOF president and CEO Linda Moran revealed that they had been trying to coordinate schedules with him as the award stipulates that the honouree must be in attendance at the ceremony, but his busy touring life had made it difficult. “He reached out at the end of 2015 and said how important the award was to him and that the June 2016 ceremony could work,” she said. “We planned that it would be unannounced and a surprise; but unfortunately, Prince passed two months beforehand in April. It has been a long road, but we are thrilled that one of the world’s most prolific and phenomenal songwriters is finally a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame.”