Prince’s sister Tyka Nelson dies at 64: ‘That girl could sing, no question’

Tyka Nelson, a Twin Cities singer and Prince’s sister, passed away Monday morning at North Memorial Health hospital in Robbinsdale.

Her son, President Nelson, confirmed the death but declined to offer details. Tyka, of Minnetonka, was 64.

She had been dealing with heart issues, according to a family friend.

The daughter of John L. Nelson and Mattie Shaw Nelson, Tyka Nelson was Prince’s only full sibling. Like her famous brother, she had an interest in music.

Nelson released four albums between 1988 and 2011 and was supposed to have her retirement and farewell concert in June at the Dakota. However, she took ill and the concert — in which she was set to be the emcee and sing a couple of songs — went on without her.

“I’m getting older,” Nelson told the Minnesota Star Tribune before her June show. “I really wasn’t a singer. I’m a writer. I just happen to be able to sing. I enjoy singing.”

She said she was writing a memoir.

Nelson last headlined a show in the Twin Cities in 2008 at Bunkers, though a year later she participated in a Prince Family Reunion concert at the Cabooze. Her last public performance was in Australia in 2018.

Twin Cities musician Paul Peterson worked with Nelson on the 2018 tour.

“The girl could sing, no question about it,” he said Tuesday. “She didn’t get to do it often, so it was a little intimidating for her. She had a soulful and sweet voice. She was playful and cute, interested in doing things for herself and for keeping Prince’s legacy alive.”

Peterson was the music director for Nelson’s scheduled June concert at the Dakota but they communicated by phone, never meeting in person. However, he received a text from her in August, saying, “I can dance again.”

Minneapolis music maestro J.D. Steele did vocal arrangements for Nelson’s 1988 debut album, “Royal Blue.”

“She was a sweetheart of a person,” he said this week. “There was a lot of pressure on her when she signed her first record deal because she was Prince’s sister. But she had a lot of really wonderful ideas. She wrote with a certain clarity that I really appreciated. She had a sensibility about her writing that was unique and special. There was a lot of pressure to perform because she didn’t have that skinny blond look, but she definitely had the talent.”

Nelson released three more albums, the last of which, 2011′s “Hustler,” was an electronica record.

After a protracted probate following Prince’s death in 2016, Tyka Nelson was ruled to be one of the six legal heirs. In 2022, she sold all but 2% of her shares to Primary Wave, a music management firm based in New York.

“We are a little teeny corner, but it’s a big role. It’s a cool role,” she said in June. “I can’t even think of what I sold. We — my son President and my son Sir — us three.”

This week, Primary Wave released a statement: “We are incredibly saddened to hear about the passing of Tyka Nelson. She was well known as a talented singer and songwriter and Prince’s sister, supporting him and working to keep his legacy alive for years. Our thoughts are with President, Sir and her entire family during this difficult time.”

Nelson participated in promoting Prince’s legacy, going to London in 2017 to tout a mini-museum organized by Paisley Park. She attended events at the annual Prince Celebration for fans at his Chanhassen museum and gave some television interviews about her famous brother.

After acquiring the stake of Prince siblings Tyka, Omarr Baker and the late Alfred Jackson, Primary Wave, headed by Larry Mestel, manages half of the Prince estate while the shares of siblings Sharon, Norrine and the late John Nelson are controlled by the Prince Legacy LLC, run by Londell McMillan and Charles Spicer.

Sharon Nelson, who lived on the East Coast for 50 years, did not get to know her sister Tyka until Sharon moved back to the Twin Cities after Prince died.

“She had her own mind,” Sharon said of Tyka on Monday night. “She’s in a better place.”

Tyka Nelson’s survivors include her sons President and Sir, sisters Sharon and Norrine Nelson, and brother Omarr Baker.