Remembering Prince

Elton John paid his respects to Prince in front of a sold-out Caesars Palace crowd Saturday night.

Elton paused his 'Million Dollar Piano' show midway to talk about the singer. During his chat, Elton called Prince a "Purple Warrior" and mentioned how the singer was truly one of a kind.

Elton also shared a story about when he and Prince both had Vegas shows ... he said he'd often see Prince in their hotel lobby getting home from the clubs just as Elton would start his day. The singer then went into "I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues" with a Prince slideshow in the background.

Dave Chappelle got emotional when remembering Prince ... just one night after calling the singer's death the "Black 9/11."

Dave hit up The Nice Guy in West Hollywood Saturday night when our photog asked about Prince. At first, Dave was shy to talk about it ... but then called the loss something that's hit home for everyone.

It was reported Dave called Prince's death the "Black 9/11" at a show in San Francisco Friday ... saying it's important everyone grieves together. You'll remember ... his "Chappelle's Show" famously featured a skit about the singer in one of its funniest projects.

4:35 P.M. PST -- A rep for Prince tells TMZ, "A few hours ago, Prince was celebrated by a small group of his most beloved: family, friends and his musicians, in a private, beautiful ceremony to say a loving goodbye. Prince's remains have been cremated and their final storage will remain private.

We ask for your blessings and prayers of comfort for his family and close friends at this time. The cause of death remains unknown and it will be at least four weeks before we receive the results of the autopsy. An announcement will be made at a future date for a musical celebration."

2:30 P.M. PST -- Guests including Prince's sister Tyka have started to arrive at the estate.

It appears Prince will be remembered in a private service at his Paisley Park home ... and staff members are currently unloading items for the memorial.

You can see from the pics ... several bouquets of flowers, catered food and tables have been taken inside. It's unknown exactly what will go down in Paisley Park, but we've been told the family's been planning something intimate.

Prince's body was released Friday to his relatives after an autopsy was completed, multiple reports say he's been cremated.

One of the last images of Prince ... happy, carefree, hair blowing in the wind on his bike.

These photos were taken Monday ... 3 days before he died. The pics were taken by a woman who lives a mile down the road from Paisley Park.

She says Prince was the picture of happiness, smiling as he cruised around the neighborhood. She says he was riding for at least an hour, and there was no sign of fatigue.

Prince had been riding around in the days leading to his death. We've seen video of him last weekend riding in a shopping mall parking lot, waiting for his girlfriend.

Darryl McDaniels, D.M.C. of Run-D.M.C. swears Prince could do more than just sing, dance and play the guitar ... he could tell the future too.

Our photog caught up with the rapper at LAX Friday who says in the 80's the singer flat out told the group they'd make it to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ... more than 20 years before it actually happened.

Prince's body had no obvious signs of trauma when he was found in an elevator ... according to the Sheriff running the investigation into his death.

Carver County Sheriff Olson gave few details about what his deputies found at Paisley Park on Thursday morning. He said they've found nothing to indicate the superstar's death was a suicide.

A rep for the Medical Examiner's Office said the autopsy was complete, but they will not release any results until toxicology testing is also complete ... and that could take several weeks.

We broke the story ... Prince had been to his local Walgreens 4 times in the week before his death -- and had been treated for a Percocet OD in Moline, IL last week. When asked if he knew of any medications Prince was taking ...the Sheriff said he "would not confirm."

12:54 PM PST -- The coroner's office just released Prince's body to his family.

Prince's autopsy was just completed ... but the cause of the singer's death is still a mystery.

The four hour procedure started at 9 AM CDT Friday and Prince's body will be released to his family later today. We're told results from the exam won't be disclosed until toxicology results come back ... which could take several weeks.

A rep for the Midwest Medical Examiner's Office in Minnesota says they're still collecting the singer's medical records as well as family medical history to complete their investigation.

As TMZ reported, Prince was spotted Wednesday pacing outside a local Walgreens waiting on a prescription.

Prince had OD'd on Percocet days before his death, and he ingested so much, EMTs had to administer a "save shot" at the airport where his plane made an emergency landing to save his life.

Sources in Moline, Illinois tell TMZ, Prince's entourage told responders he had taken the painkiller after his Atlanta concert which triggered the emergency.

Percocet is a painkiller which contains a combination of acetaminophen and oxycodone, an opioid. It is highly addictive.

We're told Prince was taking painkillers for a hip problem. We're told he had corrective surgery for his hips around 2010.

As we reported, Prince went to his local Walgreens 4 times in the week leading up to his death. We got a photo of Prince in the parking lot of the Walgreens hours before he died. Witnesses say he was pacing and agitated, waiting for someone to bring out his meds.

Prince was treated for a drug overdose 6 days before his death ... multiple sources tell TMZ.

We broke the story ... Prince's private jet made an emergency landing in Moline, Illinois last Friday, hours after he performed in Atlanta. At the time his reps said he was battling the flu ... something we questioned because his plane was only 48 minutes from home before the unscheduled landing.

Multiple sources in Moline tell us, Prince was rushed to a hospital and doctors gave him a "save shot" ... typically administered to counteract the effects of an opiate.

Our sources further say doctors advised Prince to stay in the hospital for 24 hours. His people demanded a private room, and when they were told that wasn't possible ... Prince and co. decided to bail. The singer was released 3 hours after arriving and flew home.

We're told when Prince left he "was not doing well."

We know authorities in Minnesota are trying to get the hospital records from Moline to help determine cause of death.

We have made more than a dozen attempts to reach Prince's reps for comment, but they went radio silent.

Prince's legion of fans recreated the closing scene of "Purple Rain" ... on a much bigger scale, and it was pretty awesome to see from above.

Mourners gathered in downtown Minneapolis Thursday night, and a reporter had the perfect birdseye view when the crowd of several hundred people sang along to Prince's signature anthem.

Prince was all over NYC ... with Alicia Keys, Jennifer Hudson and the whole cast of "Hamilton" saluting the singer.

Alicia's one of the few artists Prince allowed to cover his music. On her debut album she recorded a new version of "How Come You Don't Call Me" -- and during a private show Thursday night she played the song and thanked Prince for teaching her "how to be bold and brazen."

He got more props on Broadway ... Hudson and the cast of "The Color Purple" closed with a "Purple Rain" sing-along -- and the "Hamilton" crew stepped outta the 18th century for "Let's Go Crazy."

Charlie Murphy is reflecting on his most famous basketball opponent ... opening up about how Prince didn't just change music -- he changed the world.

Of course, Charlie's "Chappelle's Show" sketch about his pick-up game with Prince is legendary ... but Murphy says it shouldn't have been a shock that His Purpleness was such an incredible athlete.

"If you seen his last show, how could you not watch his show and go, 'That dude is an athlete!'"

Prince clearly made an impact on Murphy -- and he joined the guys on the "TMZ Sports" TV show on FS1 to tell us what the singer meant to him. It's pretty good stuff.

A vibrant rainbow graced the skies above Prince's home Thursday ... hours after he died.

Mourners were paying their respects outside Paisley Park when the rain stopped, the skies opened and the rainbow appeared.

It's interesting ... hours after Nancy Reagan died in March, a rainbow appeared over the home she shared with President Reagan.

A panicked man called 911 from Paisley Park after finding Prince unconscious, and blurted out ... "people are just distraught" here.

We've obtained the transcript of the 911 call which police say was made by an unidentified male who immediately said, "Um, we're at Prince's house." Seconds later the man stammered before saying, "So, yeah, um, the person is dead here."

For some reason the caller did not know the address at Paisley Park, and had to call someone else in to the room to provide that info.

When the dispatcher asked, "Are you with the person who's ... " -- the caller interrupted, "Yes, it's Prince."

Paramedics arrived and quickly reported back to dispatch, "You can cancel anybody going to Audubon, confirmed DOA."

Michael Jordan is paying tribute to Prince ... telling TMZ Sports the music legend's songs "inspired me throughout my career and remind me of so many moments from my life."

Jordan is a big Prince fan -- so we reached out to His Royal Airness for his thoughts about Prince's passing. Here's what he said in a statement given to us by his rep Estee Portnoy:

"Like so many people I am shocked at the news that Prince has died. In a world of creative performers, Prince was a genius."

"His impact not just on music, but on culture, truly can’t be measured His songs inspired me throughout my career and remind me of so many moments from my life."

Prince's longtime friend and collaborator Sheila E. wants answers -- and she's jetting to Minnesota right now to get them.

We just got Sheila as she was boarding a flight at LAX, and she was visibly shaken about the news of Prince's death. She gave us a message for the millions of fans mourning around the world.