Prince Says His Upcoming Memoir 'The Beautiful Ones' Will Recount 'His 1st Memories, Up To The Super Bowl'

Prince announced Friday that he has reached a deal with publisher Spiegel & Grau, an imprint of Random House, to write a memoir. Tentatively titled "The Beautiful Ones," the book title is taken from one of the nine songs on "Purple Rain," considered by many fans to be his seminal album.

Prince's announcement, which came at a special appearance at an undisclosed club in New York City, came before a 45-minute set of music, (which included the apropos number "All the Critics Love U In New York") before a crowd of mostly journalists and celebrities Trevor Noah and Harry Belafonte.

"The good people of Random House have made me an offer I can't refuse!" Prince told the crowd, according to a report in Vogue.

"It's going to be called 'The Beautiful Ones.' You all still read books, right?"

The prolific artist, who said the book will cover "from his first memories up to the Super Bowl," also discussed his decision to enlist Paris Review's web editor, Dan Piepenbring, as co-writer.

"He's a good critic," Prince said. "That's what I need, not a yes man."

Spiegel & Grau Executive Editor Chris Jackson is proud to be able to give the legendary musician, producer, songwriter, actor and director a chance to tell his story in his own words.

"Prince is a towering figure in global culture and his music has been the soundtrack for untold numbers of people--including me--for more than a generation; his creative genius has provided the musical landscape of our lives," Jackson told Rolling Stone on Friday.

"Millions of words have been written about Prince--books and articles, essays and criticism--but we're thrilled to be publishing Prince's powerful reflections on his own life in his own incandescently vivid, witty and poetic voice."

Esther Newberg of ICM Partners, the talent and literary agency, helped Spiegel & Grau acquire the rights to "The Beautiful Ones," with her colleague Dan Kirschen, according to the Wall Street Journal. She agrees that Prince's memoir has all the makings of a classic.

"I think it will be one of the great music memoirs," she said. "Like Dylan, he writes his own songs, so of course he will write a wonderful book."