"Purple Rain" | ||||
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Single by Prince and the Revolution | ||||
from the album Purple Rain | ||||
B-side |
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Released | September 26, 1984 | |||
Recorded |
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Studio | Sunset Sound, Los Angeles (overdubs) | |||
Venue | First Avenue, Minneapolis, Minnesota (live basic track) | |||
Genre | Rock | |||
Length |
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Label | Warner Bros. | |||
Songwriter(s) | Prince [1] | |||
Producer(s) | Prince and the Revolution | |||
Prince and the Revolution singles chronology | ||||
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Purple Rain singles chronology | ||||
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Purple vinyl issue | ||||
"Purple Rain" is a song by the American musician Prince and his backing band the Revolution. It is the title track from the 1984 album Purple Rain,which in turn is the soundtrack album for the 1984 film Purple Rain starring Prince,and was released as the third single from the album.
"Purple Rain" reached number two on the US Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks,being kept off number one by "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" by Wham!. It hit number one on the US Cash Box Top 100,where it stayed for two weeks. It is certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and is considered to be one of Prince's signature songs. Following Prince's death in 2016,"Purple Rain" re-entered the Billboard Hot 100,where it reached number four. [2] It also re-entered the UK Singles Chart at number six,placing two spaces higher than its original peak. In France,where it originally peaked at number twelve,"Purple Rain" reached number one a week after Prince's death.
"Purple Rain" was ranked number 18 on Rolling Stone 's 2021 list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and is included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. [3] During Prince's performance at the Super Bowl XLI halftime show in 2007,"Purple Rain" was the last song of his set;the event became especially notable when actual rain fell during the performance while the stage and stadium were lit up with purple lights. [4] The Super Bowl XLI halftime show featuring Prince has topped lists of the best Super Bowl halftime shows of all time. [5] [6] [7] Prince performed the song as the opening of a medley of his hits with Beyoncé at the 2004 Grammy Awards. It was also the final song he performed at his last concert,which took place on April 14,2016. [8]
In 2011,"Purple Rain" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. [9]
"Purple Rain" was originally written as a country song and intended to be a collaboration with Stevie Nicks. [10] According to Nicks,she received a 10-minute instrumental version of the song from Prince with a request to write the lyrics,but felt overwhelmed. She said:"I listened to it and I just got scared. I called him back and said,'I can't do it. I wish I could. It's too much for me.'" [11] At a rehearsal,Prince then asked his backing band to try the song:"I want to try something before we go home. It's mellow." According to Lisa Coleman,Prince then changed the song after Wendy Melvoin started playing guitar chords to accompany the song:"He was excited to hear it voiced differently. It took it out of that country feeling. Then we all started playing it a bit harder and taking it more seriously. We played it for six hours straight and by the end of that day we had it mostly written and arranged." [10]
Prince explained the meaning of the song as follows:"When there's blood in the sky... red and blue = purple. Purple rain pertains to the end of the world and being with the one you love and letting your faith/God guide you through the purple rain." [12] The title track of Prince's preceding album, 1999 ,included similar references to a doomed ending under a purple sky ("...could have sworn it was Judgment Day,the sky was all purple..."). The name for the song originated from the lyrics to the 1972 song "Ventura Highway" by the band America. [13] [14]
"Purple Rain" is written in the key of B-flat major, [15] opens with a lone guitar quickly followed by live drumming and a prominent Yamaha CP-70 electric grand piano,evoking images of church gospel music. Three verses are each followed by a chorus,with a building emotional delivery. In the context of the film,each verse ties into a different strained relationship Prince's character has and his desire to reconcile. The song is dedicated to his father in the movie,not ex-girlfriend Denise Matthews better known as Vanity. After the final chorus,a guitar solo takes over the song. The song ends with a piano solo and orchestral strings. Prince's vocal range spans from the low note of B♭2 to the high note of C♯6. [16] [ irrelevant citation ]
The song was recorded during a benefit concert for the Minnesota Dance Theatre at the First Avenue nightclub in Minneapolis on August 3,1983. The performance was guitarist Wendy Melvoin's live debut with the Revolution,at the age of 19. City Pages described the 70-minute performance as Prince's "sweatiest and most soulful hometown concert yet",and drummer Bobby Z stated,"it certainly was one of the best concerts we ever did". [17]
The concert was recorded by David Rivkin (also known as David Z,brother of Bobby Z) using a mobile recording unit brought in from the Record Plant in New York City,staffed by engineers Dave Hewitt and Koster McAllister. [18] David's older brother Cliff Rifkin was the regional promotion executive for Warners in Minneapolis,who also expedited Prince's label signing. David Z's younger brother,Bobby Z,would then become Prince's drummer in the Revolution. David Z was not surprised when he was requested to set up the live recording on August 3,1983,"With Prince,you never knew," he declared. "I thought we were recording a concert,but I wasn't sure if it was going to be a record,too. I knew they were working on the movie as,as well. You just had to go in prepared to record whatever it was going to be as well as you could." [19] The basic tracks for three songs were used on the Purple Rain soundtrack:"Purple Rain","I Would Die 4 U",and "Baby I'm a Star". Prince performed overdubs while working at Sunset Sound in Los Angeles from August to September 1983. A solo and a verse from the original recording were edited out,changing the length from eleven to eight minutes. [17] The extra verse was about money but was removed because it diluted the emotional impact of the song. [20]
After recording the song,Prince phoned Jonathan Cain from Journey to ask him to listen to it,as he was worried that it might be too similar to "Faithfully",a Journey single composed by Cain which had recently been in the charts. Cain reassured Prince by telling him that the songs only shared the same four chords. [21] Lisa Coleman created the string arrangement,played by her brother and friends,that was overdubbed into the song in a studio in Los Angeles. [10]
For release as a single,the song was edited down from 8:41 to 4:05. The B-side,"God",is a much more overtly religious number (Prince's most religious),recalling the Book of Genesis. The song also features extensive vocal experimentation. Towards the end,Prince mentions "The Dance Electric",which was a song given to former band member AndréCymone. In the UK,the 12-inch single also included an instrumental of "God",also known as "Love Theme from "Purple Rain",an edited portion of which appears in the film.
The song was a staple of Prince's live performances. He played it on nearly every tour after 1984,except for a period after his name change when he avoided his older hits for a few years.
At the Super Bowl XLI halftime show,in which he was the featured performer,"Purple Rain" was featured as the last song of Prince's set and was,appropriately,played during a downpour at the stadium;when combined with the purple stage lighting,this created the song's signature image. [4]
Prince performed the song as the opening of a medley of his hits with Beyoncé at the 2004 Grammy Awards,and also at the 2006 Brit Awards.
"Purple Rain" ended up being the final song Prince performed live during his final concert in Atlanta,Georgia on April 14,2016. [8]
In a contemporary review of the single release, Billboard called it "pretty majestic," stating,"captured in four minutes,the song and the emotion that make the pivotal moment of a remarkable film." [22]
The song ranked number 18 in Rolling Stone ‘s 2021 list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. [23] Q magazine placed it at number 40 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks,and Pitchfork named it the best song of the 1980s. [24] Paste and American Songwriter both ranked it as Prince's greatest song. [25] [26] The song is also included in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. [3]
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Credits sourced from Duane Tudahl, Benoît Clerc, and Guitarcloud [27] [28] [29]
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
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Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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Denmark (IFPI Danmark) [61] | Platinum | 90,000‡ |
Italy (FIMI) [62] sales since 2009 | Platinum | 100,000‡ |
New Zealand (RMNZ) [63] | Gold | 7,500* |
Spain (PROMUSICAE) [64] | Gold | 30,000‡ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [65] | 2× Platinum | 1,200,000‡ |
United States (RIAA) [66] 1984 sales | Gold | 1,000,000^ |
United States digital sales | — | 1,720,968 [67] |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
Prince Rogers Nelson was an American singer, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, record producer, and actor. The recipient of numerous awards and nominations, he is regarded as one of history's greatest musicians. He was known for his flamboyant, androgynous persona; his wide vocal range, which included a far-reaching falsetto and high-pitched screams; and his skill as a multi-instrumentalist, often preferring to play all or most of the instruments on his recordings. His music incorporated a wide variety of styles, including funk, R&B, rock, new wave, soul, synth-pop, pop, jazz, blues, and hip hop. Prince produced his albums himself, pioneering the Minneapolis sound.
"Every Breath You Take" is a song by the English rock band the Police from their album Synchronicity (1983). Written by Sting, the single was the biggest US and Canadian hit of 1983, topping the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for eight weeks, and the Canadian RPM chart for four weeks. Their fifth UK No. 1, it topped the UK Singles Chart for four weeks. The song also reached the top 10 in numerous other countries.
Purple Rain is the sixth studio album by the American singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Prince. It was released on June 25, 1984, by Warner Bros. Records as the soundtrack album to the 1984 film of the same name. Purple Rain was musically denser than Prince's previous albums, emphasizing full band performances, and multiple layers of guitars, keyboards, electronic synthesizer effects, drum machines, and other instruments.
"When Doves Cry" is a song by American musician Prince, and the lead single from his sixth studio album Purple Rain. According to the DVD commentary of the film Purple Rain (1984), Prince was asked by director Albert Magnoli to write a song to match the theme of a particular segment of the film that involved intermingled parental difficulties and a love affair. The next morning, Prince had composed two songs, one of which was "When Doves Cry". According to Prince's biographer Per Nilsen, the song was inspired by his relationship with Vanity 6 member Susan Moonsie.
1999 is the fifth studio album by the American singer-songwriter and musician Prince, released on October 27, 1982, by Warner Bros. Records. It became his first album to be recorded with his band the Revolution. 1999's critical and commercial success propelled Prince to a place in the public psyche and marked the beginning of two years of heightened fame via his following releases.
"Jump" is a song by American rock band Van Halen. It was released in December 1983 as the lead single of their sixth studio album, 1984. It is Van Halen's most successful single, reaching number 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The song differs from earlier Van Halen songs in that it is driven by a keyboard riff, although the song does contain a guitar solo. David Lee Roth dedicated the song to martial artist Benny "The Jet" Urquidez, of whom he was a student. In 2021, Rolling Stone ranked "Jump" at number 177 on its updated list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".
"Kiss" is a song composed, written, and produced by American musician Prince. Released by the Paisley Park label as the lead single from Prince and the Revolution's eighth studio album, Parade (1986), on February 5, 1986, it was a No. 1 hit worldwide, holding the top spot of the US Billboard Hot 100 chart for two weeks. The single was certified gold in 1986 for shipments of 1,000,000 copies by RIAA.
"I Feel for You" is a song written by American musician Prince that originally appeared on his 1979 self-titled album. The most successful and best-known version was recorded by R&B singer Chaka Khan and appeared on her 1984 album of the same name. It became the recipient of two Grammy Awards for Best R&B Song and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for Khan.
"I Would Die 4 U" is a song by Prince and the Revolution, the fourth single in the US from their 1984 album, Purple Rain. The up-tempo dance song was a top 10 hit—the final one from the album—in the US, reaching number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Time After Time" is a song by American singer Cyndi Lauper from her debut studio album, She's So Unusual (1983). It was released as the album's second single in March 1984, by Epic and Portrait Records. Written by Lauper and Rob Hyman, who also provided backing vocals, the song was produced by Rick Chertoff. It was written in the album's final stages, after "Girls Just Want to Have Fun", "She Bop" and "All Through the Night" had been written or recorded. The writing began with the title, which Lauper had seen in TV Guide, referring to the 1979 film Time After Time.
The Revolution is an American band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1979 by Prince, serving as his live band and later as his studio band. The band's sound incorporated rock, pop, R&B, funk, new wave and psychedelic elements. Along with Prince's other projects, the Revolution helped create the Minneapolis sound. By the time of their 1986 breakup, the Revolution had backed Prince on two studio albums, two soundtracks and two videos.
"Let's Go Crazy" is a 1984 song by Prince and The Revolution, from the album Purple Rain. It is the opening track on both the album and the film Purple Rain. "Let's Go Crazy" was one of Prince's most popular songs, and was a staple for concert performances, often segueing into other hits. When released as a single, the song became Prince's second number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100, and also topped the two component charts, the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Dance Club Play charts, as well as becoming a UK Top 10 hit. The B-side was the lyrically controversial "Erotic City". In the UK, the song was released as a double A-side with "Take Me with U".
"Little Red Corvette" is a song by American recording artist Prince. The song combines a Linn LM-1 beat and slow synth buildup with a rock chorus, over which Prince, using several automobile metaphors, recalls a one-night stand with a beautiful promiscuous woman. Backing vocals were performed by Lisa Coleman and Dez Dickerson; Dickerson also performs a guitar solo on the song.
"Raspberry Beret" is a song written by American musician Prince and the lead single from Prince & the Revolution's 1985 album Around the World in a Day.
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"The Glamorous Life" is a song written by Prince, recorded by American percussionist Sheila E. and produced by both. The song has lyrics which reflect a cynicism for the decadence and materialism of the song's protagonist, referred to in the third person, who "wants to lead a glamorous life", although she is aware that "without love, it ain't much".
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Prince released several hundred songs both under his own name and under pseudonyms and/or pen names, as well as writing songs which have been recorded by other artists. Estimates of the actual number of songs written by Prince range anywhere from 500 to well over 1,000. He has released 117 singles, 41 promotional singles, 24 internet singles, and eight internet downloads.
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