Purple Rain by Prince Turns 41

1984 was the year that purple reigned supreme

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On this day in 1984 Prince released his sixth studio album Purple Rain. It was the first to feature his band The Revolution, and the soundtrack to the film of the same name (which released July 27th, 1984). The first two singles from the album, ‘When Doves Cry’ and ‘Let’s Go Crazy’, topped the US singles charts, and were hits around the world, while the title track went to No.2 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Prince’s first five albums were mostly solo recordings in which he played all of the instruments and handled vocal duties. Those records saw some chart success. His 1979 self-titled sophomore album and his 1981 full-length Controversy were top 40 hits. His fifth album, 1999, broke into the top 10, peaking at No. 7. However, Purple Rain spent 24 consecutive weeks at No. 1.

I was supposed to see Prince perform in Orlando in 1999 (which obviously would’ve been epic) but the show was cancelled due to a throat issue he was battling. I remember thinking to myself, “I’ll see him again”, yet I never did. There are a handful of artists I would love to travel back in time and see play a show and Prince is certainly in the Top 5, along with Led Zeppelin, The Doors, Nirvana, and Biggie.

The June 2, 1984, Billboard called The Jacksons’ Victory the month’s biggest album, with Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the U.S.A. named the “next hottest.” The same article mentioned two other albums “by acts that hit platinum” — Prince and Jane Fonda. Two weeks later, Billboard identified Prince as a critics’ pick, “viewed with skepticism by pop programmers.” But a headline in the July 7 issue trumpeted that “Prince Keeps Springsteen Humble” as “When Doves Cry” flew to the peak of the Hot 100, shutting out The Boss’ “Dancing in the Dark.”

The Album absolutely change everything we knew about music and it was impossible to out this record into any one category. As well as pushing all kinds of boundaries, Purple Rain also broke all kinds of records, including one at the music industry’s most prestigious night of the year. At the 1985 GRAMMY Awards, Prince became the first Black artist ever to win Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal, beating the likes of the Cars, Genesis, Van Halen, and Yes in the process. Purple Rain also picked up Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media at the same ceremony, and was nominated in the night’s most coveted Category, Album Of The Year. 

Prince gave us so many great songs and great albums and pushed the envelope with every project and certainly with every live performance. Unfortunately he left us too earlier and he certainly had more to show us and teach us. But be happy that you got to share this Earth with a true pioneer and if you saw him live then you were truly in the presence of musical royalty.