Purple Rain (song)

Recording

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".

The concert was recorded by David Rivkin (a.k.a. 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 Kooster McAllister. David Z's connection to Prince is deeper than most professional relationships. 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 wasn't surprised when he was requested to set up the live recording in August 3, 1983, "With Prince, you never knew, " he says. "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." 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–September 1983. A solo and verse from the original recording were edited out and replaced with a different verse, changing the length from eleven to eight minutes. The extra verse was about money, but was removed because it diluted the emotional impact of the song.

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.

Prince's explanation of meaning

Prince explained the meaning of "Purple Rain" 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." The phrase "purple rain" appeared in the lyrics of an earlier, 1972, song: Top Ten-charting "Ventura Highway" by America. That song was written by Dewey Bunnell. 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...").

Song structure

"Purple Rain" opens with a lone guitar quickly followed by live drumming and a prominent Yamaha CP70 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 first verse is dedicated to his father, then his ex-girlfriend (Apollonia), and then his bandmates. 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 F3 to the high note of A5.

Performances

The song was a staple of Prince's live performances. He played it on nearly every tour since 1984, except for a period after his name change when he avoided his older hits for a few years. At Super Bowl XLI's halftime show, in which he was the featured performer, "Purple Rain" was featured as the last song of his set and was, appropriately, played during a downpour at the stadium, which when combined with the purple stage lighting created the song's signature image. 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.

As a single

For release as a single, the song was edited down from 8:45 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 André Cymone. In the U.K., the 12" single also included an instrumental of "God", also known as "Love Theme from Purple Rain", an edited portion of which appears in the film.

Reception and legacy

The song ranked number 144 on the Rolling Stone list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Q magazine placed it at number 40 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks, and Pitchfork Media named it the best song of the 1980s.

The song is also included in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.

Personnel

7"

12"

12 " (UK)

Shaped picture disc (UK)

7" promo (US)

7" promo (UK)

12" promo (US)

Stacy Francis version

"Purple Rain" became the debut single of American recording artist and The X Factor's season one finalist, Stacy Francis. She first performed the song on The X Factor Judges' Houses episode, in front of her mentor Nicole Scherzinger and Enrique Iglesias. Her powerful vocal performance received positive feedback, with Iglesias commenting: "I think the neighbors can hear that!"

Francis eventually released a studio version of the song as her debut single on May 29, 2012. She dedicated the single to her supporters who have been supporting her ever since she was eliminated from the competition and motivated her to do a studio cover of the song.

Dami Im version

Australian pop singer Dami Im performed a cover in week two of the fifth Australian X Factor series, on 22 September 2013. All four judges gave her a unanimous standing ovation with Ronan Keating standing on the table. Keating told Im that the competition "at the moment, is yours". Her performance debuted at number 29 on the Australian Singles Chart. It was Im's second consecutive standing ovation during the Live Shows. During the Grand Final Live Decider Show on 27 October 2013 Dami reprised her iconic performance of the song as the "Best Live Show" Song, again to a standing ovation from the judges and the audience.

Im recorded a version of the song for her self-titled album, which debuted at number one in Australia. On the morning of 21 April 2016, Im performed live on Australia's Channel 7's The Morning Show in a tribute to Prince. "Purple Rain" remains a part of Im's repertoire in many of her public performances. Im also performs the song acoustically. One notable such performance was at the John Legend Tour of Australia in 2014, where she was the opening act for Legend.

Bruce Springsteen version

On April 23, 2016, two days after Prince's death, Bruce Springsteen opened his concert at Barclays Center with a cover of the iconic Prince song, dedicating it to the fallen musician. The guitar solo was played by E Street Band guitarist Nils Lofgren.