Purple Rain (album)
Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox album 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. Much of the album has a grandiose, synthesized, and psychedelic substance to the production and performances.
The music on Purple Rain is generally regarded as the most pop-oriented of Prince's career, though a number of elements point towards the more experimental records Prince would release after Purple Rain. The album drew some controversy. Network executives thought the sexual nature in the music video for the album's lead single "When Doves Cry" was too explicit for television. The risqué lyrics of "Darling Nikki" also raised complaints from Tipper Gore and the Parents Music Resource Center and contributed to the implementation of Parental Advisory stickers and imprints on album covers.
Despite this, Purple Rain was an enormous success, spending 24 consecutive weeks atop of the Billboard 200 and being present on the chart for a total of 167 weeks. "When Doves Cry" and "Let's Go Crazy" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, while "Purple Rain" and "I Would Die 4 U" were top 10 hits. A widespread critical success, critics noted the innovation and experimentation on the album, such as the synthesis of electronic elements with organic instrumentation, as well as the consolidation of rock and R&B. By 1996, the album was certified 13× platinum by the RIAA.
Purple Rain is Prince's commercial peak, with total sales standing at 25 million copies worldwide, making it one of the world's best-selling albums. Prince and the Revolution received a Grammy Award nomination for Album of the Year and won the Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal and Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media awards. Regularly ranked among the greatest albums of all time, Purple Rain was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and added to the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry list of sound recordings that are "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Background
While Prince's previous albums were primarily solo recordings by Prince, Purple Rain contained the credits "produced, arranged, composed and performed by Prince and the Revolution", though he had teased the name two years earlier on 1999, writing "and the Revolution" backwards on the album cover. The album was mostly written and recorded between May 1983 and March 1984, with "Baby I'm a Star" dating to 1981. The last three songs on the album ("I Would Die 4 U", "Baby I'm A Star" and the title track "Purple Rain") were recorded live at the 3Template:NbspAugust 1983 First Avenue show in Minneapolis, although overdubs and edits took place on all three in September 1983; this marked Prince's first album to include live recordings.<ref name=":33">Template:Cite web</ref>
Regarding the meaning of "Purple Rain", both Mikel Toombs of The San Diego Union and Bob Kostanczuk of the Post-Tribune have written that Prince took the title "Purple Rain" from lyrics in the America song "Ventura Highway".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Asked to explain the phrase "purple rain" in "Ventura Highway", Gerry Beckley responded: "You got me."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> However, Prince explained the meaning of "Purple Rain" as follows: "When there's blood in the skyTemplate:Sndred and blue = purpleTemplate:Nbsp... 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."<ref name=":13">Template:Cite web</ref>
"Purple Rain" was originally written as a country song and intended to be a collaboration with Stevie Nicks.<ref name="Hamm">Template:Cite news</ref> 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.'"<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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 the Revolution member Lisa Coleman, Prince then changed the song after the Revolution's 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."<ref name="Hamm" />
"Take Me with U" was written for the Apollonia 6 album [[Apollonia 6 (album)|ApolloniaTemplate:Nbsp6]] (1984), but later enlisted for Purple Rain.<ref name=":7">Template:Cite web</ref> The inclusion of that song necessitated cuts to the suite-like "Computer Blue", the full version of which did not earn an official release, although a portion of the second section can be heard in the film of the same name, in a sequence where Prince walks in on the men of the Revolution rehearsing. The risqué lyrics of "Darling Nikki" contributed to the use of Parental Advisory stickers and imprints on album covers that were the record label's answer to complaints from Tipper Gore and the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="TIME - 02Nov2006 - All-TIME 100 Albums - Purple Rain">Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Prince wrote and composed the album's lead single "When Doves Cry" after all the other tracks were complete on Purple Rain. In addition to providing vocals, he played all instruments on the track. With there being no bass line, the song's production is noted for being unconventionally bare in comparison to 1980s pop hits. Prince said there originally was a bass line but, after a conversation with singer Jill Jones, he decided the song was too conventional with it included.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Composition
Like Prince's previous albums, nearly all tracks on Purple Rain were written by him. 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. As a soundtrack record, much of the music had a grandiose, synthesized, and evenTemplate:Sndby some evaluationsTemplate:Snda psychedelic sheen to the production and performances. The music on Purple Rain is generally regarded as the most pop-oriented of Prince's career, though a number of elements point towards the more experimental records Prince would release after Purple Rain. ApolloniaTemplate:Nbsp6 member Apollonia recalled that after watching the Purple Rain cinematographic takes, she told Prince, "You know you're going to get an Oscar for this movieTemplate:Sndnot for the acting, but for the music."<ref name=":9">Template:Cite web</ref>
The Revolution member Doctor Fink told PopMatters in 2009 the recording of the album was "a very creative timeTemplate:Nbsp... There was a lot of influence and input from band members towards what [Prince] was doing. He was always open to anybody trying to contribute creatively to the process of writingTemplate:Nbsp... But Prince was the main lyricist and melody maker for all the songsTemplate:Nbsp... and never took any lyrical content from people."<ref name=":4">Template:Cite web</ref> Melvoin told Mojo in 1997 the band members were "absolute musical equals in the sense that Prince respected us, and allowed us to contribute to the music without any interferenceTemplate:Nbsp... I think the secret to our working relationship was that we were very non-possessive about our ideas, as opposed to some other people that have worked with him."<ref name=":4" />
Revolution members Fink, Coleman, and Melvoin helped write the album's fourth track "Computer Blue". Doctor Fink, who wrote a keyboard bass line for the track, said he "started playing that main bass groove which later became 'Computer Blue'. So the band [the Revolution] started grooving on it, and Prince started coming up with some stuff, then we recorded a rough version and he took it into the studio and just incorporated it all and made it fly that way. Wendy [Melvoin] and Lisa [Coleman] did some of the stuff on it. Prince borrowed the bridge/portal section from the then-unreleased Father's Song,<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> by his father jazz musician John L. Nelson, who had given him some music over the years to play around with. So the song was a real mixture of different people and influences."<ref name=":4" />
The full band appears on six tracks: "Let's Go Crazy", "Take Me With U", "Computer Blue", "I Would Die 4 U", "Baby I'm A Star" and "Purple Rain" while the remaining three tracks are essentially solo performances by Prince. Apollonia sings co-lead on "Take Me WithTemplate:NbspU". Three of the tracks include a string section arranged by Coleman and Prince which were conducted by Coleman and Melvoin: "Take Me WithTemplate:NbspU", "Baby I'm A Star", and "Purple Rain". The string players are violin and viola player Novi Novog and cellists David Coleman and Suzie Katayama.<ref name=":33"/><ref name="Computerblue">Template:Cite web</ref>
Early configurations
Prince configured at least two unique track listings of Purple Rain prior to setting the final running order.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> November 7, 1983 and March 23, 1984, configurations are listed below. The early configuration included "Wednesday" (a song by Prince with Jill Jones) and "Father's Song". The latter was replaced by "When Doves Cry". Edits to "Let's Go Crazy" and "Computer Blue" were introduced in order to include "Take Me withTemplate:NbspU" in the final running configuration. The full length version of "Let's Go Crazy", as it can be seen in the movie, would later be released as "Special Dance Mix" on 12" maxi-single. Template:Col-begin Template:Col-2 November 7, 1983 configuration
- Side one
- "Let's Go Crazy" Template:Small – 7:37
- "The Beautiful Ones"
- "Computer Blue" Template:Small – 7:23
- "Darling Nikki"
- "Wednesday"
- Side two
- "Purple Rain"
- "I Would Die 4 U"
- "Baby I'm a Star"
- "Father's Song"
Template:Col-2 March 23, 1984 configuration
- Side one
- "Let's Go Crazy" Template:Small – 7:37
- "The Beautiful Ones" – 5:15
- "Computer Blue" Template:Small – 7:23
- "Darling Nikki" – 4:15
- Side two
- "When Doves Cry" – 5:52
- "I Would Die 4 U" – 2:51
- "Baby I'm a Star" – 4:20
- "Purple Rain" – 8:45
Promotion
Artwork
The album cover was photographed at the Warner Bros Studio Backlot in California. The area known as Hennesy St, designed to look like a New York tenement area, was the location of the balcony where the album photo was taken.
Tour
The Purple Rain Tour began at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit in November 1984. In addition to Prince and the Revolution, the Purple Rain Tour featured ApolloniaTemplate:Nbsp6, and Sheila E. and her band. The tour opened with the album's opener, "Let's Go Crazy". Three singles from 1999 (1982) followed: "Delirious", "1999" and "Little Red Corvette". An instrumental interlude of "Yankee Doodle" usually introduced another song from 1999, "Free". The B-side "God" was often played, followed by a usual sequence of "Computer Blue", "Darling Nikki", "The Beautiful Ones" and "When Doves Cry". As encores, the remaining Purple Rain songs closed the concert, "I Would Die 4 U", "Baby I'm a Star" and "Purple Rain".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
The tour spanned 98 shows, ending in April 1985,<ref name=":10">Template:Cite magazine</ref> and sold 1.7 million tickets.<ref name=":9" /> Prince and the Revolution played the final date of the tour, to an audience of 55,000 in Miami's Orange Bowl. Prince ended the show saying, "I have to go now. I don't know when I'll be back. I want you to know that God loves you. He loves us all." Two weeks after the end of the tour, Around the World in a Day (1985) was released, which officially brought an end to Prince's Purple Rain era.<ref name=":9" /> The tour was considered by Rolling Stone as "groundbreaking in many ways" because it introduced Prince's most "elaborate" sets and featured occasional cameos from Bruce Springsteen and Madonna, which confirmed Prince's place as "pop's most commanding star" during the Purple Rain era.<ref name=":10" />
Singles
Purple Rain's lead single "When Doves Cry" was Prince's first Billboard Hot 100 number-one single, staying there for five weeks, and was also a worldwide hit. It was ranked number one on the Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1984. The music video, directed by Prince himself, was premiered on MTV in June 1984. The video sparked controversy among network executives, who thought its sexual nature was too explicit for television.
The second single "Let's Go Crazy" became Prince's second number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100. Common to much of Prince's writing, the song is thought to be exhortation to follow Christian ethics, with the "De-elevator" of the lyrics being a metaphor for the Devil.<ref name="google">Template:Cite book</ref>
A power ballad and a combination of rock, R&B, gospel, and orchestral music, "Purple Rain" reached numberTemplate:Nbsp2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed there for two weeks.<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead link</ref> "I Would Die 4 U", the fourth and final Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hit from Purple Rain, reaching number eight on the chart. The album's final single, "Take Me withTemplate:NbspU", was released on January 25, 1985.
Critical reception
Purple Rain was well received by contemporary critics. Kurt Loder, writing for Rolling Stone in 1984, compared Prince to Jimi Hendrix and praised him for merging "black and white styles": "The spirit of Jimi Hendrix must surely smile down on Prince Rogers Nelson. Like Hendrix, Prince seems to have tapped into some extraterrestrial musical dimension where black and white styles are merely different aspects of the same funky thing. Prince's rock & roll is as authentic and compelling as his soul and his extremism is endearing in a era of play-it-safe record production and formulaic hit mongering."<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
At the end of 1984, Purple Rain was voted the second best album of the year in the Pazz & Jop, an annual poll of American critics nationwide, published by The Village Voice. However, the newspaper's chief critic and poll creator Robert Christgau was less impressed by the album, saying that while it is "quirky, dangerous, [and] unabashedly pop", it is also plagued by "despair" and, "for Prince ... ingratiatingly unsolipsistic",<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> although he would later call it "seriously gorgeous".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Prince and the Revolution won a 1984 Grammy Award for Purple Rain, for Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group,<ref name=":5">Template:Cite web</ref> the four composers (Nelson, Coleman, Prince, and Melvoin) won Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media,<ref name=":6">Template:Cite web</ref> and the album was nominated for Album of the Year. Prince won a third Grammy that year for Best R&B Song for Chaka Khan's cover of "I Feel for You". Purple Rain also won an Oscar for Best Original Song Score in 1985.<ref name=":6" /> Purple Rain posthumously won Top Soundtrack at the American Music Awards in 2016.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Retrospective appraisals have also been positive. Music critics noted the innovative and experimental aspects of the soundtrack's music, most famously on the spare, bass-less "When Doves Cry".<ref name="essentialRS">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Other aspects of the music, especially its synthesis of electronic elements with organic instrumentation and full-band performances (some, as noted above, recorded live) along with its landmark consolidation of rock and R&B, were identified by critics as distinguishing, even experimental factors.<ref name="Erlewine"/>
Stephen Erlewine of AllMusic wrote that Purple Rain finds Prince "consolidating his funk and R&B roots while moving boldly into pop, rock, and heavy metal", as well as "push[ing] heavily into psychedelia" under the influence of the Revolution.<ref name="Erlewine"/> Erlewine identifies the record's nine songs as "uncompromising ... forays into pop" and "stylistic experiments", echoing general sentiment that Purple RainTemplate:'s music represented Prince at his most popular without forsaking his experimental bent.<ref name="Erlewine"/> In a retrospective review, Kenneth Partridge, writing for Billboard, described the album's opening track, "Let's Go Crazy", as "arguably the best intro in pop history".<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Commercial performance
In the United States, Purple Rain debuted at number 11 on the Billboard 200 the week of July 14, 1984.<ref name=":22">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=":32">Template:Cite news</ref> After four weeks on chart, it reached number one on August 4, 1984.<ref name=":42">Template:Cite news</ref> The album spent 24 consecutive weeks at number one on the Billboard 200 from August 4, 1984, to January 18, 1985, and more than 32 weeks in the top 10, becoming one of the most successful soundtracks ever. Prince also joined Elvis Presley and the Beatles in being the only artists to have the number-one album, single and film in the US all at the same time.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite book</ref>
It traded the number-one position on the chart with Bruce Springsteen's Born in the U.S.A. twice, during 1984 and 1985.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Purple Rain was present on the Billboard 200 for one hundred twenty two weeks. After the advent of the Nielsen SoundScan era in 1991, the album sold a further three million copies.<ref name="Beech3">Template:Cite news</ref> By 1996, the album had sold 13 million copies in the United States, making it certified 13× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).<ref name=":03">Template:Cite certification</ref>
In the United Kingdom, Purple Rain entered the UK Albums Chart at number 21 on July 21, 1984, after thirty five weeks on the chart it reached and peaked at number seven during the week of March 16, 1985 and stayed there for a week, it fell off to number twelve the next week.<ref name=":12">Template:Cite web</ref> The album remained on the chart for 86 weeks.<ref name=":12" /> It was certified 2× Platinum by the BPI on May 1, 1990, denoting shipments of 600,000 units. By 1988, Purple Rain had sold 17 million copies worldwide making it one of the most successful albums of the 1980s.<ref name=":8">Template:Cite news</ref> Its sales as of 2008 stood at over 25Template:Nbspmillion copies worldwide.<ref name="Those chart busters">Template:Cite news</ref> The album is also multi-platinum in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Legacy and influence
Purple Rain further established Prince as a figurehead for pop music of the 1980s and is regarded as one of the greatest albums of all time.<ref name="Beech3"/> In 2010, Purple Rain was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.<ref name=":92">Template:Cite web</ref> In 2012, the album was added to the Library of Congress's National Recording Registry list of sound recordings that "are culturally, historically, or aesthetically important".<ref name=":102">Template:Cite web</ref> In 2019, the film was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".<ref name="Chow">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Writing for Pitchfork, Carvell Wallace appraised the album's impact and Prince's musicianship, "With Purple Rain, Prince bursts forth from the ghetto created by mainstream radio and launches himself directly onto the Mt. Rushmore of American music. He plays rock better than rock musicians, composes better than jazz guys, and performs better than everyone, all without ever abandoning his roots as a funk man, a party leader, a true MCTemplate:Nbsp... for the 24 weeks Purple Rain spent atop the charts in 1984, the black kid from the midwest had managed to become the most accurate expression we had of young America's overabundance of angst, love, horniness, recklessness, idealism, and hope."<ref name="Wallace" />
Partridge of Billboard emphasized Prince's popularity during the Purple Rain era, writing,<ref name="Billboard">Template:Cite news</ref> Template:Blockquote
Described as a "masterpiece" by the Grammy Awards, Ana Yglesias wrote, "Even after his heartbreaking passing, Prince will live on forever in our hearts, through his music, and even on the charts. Purple Rain was inducted into Grammy Hall of Fame in 2011, celebrating it as a 'recording of lasting qualitative or historical significance'.Template:Nbsp... It is safe to say there will never be another star quite like Prince."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> For The New Yorker, Ben Greenmane wrote, "Purple Rain may or may not be Prince's best record, but it came at the best time, propelling him from ordinary stardom (his previous album 1999 put three singles into the Billboard top 20) to supernova status. It created his iconic look (ruffled shirt, purple jacket, motorcycle), formally introduced his most famous backing band (the Revolution), and included the lion's share of the songs most likely to appear in a capsule bio ('When Doves Cry', 'Let's Go Crazy', and the title track)."<ref name=":0" /> In Rolling Stone's list of The 25 Greatest Soundtracks of All Time, Purple Rain was described as "an epic celebration of everything rock & roll, which means sex and religion and eyeliner and motorcycles and guitars and Lake Minnetonka".<ref name="Sheffield">Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Chris Gerard wrote for PopMatters that "Purple Rain is one of the cornerstone albums not just of the 80s, but in all of pop/rock historyTemplate:Nbsp... at the core of [Prince's] legacy Purple Rain will always stand as his signature triumph, a monument to his boundless talent and ambition." Gerard also praised "When Doves Cry" for being the "gateway" to the "Purple Rain universe: an album, a major motion picture, and a tour that dominated the pop culture landscape of 1984".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Andrew Unterberger of Billboard gave the album high appraisal, regarding it as one of the greatest albums in popular music: "Purple Rain is certainly in contention for the most perfect album in rock or pop history, expertly flowing from track to track while delighting, surprising and astounding at each bend. Personal and universal, familiar and challenging, romantic and narcissistic, religious and orgasmic, accessible to all and profoundly weird, Purple Rain rightly remains the cornerstone of Prince's recorded legacy, almost too obvious in its brilliance to even be worth discussing at length."<ref name=":2">Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Jon Bon Jovi, lead singer of the rock band Bon Jovi, observed that "There's every emotion [in Purple Rain] from the ballad to the rocker" and "All the influences were evident, from Hendrix to Chic." Lionel Richie praised Prince for making a "very important step" in advancing the concept from creating music videos for songs to making a motion picture for an album.
Accolades
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Purple Rain is regarded as one of the greatest albums of all time by numerous publications. Rolling Stone ranked Purple Rain number two on its list of the 100 Best Albums of the 1980s and number eight on its list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> In their list of The 25 Greatest Soundtracks of All Time, Purple Rain was ranked second, behind the Beatles' Help!.<ref name="Sheffield"/> Time included it in its list of the All-Time 100 Albums.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The album was ranked 18th on VH1's Greatest Rock and Roll Albums of All Time countdown.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Times ranked Purple Rain at number 15 on its list of the 100 Best Albums of All Time.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2007, the editors of Vanity Fair labeled it the best soundtrack of all time, and Tempo magazine named it the greatest album of the 1980s.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2008, Entertainment Weekly ranked Purple Rain at number one on their New Classics list, the top 50 best albums of the previous 25 years.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The album was also included in the 2008 edition of 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2012, Slant Magazine ranked the album at number two on its list of Best Albums of the 1980s.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2012, Entertainment Weekly also ranked the album at number two on their list of the 100 Greatest Albums Ever.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
In 2018, Pitchfork regarded it as the best album of the 1980s, ranking it at number one on its list of the 200 Best Albums of the 1980s.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2002, the album had placed at No. 12 on Pitchfork's Top 100 Albums of the decade list.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>) In Billboard's list of All 92 Diamond-Certified Albums Ranked From Worst to Best: Critic's Take, Purple Rain was ranked first.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Consequence of Sound, in its ranking of the greatest albums of all time, placed Purple Rain at number one.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The 2024 Apple Music 100 Best Albums poll ranked Purple Rain as number four.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In its ranking of the 101 Greatest Film Soundtracks of All Time, Rolling Stone ranked Purple Rain as the number one album.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Reissues
The album was re-issued on June 23, 2017. It is the first Prince album to be remastered and reissued, and was released in a variety of formats, including a 20-track Deluxe edition with unreleased bonus tracks and a 35-track Deluxe Expanded edition with additional B-sides, rarities and a live DVD of the Purple Rain Tour from 1985. The album debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 at with 52,000 album-equivalent units earned in its first week. It debuted at number three on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, its highest peak in 32 years having previously spent 19 weeks atop the chart in 1984. The album debuted at number one on the Top R&B Albums chart and the Vinyl Albums chart.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
On June 21, 2024, a Dolby Atmos version of the original album was released to Apple Music and other streaming services. The new mix of the album was created from the original multi-track master tapes by Chris James.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On April 25, 2025, this mix would be released on an audiophile Blu-ray, which also included the original 1984 stereo mix in high-definition 24bit / 96kHz audio.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Track listing
Original album
Template:Track listing Template:Track listing
Deluxe and expanded editions
The 2017 Deluxe edition consists of two discs, the first being a remaster of the original album made in 2015 overseen by Prince himself and a bonus disc of previously unreleased songs called "From the Vault & Previously Unreleased". The Deluxe Expanded edition consists of two more discs, a disc with all the single edits, maxi-single edits and B-sides from the Purple Rain era and a DVD with a concert from the Purple Rain Tour filmed in Syracuse, New York on March 30, 1985, previously released on home video in 1985.<ref name=pr>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Template:Track listing Template:Track listing Template:Track listing Template:Track listing
Personnel
Adapted from Michael Aubrecht, Benoît Clerc, Joe Regen, Duane Tudahl, and the album's liner notes.<ref>Template:Cite interview</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Musicians
Prince and the Revolution
- Prince – lead vocals Template:Small, spoken vocals Template:Small, backing vocals Template:Small, electric guitar Template:Small, acoustic guitar Template:Small, bass Template:Small, Yamaha CP-80 Template:Small, synthesizers Template:Small, Oberheim OB-SX Template:Small, Yamaha DX7 Template:Small, programming Template:Small, Linn LM-1 Template:Small, LinnDrum Template:Small, Simmons SDS-V Template:Small, drums Template:Small, electronic drums Template:Small, tamborine Template:Small, percussion Template:Small, claps Template:Small
- Brownmark – backing vocals Template:Small, bass Template:Small
- Lisa Coleman – co-lead vocals Template:Small, spoken vocals Template:Small, backing vocals Template:Small, synthesizers Template:Small, claps Template:Small
- Doctor Fink – backing vocals Template:Small, Yamaha CP-70 Template:Small, synthesizers Template:Small, Memorymoog Template:Small, Linn LM-1 Template:Small
- Wendy Melvoin – spoken vocals Template:Small, backing vocals Template:Small, electric guitar Template:Small
- Bobby Z. – backing vocals Template:Small, Linn LM-1 Template:Small, Simmons SDS-V Template:Small, drums Template:Small, percussion Template:Small
Additional musicians
- Apollonia – co-lead and backing vocals Template:Small
- Jill Jones – co-lead vocals Template:Small, backing vocals Template:Small
- David Coleman – cello Template:Small, finger cymbals Template:Small
- Novi Novog – violin Template:Small, electric violin Template:Small
- Suzie Katayama – cello Template:Small
Production
- Prince – producer, strings arrangement Template:Small
- David Leonard – recording engineer Template:Small
- Susan Rogers – recording engineer Template:Small
- Peggy McCreary – recording engineer Template:Small
- Don Batts – recording engineer Template:Small
- David Hewitt, Kooster McAllister, David Rivkin – recording engineers Template:Small
- Lisa Coleman – strings arrangement Template:Small
- Bernie Grundman – mastering
Technical
- Prince – clothing (credited for "rags"), art direction
- Laura LiPuma – design
- Ed Thrasher and Associates – front cover photograph
- Ron Slenzak – front cover photograph
- Larry Williams – additional photography
- Doug Henders – painting
- Earl Jones – hair
- Jayson Jeffreys – makeup
- Louis & Vaughn – clothing (credited for "rags")
- Marie France – clothing (credited for "rags")
Charts
Template:Col-begin Template:Col-2
Weekly charts
| Chart (1984–1985) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)<ref name="auchart">Template:Cite book</ref> | 1 |
| Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> | 15 |
| French Albums (SNEP)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 8 |
| Japanese Oricon LPs Chart<ref name="Jachart">Template:Cite book</ref> | 12 |
| Zimbabwean Albums (ZIMA)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> | 1 |
| Chart (2016) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 36 |
| Italian Albums (FIMI)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 42 |
| US Billboard 200<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 2 |
| Chart (2017) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Dutch Albums Chart<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 3 |
| US Billboard 200<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 4 |
Year-end charts
| Chart (1984) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)<ref name="auchart"/> | 13 |
| Canadian Albums (RPM)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 2 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 5 |
| French Albums (SNEP)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 53 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 56 |
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 20 |
| UK Albums (OCC)<ref name="UKYE">Template:Cite web</ref> | 43 |
| US Billboard 200<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 24 |
| US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 9 |
| Chart (1985) | Position |
|---|---|
| Canadian Albums (RPM)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 41 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 48 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 38 |
| UK Albums (OCC)<ref name="UKYE"/> | 60 |
| US Billboard 200<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 9 |
| US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 21 |
| Chart (2013) | Position |
|---|---|
| US Soundtrack Albums (Billboard)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 10 |
| Chart (2015) | Position |
|---|---|
| US Soundtrack Albums (Billboard)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 14 |
| Chart (2016) | Position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 55 |
| US Soundtrack Albums (Billboard)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 1 |
| Chart (2017) | Position |
|---|---|
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 105 |
| US Soundtrack Albums (Billboard)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 12 |
| Chart (2018) | Position |
|---|---|
| US Soundtrack Albums (Billboard)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 16 |
| Chart (2019) | Position |
|---|---|
| US Soundtrack Albums (Billboard)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 13 |
| Chart (2020) | Position |
|---|---|
| US Soundtrack Albums (Billboard)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 9 |
| Chart (2021) | Position |
|---|---|
| US Soundtrack Albums (Billboard)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 4 |
Certifications and sales
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See also
- List of 1980s albums considered the best
- List of Billboard 200 number-one albums of 1984
- List of Billboard 200 number-one albums of 1985
- List of best-selling albums
- List of best-selling albums in the United States
- List of fastest-selling albums
References
Template:Cite book Template:Reflist
External links
Template:Purple Rain (album) Template:Prince albums Template:Navboxes
- Pages with broken file links
- 1984 soundtrack albums
- 1984 albums
- Prince (musician) soundtracks
- Prince (musician) albums
- Albums produced by Prince (musician)
- Warner Records albums
- Warner Records soundtracks
- Drama film soundtracks
- Musical film soundtracks
- Dance-rock soundtracks
- Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients
- United States National Recording Registry recordings
- Albums recorded at Sunset Sound Recorders
- Single-artist film soundtracks
- United States National Recording Registry albums
- Scores that won the Best Original Score Academy Award
- Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media
- Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal