Yesterday marked the 35th anniversary of the release of Prince's most famous album, Purple Rain, which served both as his sixth studio album, the soundtrack to the film of the same name, and his first album with The Revolution as his backing band. I was shocked to discover that I have never had a Prince video on Retro Video of the Week. Shame on me.
Purple Rain is widely considered one of the best albums of the '80s. It spent about two and a half years on the Billboard album charts, including an astonishing 24 weeks in a row at #1, from August 1984 to January 1985. It has sold over 25 million copies worldwide, including over 13 million in the U.S., making it a certified diamond album by the RIAA. It's one of the top ten best-selling soundtracks ever. It won multiple Grammys. The film won the Oscar for Best Original Song Score. Simply put, Purple Rain is a masterpiece, and everyone should own a copy.
Of course, a great album is comprised of great songs. Purple Rain had five Top 40 hits in the U.S., including Prince's first two #1 songs ("When Doves Cry" and "Let's Go Crazy"), the title track (#2), "I Would Die 4 U" (#8), and "Take Me With U" (#25). And then there's "Darling Nikki," the song about masturbation that prompted Tipper Gore to go ape shit and start the PMRC.
I'm going with "Let's Go Crazy" because it's my favorite Prince song. It's the first track off the album. From the beginning eulogistic sermon (unfortunately, the full one isn't in the video) to that wicked guitar solo at the end, it's fun, catchy, rocking song. I love the subtle interplay in the second verse between Prince and the backup singer (not sure if that's Wendy Melvoin or Lisa Coleman). It's little things like that that made Prince a master songwriter. All in all, it's a fantastic song that always puts me in a good mood.
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