While his rise was gradual — “Purple Rain,” released on this day 40 years ago, was Prince’s sixth album — there’s no disputing the remarkable speed with which his fame skyrocketed ...

Prince: The Billboard Cover Story. The “Purple Rain” movie debuted at No. 1, and the album spawned five hit singles, two of which—“When Doves Cry” and “Let’s Go Crazy”—topped the ...

Thirty years ago Prince released what has arguably become his quintessential LP, the immaculate soundtrack album, Purple Rain. Dropped in the summer of 1984, The Purple One’s sixth album was the ...

Is Purple Rain Prince’s finest album? We’d say it falls just shy of his 1987 double-album Sign o’ the Times in that department. Everything on Purple Rain is sort of pitched to the rafters, ...

For countless listeners, Prince was Purple Rain. The album eventually sold 13 million copies — more than three times the total for 1999, his next-biggest seller.

Purple Rain was the first album to officially include Prince’s backing band, The Revolution, on an album. (The Revolution was, however, alluded to on Prince’s 1999 album cover by being written ...

Album of the Week: Prince’s ‘Purple Rain’ Deluxe Edition. The man behind the music is gone, but this music from an unparalleled pop genius is about as life affirming as it gets.

When “Purple Rain” the album and then the film were released in 1984 the impact could not have been known. At the time, the album was Prince’s fifth and “When Doves Cry” was topping the ...

The album and film also inspired the Purple Rain tour consisting of 98 concerts from 1984-85 featuring Sheila E. and Apollonia 6 as Prince’s opening acts.. Before the album was released in 1984 ...

Prince initially planned for Jill Jones to sing “Wednesday” for the “Purple Rain” soundtrack, but later dropped it from the album. He sings the goofy “Cold Coffee and Cocaine” in an ...

The 1984 film is being turned into a musical with new songs, but some scenes — from a woman being tossed into a trash can to references to a waterbed — are raising tough questions ...

The Purple Assassin of Chanhassen© will issue a new album by year's end, his bandmates in 3rdEyeGirl announced in a new BBC interview. Titled "Hit N Run" – also the name of his series of pop-up ...