Sure sounds like PR.

What planet are you from?

Clean that ear wax!

Yes thats an old story. Prince called Jonathan Cain of Journey to see if they'd have a problem w/ the song since it does sound similar.

Farfunknugin said:

Yes thats an old story. Prince called Jonathan Cain of Journey to see if they'd have a problem w/ the song since it does sound similar.

2freaky4church1 said:

Sure sounds like PR.

[Edited 4/4/19 14:42pm]

RJOrion said:

been several threads about this already, Champ

And all those threads are locked...in order to have a discussion about Journey and Purple Rain, a new thread has to be started.

I brought this up last year. Check the outro guitar and strings inparticular. One of the main riffs reminds me of the intro guitar line in "Purple Rain" too.

[Edited 4/4/19 19:52pm]

Apologize now.

https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/7348372/prince-purple-rain-journey-faithfully-interviews

Singer/songwriter Jonathan Cain tells Billboard that he was notified in early 1984 that Prince wanted to speak with him. Curious, Cain went to Columbia Records' offices in Los Angeles and took a call from Prince, who told Cain, "I want to play something for you, and I want you to check it out. The chord changes are close to 'Faithfully'" -- a top 20 single from Journey's 1983 album Frontiers -- "and I don't want you to sue me." After listening, Cain says, "I thought it was an amazing tune, and I told him, 'Man, I'm just super-flattered that you even called. It shows you're that classy of a guy. Good luck with the song. I know it's gonna be a hit.'

Yes, it did. This is not a new story, as noted in the thread. In fact, the songs have the same chord progression and are only a half-step off from each other. "Purple Rain"'s opening chord is Bb (B flat). "Faithfully"'s is in A. There are mash-ups and discussions endless online about this. Prince called Cain, Cain said it was fine, etc etc.

2freaky4church1 said:

Sure sounds like PR.

Welcome to the org, you must be new here.

It was classy of Prince to make a call to the Journey guy.If only Ray Parker Jr. had called Huey Lewis before releasing his "Ghostbusters" song

SoulAlive said:

It was classy of Prince to make a call to the Journey guy.If only Ray Parker Jr. had called Huey Lewis before releasing his "Ghostbusters" song

RIGHT?! haha Ol' Ray tried to go back and sue Huey Lewis because in VH1's Behind The Music, that suit was discussed, and Ray claimed breach of confidentiality agreement. The kicker is that Columbia Pictures likely paid the settlement to Huey Lewis since it was all their property. So why Ray is going back and suing for him mentioning the suit seems desperate on Ray's part.

From an article I found about the initial countersuing:

"Parker's lawsuit quotes Lewis (born Hugh Cregg) saying on "Behind the Music": "The offensive part was not so much that Ray Parker Jr. had ripped this song off, it was kind of symbolic of an industry that wants something — they wanted our wave, and they wanted to buy it. ... [I]t's not for sale. ... In the end, I suppose they were right. I suppose it was for sale, because, basically, they bought it."

That money was paid to resolve the lawsuit was protected by the confidentiality agreement, Parker claims.

The lawsuit states that the confidentiality agreement was "directly related to [Parker's] comfort, happiness and welfare," and that Lewis' comments were "inflammatory and disparaging" and "false" and caused Parker emotional distress."

Cry us a river, Ray.

^^ I like Ray,but that was such an obvious rip-off when I first heard it,I immediately thought of "I Want A New Drug"

The way the story was told, Prince realized the similarities and called. It seems to me that "Faithfully," a great ballad in its own right, was similar and preceded "Purple Rain," but did not necessarily influence "Purple Rain."


I've always heard that Prince went to a Bob Seeger concert and saw his closing song and how his fans connected to it, and wanted to make a song like that. So maybe it was "Turn The Page" that influenced "Purple Rain."

SoulAlive said:

^^ I like Ray,but that was such an obvious rip-off when I first heard it,I immediately thought of "I Want A New Drug"

yet I want a New Drug was ripping of Shake Your Body from the Jacksons and Pop Muzik by M

double rip-off. so cry me a river, Huey