I was just wondering what you guys think...if Prince had never made Purple Rain, whether it be the movie or the album. Do you think he still would have had as successful of a career? I think he wouldn't because Purple Rain is what really got him the fan base that he needed which put him through his "flop" albums...

Although there is no doubt in my mind that Purple Rain, the albume and then the movie, 'made' prince such a powerful public figure, the question of "what if" isn't a realistic one.

You can't say 'what if' he never made the albume, because without extream examination who is truly to say what else might have come out in its place. Maybe he would have done better or worst. I know if he did keep his music like controversy, an albume that sounds as if it were made for a dollar fifty, he wouldn't have become such an international star. However, to ask 'what if' is not a realistic line of questioning. What if he stubbed his toe the day he was suposed to sign the contracts? What if he had been loved deeply before making his music? What if he liked rap more then funk? we could go on and on...

I guess the point I was trying to make is that what is "is", and 'what if' isn't.

MickG said:

Totally.

prince was light years ahead of his time 5 years b4 purple rain so its possible that we'd still be callin him an icon 2day....

I sat my 13 year old daughter down and made her watch Purple Rain and she loved it but thought Prince looked gay. If you look past the clothes the film still stands up!

It's funny and moving and has brilliant proformances of Princes greatest songs.

diamondpearl1 said:

I feel this is a nice enough statement, but It isn't a realistic one. Prince wasn't ahead of anything. Prince was and is prince. Prince stole some of the music for purple rain, so how can he be "ahead" of anything if he is stealing things from the past.

"baby i'm a star" is actually a song, musically, written by ELO i think. Prince stole it note for note. The song I think is xanadu or at least off that albume.

Well, Prince has always been known for doing something different every couple years. It's just a shame that so many people identify him with Purple Rain because of its success. Since then, he has continued doing what he's always done -- trying different things. As far as I know, he's never tried to outdo or even rehash Purple Rain. The Gold Experience comes the closest, but is really a very different album. Even without that huge success, Prince would still be a musical legend for all that he can do and has accomplished.

oh, and by the way, everyone "steals" things from the past. who doesn't?? we only know what we know. "i can't believe that person used an A-sharp in that melody -- I was the first to use an A-sharp! how dare he steal from me!" everything goes back to something before it and so on. at least Prince was able to take these same ideas and reshape them into something totally his own.

Snap said:

No, check it out yourself. The song is note for note the same. All the way from the rolling keyboard in the start to the last resignating note. I am not one to discredit his genius, but when I found it for myself I was shocked.

MickG said:

how u figure prince wasn't ahead of anything? about a year after purple rain came out everybody and they mama(like james brown, hendrix, p-funk, and sly b4 him,)was tryin 2 be like him image and sound wise.... and as far as him stealing things from the past thats easy. his style is a blend of james brown, little richard, jimi hendrix and sly stone but even they've said they've NEVER seen or heard anything like prince...

diamondpearl1 said:

talk is cheep.

MickG said:

lol,i wouldn't call a blessing from godfathers like james brown and little richard cheap.

diamondpearl1 said:

when asked questions, many people often fall back on general blanket statements, that is what they did. Talk is cheep.

MickG said:

Exactly which song are you referring to? It ain't "Xanadu".

Universaluv said:

Magic I think. At least that's what the girl is singing in it. It is been a long time. I would have to go find my cd.

MickG said:

No it was xanadu. I just opened the mp3 player.

MickG said:

Xanadu, still don't hear it...

similar drums, not much else.
[Edited 12/2/05 13:45pm]

MickG said:

the things they said were far from blanket statements, due 2 the fact that they've never just given no new jacks any kind of props for some bullshit. to even be mentioned in the same breath as them you gotta have somethin special and who at that time had it more than prince did?....that's who i thought.....nobody..... :

Okay, not matching note for note. Beat, yes. The beat is the same execpt prince speeded it up. He included the keyboard roll. He changed the key. He changed the drums, but the beat is the same.

diamondpearl1 said:

Oh yeah! You WIN! you're a real winner.

I will comment on the "what if" . . .

1999 was a hit album . . . the songs 1999 and Little Red Corvette were HUGE, and other songs like Delirious (which was the title song for a movie) and D.M.S.R. (which was featured in Risky Business) also had decent success.

The videos from 1999 also made Prince a household name and sex symbol, especially since the album almost perfectly coincided with the launch of MTV (almost).

So it's a good bet that whatever he did next was going to be big - maybe not Purple Rain proportions, but probably incrementally bigger than 1999. I doubt we'd have seen Prince in a movie, but we'd have still heard hit songs.

Honestly, I think that if Purple Rain had never happened, we would have seen his sound evolve more slowly . . . meaning, we'd have heard the Minneapolis/Lynn sound for years and years to come. With Purple Rain, it was so successful that he wanted to do something completely different.

Look at the albums leading up to Purple Rain . . . they're different, but they're not radically different.

FrancerulzV99 said:

I don't think Prince would've had as many (if any) "flop" albums.

Again, I think Purple Rain afforded him the success and power to do whatever he wanted, which after PR was to immediately make ATWIAD. I personally love ATWIAD, but it was seen by most people as an unworthy follow-up to PR.

Without the success of Purple Rain (movie,tour,album) there would be no Paisley Park complex, which means that we probably would have seen fewer side projects.

If prince never made purple rain
we would have been spared of graffitti bridge.

EDD said:

Hahaha, that's funny...Of course, not necesarily, maybe Graffiti Bridge would have been as successful as Purple Rain...

Prince was desatinesd for greatnmess. There's a reason Rolling Stone was creaming all over him in 1980 Dirty Mind days and why The Rolling Stones had him open for them.

He would have taken it up a notch successively at a time after 1999 with or without Purple Rain.

And one has to realize, PR was album no.6

If "Purple Rain" had never happened, we probably would have gotten a few more hardcore, hard slammin' albums with the "Minneapolis Sound". There's no doubt in my mind that Prince would have continued being a large star in the R&B world. He could have possibly remained a star in the pop world also, since he had pop success with some of the tracks from the "1999" album.

Without a huge success like "Purple Rain", Prince would have thought twice about completely changing his style. "Purple Rain" made Prince more famous than he had ever been. He even picked up different types of fans that he had never had before. Without "Purple Rain", the majority of Prince's fan base would still be basically the fan base he had from the beginning through "1999". The majority of these fans would not tolerate a drastic change like "Around The World In A Day" and the albums that followed it. Even if Prince insisted, I see Warner Brothers allowing the change, but when it flopped and he continued with the change, Warner Brothers would have probably dropped him from the label. In other words, Prince would either throwdown hard or be a "starving artist".

As much as I loved the "Purple Rain" era, if I had known what was going to result from it, I would have rather it never happened.

Se7en said:

Great points; and very well thought out (I agree with you 100%)...I swear, some of the folks on the org have their heads up their asses when it comes to discussing Prince...For those of you who deem it unsuitable to do "what if's" on your favorite artist, get a life...People are just having a little fun...it shouldn't be that serious...

if he had'nt of released purplerain, he would still be good but not great. purplerain made him what he is today!