I don't know what prompted adults to buy Purple Rain or go see the movie, but the Summer of 1984, I was turning 12 years old and going from 6th to 7th grade. Purple Rain was the only album people were listening to (in that age group). I begged for the Purple Rain soundtrack, got it, but was in no way allowed to see the movie. And the only reason I wanted to see the movie was because Prince was "super-cute!" Songs from the movie dominated all of the dances and skating parties throughout 7th grade.

Times have changed. My son just got out of 7th grade and he and all his friends either hate Prince or really don't know who he is.

All of the stars and planets just lined up for Prince in 1984. There is no one singular factor that one can point to that justifies the massive sucess of Purple Rain. My 2 cents.

dustysgirl said:

I remember seeing the movie that summer on two different occasions. I was 5 years old. I remember seeing it with my best friend (who must've been 4 at the time) and his mom and she covered our eyes during Appolonia's tit scene. Ahhhhh memories. I remember the theaters being totally packed with people.

Let me come in with a peace; Dig, in defense of what Gray stated in his thread, to a degree it is true. Although Prince had gained quite a following from the MTV crowd with "Little Red Corvette", just the thought of P in a film and folks being plain curious to see P in that setting was going to draw many people. Understand, a lot of people went to see the film, were not fans of P's before hand. Granted, the bulk of the audience were fans. I was lucky enough to actually attend the premire in Hollywood. Most, if not all, of the folks that were there were serious P fans. And had been for years. You can tell who's the real deal, especially back then. It was totally different than it is now. ANYBODY can be into P today, and u couldn't tell either way. Not the case back then. Anyway, the album would have been P's biggest selling album, without a film. Just on the power of "When Doves Cry" alone. P's single choices would have been different. Hell, a few of the songs wouldn't have even been on the album, i.e. "Take Me With U". It would have been a much darker album, like "1999" was. U can see it in cuts like "Computer Blue", "The Beautiful Ones", etc. But, even if the album remained in tact, it still would have sold through the roof. Of course with the film, which is what I think Gray was saying, the album sold waaaay more.

blackguitaristz said:

Pretty much.....

Yeah.....fast-forward to 2006. Prince is STILL "playing the game". American Idol, Good Morning America, etc.... Exposure PLUS quality product equals SALES!!!!
Back in tha day, Prince was one of a FEW artists that could LITERALLY put out an "acetate turd", and it would AT LEAST go platinum.....NOT ANYMORE!!!!!
This is now a "fast-food industry", people. I'm just glad he's bobbin' & weavin' thru the bulls**t!!!!! Purple Rain was just PURE GENIUS, from the LP to the marketing campaign. Can't forget the movie. Therein lies the curse: WB wanted EVERYTHING ELSE to be like PR.....

sosgemini said:

Ohhhhh, I lost my instruction manual!

EmancipationLover said:

PRINCE HAS MADE BETTER STUFF THAN PURPLE RAIN---finally its been said.

Purple Rain albums sold so much cuz so many people bought them.


I mean....I guess.

Graycap23 said:

Agreed, But "When Doves Cry" was better then anything Prince had put out up until that time. The strength of that song alone would've pushed Purple Rain record sales

I think the album would've sold millions without the movie, because of when doves cry...but with the movie, yeah, I guess it sold way more..

Basically, the album sold the movie, which sold the album, which sold the movie, which sold the album, etc.

DiamondGirl said:

Like commentary for the commentary . Well we all know that Graffiti bridge was better all around anyway. Look at the great editing!

It's all about the purple banana.

When doves Cry and Let's go Crazy would have been hit singles without videos or the movie... so I completely disagree.

ufoclub said:

But I'm NOT saying that they would NOT have been hits. They were great songs but Prince has had MANY great songs.

Graycap23 said:

I'm just saying the songs were good enough for the album to hit without videos or the movie, but you are right that the movie (and videos) helped push it over the edge.

I think Prince was truly mainstream, in synch with pop music, with these singles:

1999, Little Red Corvette, Let's Go Crazy, When Doves Cry (this one pushed the edge a bit, didn't sound much like anything else around it), Cream, 7

"Kiss" was remarkably, almost offensively, unlike other stuff on the radio, but hit on it's sheer brilliance.

Graycap23 said:

Yanno, I could have sworn that Parade, SOTT and Graffiti Brigde had movies attached to them...

Byron said:

Were those movies supported by the same video MTV style as Purple Rain? I don't think so. I am really just trying to figure out why Purple Rain sold so much more than EVERY other Prince cd. Was the music THAT much better than all of his other releases? I don't believe that but maybe it was.....

Graycap23 said:

Those two singles were STRONG. So in a way it was a much better commercial album then all his others, he took the new wave type vibe and then added funk/rock and feathers and petals.

Graycap23 said:

But you said that there were no movies connected with any other CDs...obviously that's false.

Byron said:

I guess I should NEVER generalize on the org ah?

Graycap23 said:

Talking shit must be your hobby.
The music which I heard first made me want to see the movie.
The movie was about nothing else but the presentation of the music.
Stop trying to stir up shit when you know the truth.

Sign of the times was a better album than Purple Rain and that had a movie accompanying it as well yet the sales were no where near Purple Rain.

It's all about the music with this man, and that's what made him..... the music not the gimics.
[Edited 6/25/06 19:33pm]

Heck the only reason I thought Purple Rain sold so many,was because it released on my birthday June 25th 1984

Graycap23 said:

That's not a generalization...that's a misstatement of fact..lol

dseann said:

If these last comments does NOT agree with the original post, I must NOT know how 2 read.

Is the "presentation of the music" NOT the same thing as "playing the video/MTV "game"?

Is Sign of times better than PR" not the same thing as "the music and QUALITY" of Prince's other cd's are just as good but the sales are not?

Geez.....

Graycap23 said:

The point you tried to make was that PR only sold because of the movie when in actuality, the movie only did so well because of the album.

Get my drift?

Geez...

dustysgirl said:

Actually I was in seventh grade going into eighth....I didn't for the album, I went out and bought it, not because IT WAS BEING PLAYED EVERYWHERE AND BY EVERYONE, but because I adored the artist since I heard I wanna be your lover back in '79....I was a huge fan ever since that year....I was only eight.

My thirteen year old daughter really isn't into him, but trust me she knows who he is.....She screamed for me to tune into him on American Idol because she knows how much I admire him.....I don't watch that show so I would have missed the performance.

dseann said:

Why don't u try READING my post.....ur make that COMPREHENDING my post and get back 2 me. This is not an arguement, just a DIALOG.
[Edited 6/26/06 6:46am]

Who cares about the reason it sold?The main thing is that it did sell!