As I put my purple rain CD back, I looked back to his other CDs and wondered why Purple Rain album was such a massave hit. I mean the song, yes helped, but before that single came out how come everyone went crazy over purple rain? What was it? What was that knack?

When Doves Cry did it for me . Everytime I heard it on the radio I wanted to hear it in its entirety and I hated when they'd play the short version Lets Go Crazy rocked and was a dancable number. The guitar solo at the end proved that the man can play guitar just as good as the rest. Darling Nikki broke all boundaries and was a nice nasty jam. I WOULD DIE 4 U and Baby I'm a Star made you wanna shake and move. The Beautiful Ones was a beautiful song. and Take me with U was just plain cool. Oh yes and then theres that song Purple Rain. I lived in Utah at the time it came out and every single hick i knew in town loved that song so how you gonna say that was a hype (correct spelling) album?

How new are you??? The movie definetly was the start of the hype but the entire thing was an experience you had to be around to appreciate.
[Edited 3/9/09 18:09pm]

^Agreed. Unless you grew up in the 80's when Purple Rain came out, you will never truly understand the "HYPE" that caused it to be such a massive hit. Timing is everything. There will never be another time that Prince will have such a huge impact on music like he did at that time.

kenlacam said:

You got it - those were the days that the man had the world at his feet. He could have recorded himself peeing in a tin can and it would have been a hit.

Ah, I miss those days!!!!!

The summer of 1984, When Doves Cry and 17 Days, Purple Rain...it wasn´t some orchestrated and well planned hype, it was simply the music, the lyrics and that raw energy. You just had to be there to understand it.An unforgettable time for me.Ahhhh, and Let´s Go Crazy....what a song back then when it was fresh and new.

Purple Rain the album was just everywhere, images and story's about Prince were constantly in the papers and magazines, the public couldn't get enough of him.
They were intrigued by this weirdly dressed guy who just oozed rock and roll.
When Doves Cry grabbed your attention like no other artist ever had...The eighties was a hell of a ride... remember when he done the Brits in 85?..now that's what im talking about
...I take it were all in our 40's then...

I was 15. It was a big damn deal. You learned the music through the movie and the movie so electrfying. My homecoming theme was "Purple Reign" about 3 months after the release of the movie. Obviously our school colors were purple/white.

Joyinrepatition said:

37

I was younger but remember going to the movies with Dad to see it. Not to play the race card or anything but there were few movies with a black who didn't jive back then. I was blown away then all the hot girls walking around (Jill Jones is still the truth IMO) It was a whole movement then the soundtrack the movie, the videos, the b sides. You felt like you were a part of something. Standing around bragging you saw Purple Rain. Then the VHS was one of the first to not be priced shy high as well. So when that came you HAD to have one or be the lame kid in the hood. Can you believe that?

Joyinrepatition said:

Not quite but 'it's just around the corner'

***duplicate post edit***
[Edited 3/10/09 16:03pm]

I wish I was old enough to have experienced the HYPE.

CJBabyDaddy said:

It was all of the pre-existing cd's...."1999," was a great escort for, "Purple Rain."

everyone is right! there was righton magazine and soulteen! you heard the LP's and if you were lucky, he came to your town. from 79 to the early 80's the most exciting thing in music was steve wonder and the Jacksons. Plus he never gave interviews and most people had never heard or seen him speak..so when Purple rain hit, MTV jump on it..remember MTV was it there was nothing except BET...I really miss those times...sigh

The movie and the music worked and mixed well across the urban and pop landscape, at a time when the US and abroad were finally accepting this as mainstream. Coming on the heels of Mike Jackson's Thriller, which opened the doors to MTV and middle class, Reaganomic America's living rooms was the catalyst.

It was the right place and the right time.

who's gonna be the first to tell this person that they misspelled hipe?

eaglebear4839 said:

squirrelgrease said:

Yes Yes hahaha lol! Well sometimes its hard for a Dyslexic!