We all know that Purple Rain is what put Prince on the global map, this opinion belonging to the majority. Some say it's 1999 some say it's Dirty Mind, others say the hit single "I Wanna B Ur Lover". But many will tell you, many of whom who are mainstream listeners, that they've spotted Prince from Purple Rain, and this is pretty much the majority. My opinion is different, believing many listeners got hooked during the 1999 craze.

Anyway, that's not my point, my point is Prince's destiny being solely decided on the results Purple Rain. We all know all of Prince's earlier albums resembled stepping stones up to the main mega-hit peak of Prince's career (yes, he has had other peaks too). Cuz Prince was steadily growing and doing better by each album. Then, after Purple Rain came out, he most likely got spooked by all the attention & wasn't used to it and/or finally got people's attention so they can listen to the type of music he wanted to play. He mellowed down the Prince & Purple Rain craze with releasing Around the World In a Day. He knew that he could've easily made a Purple Rain II, but he didn't want to be labeled as that and wanted to grow beyond that like he has been doing since his first album.

So my question is, if there had never been a Purple Rain, would he still have gone in the same direction? Would he still be progressing up a ladder that didn't include Purple Rain? Would we still have the Revolution or would they have lasted longer?

Or think of it this way, if he had released Purple Rain, but only the album and the same singles, no movie, would he still have the same fame and musical direction he has now? I'm just curious to see how the "Kid" would have turned out.

Even though ATWIAD is reminiscent to Purple Rain in certain sections, I actually wanted a Purple Rain II back then. I felt he took me higher, and left me on the ledge waiting "for what he was going to feed them next"(c) G Tate, only to be fed chicken feed.

Well, I just re-found out that initial recordings of Around the World In A Day were done before Purple Rain came out in 1984.

Here's an excerpt from DMSR by Per Nilsen

Prince started recording the songs for Around the World In A Day before Purple Rain was even completed. He began to plan the new album during the prolific Sunset Sound sessions early in 1984. The initial songs, "Paisley Park", "Pop Life", "Temptation", and "Around the World in a Day", gave him a sense of direction, so he knew where he wanted to go with the new album well before the Purple Rain hysteria broke loose.

ecstasy said:

Well, I just re-found out that initial recordings of Around the World In A Day were done before Purple Rain came out in 1984.

Here's an excerpt from DMSR by Per Nilsen

Prince started recording the songs for Around the World In A Day before Purple Rain was even completed. He began to plan the new album during the prolific Sunset Sound sessions early in 1984. The initial songs, "Paisley Park", "Pop Life", "Temptation", and "Around the World in a Day", gave him a sense of direction, so he knew where he wanted to go with the new album well before the Purple Rain hysteria broke loose.

Yes I know all of that and have all of the Prince books. That still did not detract from me feeling disappointed with the immediate post Rain material that had taken me higher.

I believe that an artists next work is a natural progression from the last thing they did. Whether that be a piece of music, a painting, or any other art form. And i believe this to be the case even if that next work is a departure in sound or look from the last.

So yes, i think that Prince would have continued to progress as an artist, with or without Purple Rain, whether that would have included The Revolution remains to be seen, and obviously, without the Purple Rain movie he would have been less of a household name, but i believe that he still would have been very very successful.

Look how driven Prince was back then, how hard he worked, even if you take the Purple Rain album and movie out of the equation, it would be hard to imagine that he would not have moved forward as an artist.

I agree with digitalgardener. Making the movie helped Prince to be recognized. Prince's talent was there from the beginning and his journey in music has been what it is. I tend to believe that "1999," and the video's from a newly born, "MTV," made Prince a known figure in the public eye. "Purple Rain," just helped his name and talent spread like musical wild fire.