I was about 10 years old when Purple Rain was released. I remember being in a pizza place where some girls were playing one of the singles in the jukebox and talking about how much they loved Prince. I was obsessed with the Beatles at that point and was too cool to listen to anything that other kids liked. But the next year, when I heard Raspberry Beret on the radio, I loved it and decided to buy it. I think it was the first 7" single that I bought. It came out at the perfect time to make my transition from the Beatles to Prince, since Prince was evidently inspired by the Beatles that year. From that point on everything he released sounded weird at first but then I came to love it (at least until the 1990s). I always imagine that the experience of buying Parade, SOTT, and Lovesexy for the first time is similar to what my parents experienced when they bought the new Beatles albums in the 1960s. Every record seemed to top the one before it.

Dave Chappelle