https://www.biography.com...lbum-movie

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At the time of the release of Purple Rain the album on June 25, 1984, and the film of the same name on July 27, 1984, Prince was hardly a household name. By the close of 1985, the artist born Prince Rogers Nelson (1958–2016) was selling out concert stadiums, the album would have spent 24 weeks at No. 1, and the film would have grossed almost $70 million at the box office, 10 times what it cost to make.

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Purple Rain would catapult Prince to superstardom. He would become an entertainment figure synonymous with the 1980s, alongside Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen and Madonna. The album, a blend of rock, funk, pop and R&B, delivered hits including “Let’s Go Crazy,” “When Doves Cry,” “I Would Die 4 U” and the title track, which would score the artist his first and only Academy Award for Best Original Song Score.

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Thanks, Bart. Maybe Purple Rain, the movie, was an albatross as P referred to it, but what an albatross, and he shook it off with ATWIAD and kept on exploring. Every time I hear the story of how Purple Rain came to be and that Prince alone demanded the opportunity to make this movie, with seemingly little outside support or confidence, I have renewed amazement and, again, I sit reflecting on his meteoric rise and this critical moment.