The Little-Known History Behind Prince’s Signature Song “Purple Rain”

There’s a parallel universe where Prince’s signature ballad, “Purple Rain”, doesn’t exist. Or at least, it doesn’t exist in the cathartic iteration we now know. Which means that iconic rain-soaked Super Bowl performance may have ended quite differently.

So how did Prince will “Purple Rain” into existence?

Enter Stevie Nicks

After Prince cut a synth track on Stevie Nicks’s 1983 synth-rock hit, “Stand Back”, the Fleetwood Mac singer wanted to keep the collaboration going. So Prince responded by sending her a 10-minute instrumental that needed lyrics.

However, Nicks felt slightly paralyzed by the country-tinged epic. “It was so overwhelming, that 10-minute track… I listened to it, and I just got scared. I called him back and said, ‘I can’t do it. I wish I could. It’s too much for me,’” she said.

Enter The Revolution

Later, during a rehearsal, Prince played the ballad for his band, The Revolution. Guitarist Wendy Melvoin then transformed Prince’s chord sequence into one of the most recognizable guitar riffs in pop history.

Over the next several hours, the song changed from country ballad to emotionally wrought gospel. It became the title track to both Prince’s 1984 LP and film.

I never meant to cause you any sorrow,
I never meant to cause you any pain.

In the song, Prince describes an apocalyptic scene where he stands with a lover. They face the end times with fraught devotion as the sky changes from blue to purple beneath a nourishing rain.

Mostly recorded live at First Avenue in Minneapolis, the masterpiece track captures both Prince and his band at the height of their powers.

Only want to see you bathing,
In the purple rain.

Any Regrets?

Nicks said she doesn’t regret rejecting the song. Whatever she might have written wouldn’t have been “Purple Rain”. And who knows how pop history would have been affected without it.

Baby, I could never steal you from another,
It’s such a shame our friendship had to end.

Moreover, Prince’s colossal album would have had a different name. And what song would have followed “Baby I’m A Star” as the LP’s closing track? Thankfully, we’ll never know.

Photo by Ross Marino/Getty Images