Let’s Go Crazy: Celebrating 25 Years of Purple Rain
By PopMatters Staff
Edited by Evan Sawdey and Produced by Sarah Zupko
Introduction
*cue church organ*
”Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today 2 get through this thing called life …”
… and thus begins one of the greatest pop culture phenomena of our time.
Back in the summer of 1984,Purple Rain was more than just a movie: it was a genuineexperience, a transcendent multi-media event that celebrated commercialism and creativity in equal measure, turning a mid-level R&B singer into an overnight superstar and international sex symbol. At one point during that year, Prince had not only the Number One movie in America, but also the Number One album and the Number One single. In fact, when Purple Rain entered the album chart at peak position on August 4th of 1984 (displacing Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the U.S.A., of all things), it wouldn’t vacate that spot until January 19th of the following year.
Yet all these accomplishments wind up leading us to one very simple question: why?