This video is actually an outtake from the movie _"Purple Rain" (1984)._ You have to watch the movie to understand the context of all the elements in the video. It's a fantastic movie, and Prince was one of the greatest musicians of all time, hands down.
I always thought that thematically, after pretty much every guy in this movie, including Prince, acted like a complete sexist piece of garbage (no pun intended), that he showed a ton of class giving the stage to Wendy to play the first couple of chords of the song. He showed a lot of courage presenting himself as a flawed character, but not irredeemable.
I wholeheartedly agree, if you watch the movie you will learn that every song in the movie has a meaning to something that's going on in the movie. The song that he plays after purple rain in the movie you will love and adore.
This album, front to back, is one of the greatest ever recorded. And this is coming from a hardcore metalhead. Man was a musical genius. The live version of this song from the Superbowl is also fantastic. And if you really want to see him rip on guitar watch "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" with Prince, Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne and Steve Winwood. He just comes out and owns the stage like a complete boss.
@@TheLaker323 That $25 guitar, a cheap Japanese knock off of a Fender Telecaster (Hohner Madcat), that played every note of every album he ever recorded. It had that leopard print pick guard, and it came with the animal print guitar strap that Prince is using in this video with his custom cloud guitar, which is just another fake Telecaster, in essence. Many famous artists couldn't afford the real versions of the instrument they were known for; Slash is another great who actually plays a fake when recording and not on stage.
The song from the album and movie "Purple Rain", starring Prince, Appolonia, Morris Day, the Revolution (Prince's band), and the Time (Morris Day's band). It's a great movie. I agree with the other comments that you should really watch the movie; it will help you make more sense of the song and the man himself. Prince was a GOAT for sure.☮❤
Prince was considered by many, including many of the guitar greats themselves, to be the greatest guitarist ever. His vocals, stage presence, and great sense of fashion were just icing on the cake.
Another point of trivia that I haven't seen in the other comments, he was also a prolific song writer. And wrote songs for many other bands and singers, that they took to stardom themselves. Had a huge impact on music in the 80s, 90s and beyond
Prince wrote "Purple Rain" as a country song to collaborate with Stevie Nicks. Stevie listened to it but was totally overwhelmed by the song & said she couldn't do it. Prince was with Wendy & Lisa and asked them to try something different. They slowed it down, added areas of hardness, & removed the country elements. After six straight hours they had written it as you hear it today. You were interested in the songs meaning. I remembered a quote I saw where Prince explained it. I looked it up for you: "When there's blood in the sky - red and blue = purple. Purple rain pertains to the end of the world and being with the one you love and letting your faith/god guide you through the purple rain." Prince gives the same purple imagery in "1999". "The sky was so purple there were people running everywhere - tryin to run from the destruction, you know I didn't even care." Please check out: "When Doves Cry" (also from the movie Purple Rain) "KISS" (super fun video)
I saw him in San Francisco in 1984 on his Purple Rain Tour and he was AMAZING!!! So was Sheila E performing The Glamorous Life. When you watch the movie you will understand the proper context of this performance. Guitar, piano, vocals, composition, over all performance was 100 percent! Prince born in June 1958, so he was a month older than I. Cheers!☔💧💧💧☮💜💜💜You singing along put a big smile on my face!
There are VOLUMES of Prince songs we haven't heard yet, that family lawsuits are preventing from being released. Kevin Smith spoke of them in his funny speaking bit about working with Prince on one of them. He made whole videos, with costumes and sets and production, that we haven't seen yet.
@@jorynickila7760 Prince wore high heels, jumped, danced and did splits in them. The drugs were over prescribed pain killers. Head addicted but like many millions the fault lies with big pharma, and doctors. Not making excuses for anyone but sometimes there are reasons.
His first album he played all the instruments. Wrote music and lyrics. The man earned his moniker of The Artist. Check out his Super Bowl Halftime performance in the rain and While My Guitar Gently Weeps.
Love Prince. This song ALWAYS makes me cry, partly from knowing the movie and the meaning behind the song, but mostly because of the emotion you can just feel in the guitar solo
Prince was an ICON. Very under-rated as a guitar player. He was a musical genius. I'd love to see you react to the movie Purple Rain, where this video comes from. 💜
If you haven't checked it out already, you need to see him and a bunch of other talented musicians cover "While My Guitar Gently Weeps". Prince puts down what many people consider one of the best guitar solos of all time!
It is fantastic, but I feel it's partly mistaken because there is another guitar dueling with him, that the camera never pans to. There are parts where he simply is not playing notes, but notes are present. I'm not sure who on that stage had the balls to jump in like that though, because Tom and the Elo guy were not soloists.
Dude in the big white glasses was the club owner in the movie. Another song to react to is While My Guitar Gently Weeps with Prince, Steve Winwood, Tom Petty and others. Prince's guitar solo is SICK!
Prince was extremely popular in the '80s, & he was also extremely prolific. He wrote more music, more songs, than he could record himself, & created a handful of, 'side', bands to showcase his stuff. He also tapped on numerous vocalists (mostly female) & turned them into stars, again as an outlet to get his songs heard. He had a falling out in the 90s though, because his record company, Warner Bros., did what all record companies do - placed quantiy over quality, & told him basically, 'less art, more product'. So, he went underground for a while, until he finally got out from his contract, & by the time that was all cleared up, the world's musical tastes has shifted, & his style of music wasn't as popular any more. Still, he wrote amazing stuff over the last 30 years of his life, but didn't get the attention he deserved.
I always thought that the underground era made him better. He made great songs then came out with a stronger ability to do what he wanted and that was making great music.
kabir back in my day when you wanted to get the PARTY started you'd drop the needle on this RECORD or pop in the CASSTTE TAPE. The chics dig PRINCE. 🔥💯✌
There aren’t a lot of guitar players who can make their guitars talk. He was one of the few. I think I saw that movie like a dozen times. I had such a crush!!
The 80s/90s produced my personal Mount Rushmore of music: Whitney, Madonna, Prince, and Michael. Rest In Power to Prince, to Whitney, to Michael, and all the others - from Jimi and Janis to George Michael and so many others gone too soon. Great reaction, Kabir! ☮❤
I saw him in Michigan in 2004. Best concert I’ve ever been to. They brought him down the isle in a black box. A box. Me and a friend sat on the isle they brought him down and the band in. It was AMAZING. Look up Prince- Palace of Auburn Hills in 04. Amazing show and Morris Day and the Time opened. Absolutely awesome!!
If you want to see his raw talent you have to watch him in the video of the 2004 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's George Harrison induction. where Prince, Tom Petty, Jeff Lynn, etc, do the song My Guitar Gently Weeps. Prince comes in late in the video and takes over. His talent is epic.
If you think his guitar work is here, you should check out the way he played on, 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps'. That's an old Beatles' tune, written by George Harrison, & when Harrison was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, an all-star band including Prince played a cover of the song. And, Prince stole the show.
Some of the absolute best guitar work in any song ever. You can truly hear the emotion in that guitar. I heard this when it first came out in the 80’s and played this entire album over and over and this guitar work still gives me chills it’s so amazing.
If you want to see him I a performance of this song that will blow your mind you need to check out his Super Bowl appearance when it was pouring rain and he made it THUNDER.
Ok so a couple things you asked that nobody else said..the guy in the white glasses was the club owner in the movie who was on the fence about Prince and his inconsistancy and provocative music..but was won over cause who wouldn't be? In real life though he was an early Prince promoter and DJ in Detroit . His name escapes me but you can easily Google it. Essentially Prince was trying to create a version of his life..not exact but elements.. and also the extraordinary moment in time and music in the Minneapolis scene at this time ..which essentially all revolving around and lead by Prince. This was his home turf. The audience were local fans who clubbed it who dressed to the 9s and came in for the music sequences and took in the songs for the first time. Its authentic. The movie was low budget and Prince fought hard to do it his way or no way. The movie studio wanted John Travolta.Haha. His girlfriend Vanity and musical sattelite act was supposed to play his romantic partner but their relationship ended and her manager said it wasn't enough money. (Theres a whole big back story there you can Google too but kinda sad.) A couple cool things you might like...Wendy Melvoin, Prince' s new guitarist had her stage debut playing Purple Rain on the stage for this movie at age 19.( She was Prince's piano player ,Lisa Coleman's girlfriend and the 3 were roommates at this time.) It's the first cut and the album cut. The director set aside 6 weeks for the musical number scenes to be cut for the film but they were done in a week. Came in and killed. You ask the simple question what is Purple Rain but you really need to understand Prince's musical history and spiritual journey to halfway understand and it is still part mystery. Yes it's probably a break up sing about Vanity...but it's also about the end of the world and Spiritual rapture. With Prince its always duality. Sexual/ Spiritual . Male /Female. Soft and edgy. Complicated and silly. And so on. There is a course now on the theology of Prince! He had his own spirituality and language through music. He was no doubt a genius and also deeply troubled while equally generous and humble while his persona could be as pompous and controlling as it gets. He knew he was a master and he famously lived music and never slept. But he was quite well aware of his gift and not wasting it. He worked on the cover art, designed his own wardrobe with collaborators as well as designing the looks for all his band mates. Musical director. Mentor Charity worker. He was behind alot of charitable efforts that people never knew came from him. Black lives Matter and Green power for inner city.teaching black kids to code. All kinds of causes. He was a phenomenal artist with a huge body of work and mastered and combined most every genre ever! There's something like a song a day he recorded in his vault and many fully produced albums and videos that we may or may not see. Purple rain wasnt in a bunch of movies or used for anything other than Prince. He was extremely serious about artists' rights and not being commercialized in a way he did not agree with. He fought for many years until he bought back his entire catalog from WB for many millions. When PR came out Prince was popular but not super wealthy but he knew this would make him a superstar and it did. I listened to Prince from middle school and Purple Rain came out the year I graduated. It was the first concert I ever took myself to at 18. It spoiled me forever. Watch one of those shows if you can find one or the one on the box set. Then watch everything else. It will blow your mind. Anybody that makes Prince out to be just Purple Rain or just another junkie is missing a whole lot. He punished his body with his physically demanding and exuberant performances and was falling apart. Not wanting to stop but pain was definitely getting the better of him and he was too private to let people see him struggle with addiction after he had been so vocal about sobriety and work ethic. I was gutted when he died. For my generation it was like losing a limb. He was that important to the world. I am genuinely loving watching young people take in Prince because pop music just isn't what it used to be and Prince level means iconic and I think we live in a post icon world when it comes to music. A few living legends but none so fierce free and gifted as Prince . The pinnacle. e.
Prince, the music of my people. 💜 His death didn't hit me, until I was driving in Minneapolis and folks hung memorial banners on bridges over the highway.
Purple Rain is the album title for the soundtrack to the movie Purple Rain. Great music on that soundtrack. Though he did stir up a little controversy with a couple the songs. He was absolutely entertaining.
@@bobshort2149 That's great! I'm laughing so hard. Yeah, she made that happen with a few songs. We rushed to listen. Tell us we shouldn't do something.... 🤣
"I bet this song has been in lots of movies". As you probably know by now, Purple Rain was THE movie. This entire video is a scene from the film. Lyrics and meaning will all make sense if you watch . . . a semi autobiographical story of a young musician trying to make it in the Minneapolis music scene. It actually gave birth to what was known in the 80's as the "Minneapolis Sound". genius!
I live next to his studio and I'll never forget the light being on as we played outdoor hockey and my dad taking me to a show that we had to leave at 2am because we wouldn't stop playing up here in Minnesota
Another great guitarist was Stevie Ray Vaughan. Jimi Hendricks, Mark Knofler, Santana, Slash, Angus Young, B. B.King, Eddie Van Halen, etc., are other great guitarists. Watch Mark Knofler, Sting, Eric Clapton and Phil Collins, 1997, perform MONEY FOR NOTHING. 4 greats together. It was performed at the Royal Albert Hall, London, England.
Hey Kabir!!!! Another one of my absolute favorites! I won't repeat the first few comments I've seen, and I do apologize if people have addressed this in further comments, I'm in the middle of something but, PLEASE check out his version of this at the NFL half-time show. He is known as an incredible songwriter and popular artist but, IMHO, he is underappreciated as a guitarist. He can really shred!!! Check it out, if you have time! I don't often cry when celebrities pass but I sure did when he died (and Anthony Bourdain). Have a great night!
100% agree! As a teenager of the 80s I always felt about Prince as older generations felt about Frank Sinatra, Elvis, Bob Dylan, the Beatles, etc. Sure there were other popular and uber-talented performers (Michael Jackson, Madonna, etc.) but Prince was a true creative prodigy. I personally believe, once his cached catalog is finally revealed and studied that his music will stand the test of time and be performed in future concert halls in the same manner as the classical maestros (Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, et al) are played now. JMHO.
Prince originally wrote this song as an intended collaboration with Stevie Nicks, but she backed out after hearing his demo, saying it was basically above her skill level. Prince was originally afraid to release the song, for fear that the guitar solo was too close to the Neil Schon's solo in the song, 'Faithfully', by Journey. It all worked out in the end, though.
I don't know if anyone else in the comments mentioned this, I didn't go down very far to see but, this was from a movie, also titled "Purple Rain". This video was from the movie. You should watch the movie, it was from the mid 80's. I was in high school, and this movie was epic.
To understand this one, you'll just need to watch the movie, Purple Rain. (This is the title song off of the 1984 album of the same name, which served as the soundtrack for the movie of the same name, which also came out in 1984.) Norb Caoili, a Seahawks fan who goes by NorbCam, did a tribute video to Prince shortly after he died where he gave a bit of a speech, before launching into a piano-vocal cover of "Purple Rain". His performance at Super Bowl XLI was- and remains- the best Super Bowl halftime show ever. A couple months before he died, the NFL uploaded a video looking back on it, called "Prince Performs 'Purple Rain' During Downpour | Super Bowl XLI Halftime Show | NFL".
The song is a million times more potent within the context of the movie. It is the cathartic climax of Prince's "character" in the movie. A must watch movie for the 80s time frame. As stated before by 40 Acres and a mule, react to the NFL video of Prince's entire performance at the Super Bowl halftime show. Considering the incredible circumstances surrounding his performance, it was a virtuoso performance of a true superstar performer and musician at the height of his prowess. Many superstars have performed at the halftime show of the Super Bowl but Prince's performance is considered one of the few best if not THE BEST performance ever. PLEASE, Kabir, do yourself a favor and check it out. Cheers!
This video is a scene straight from the movie of the same name. I know cause I saw the movie in the movie theatre when I was 16 years old. I have this song on a 45 that is actually purple! Love this man!!!
React to him in concert performing, Play that funky music and see how he and his guitar are one. He taught himself over twenty instruments and better at them than his hired musicians. A point to note, he was 24/25 doing this film.
The guy that they panned on was the owner of the club who was deciding if he should keep the Revolution on his docket or bring in Apallonia Six affiliated with The Time. Dude, Billy was the man.
His mom lived a block down from me in Golden Valley a few decades ago, I live elsewhere now. Missing Prince Rogers like crazy. Check out tribute to George Harrison's While My Guitar Gently Weeps, beautiful.
this was epic my brother.......they asked eric clapton who was the best guitar player ever....he said prince...NO LIE....that ICON said prince...he was that good...a guitar GOD called him best there ever was.
