Wednesday Minute
No. 74 | April 14, 2010

April Showers

Featured this week (theme introduction)
Monday         —   “Singin’ in the Rain” (1952)
Tuesday         —   “The Rain in Spain” (1964)

Our theme this week
“Rain”-y day songs from the movies

“Purple Rain”

I never meant 2 cause u any sorrow
I never meant 2 cause u any pain
I only wanted 2 one time see u laughing
I only wanted 2 see u laughing in the purple rain

Purple rain, purple rain
Purple rain, purple rain
Purple rain, purple rain

I only wanted 2 see u bathing in the purple rain

Six years before he morphed into his unpronounceable  identity, the artist then known as Prince starred in Purple Rain.  Some aptly named cast members played other roles.  Apollonia Kotero was Apollonia.  Morris Day was Morris.  Jerome Benton was Jerome.  So who was Prince?  No name:  he was just ”The Kid.”  (Maybe he liked that Chaplin movie with Jackie Coogan.)

Names aside, there are more than a few parallels between Prince and the role he played.  Set in Minneapolis, the story follows a young and talented musician as he rises from life in a troubled family through the local scene on his way to stardom.  The music is more concert film than traditional musical, with the action building to a Prince performance at the legendary First Avenue nightclub, featuring among other numbers, the title song.

Prince was at the height of his popularity around the time of this film.  His movie was a hit and won an Oscar for Best Music, Original Song Score.   Even more impressive was the reception to the soundtrack.  It won two Grammys, featured two #1 singles (“When Doves Cry” and “Let’s Go Crazy”), and was the #1 album on the Billboard 200 chart for an incredible 24 weeks in a row.  (Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A.” had been #1, then—rather oddly—retook the top spot half a year later.)  It’s not much of a stretch to say, if you were living somewhere on the planet during 1984, you spent some of that time listening to Prince—maybe a lot.

Prince acted again in several films, including the black-and-white Under the Cherry Moon in 1986, and in a Purple Rain sequel called Graffiti Bridge (1990).  No doubt, though, he’ll be best remembered for his electrifying music.  The guy can play.

Purple Rain (1984)
Albert Magnoli, director
“Purple Rain”
Prince and the Revolution

 

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Quote of Note
“You’d think the rain would’ve cooled things down.  All it did was make the heat wet.”
—Stella (Thelma Ritter), Rear Window (1954)

…58…59…60.