Tribute for Prince…sad Sign of the Times
Prince Rogers Nelson (June 7, 1958 – April 21, 2016), known by the mononym Prince, was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and actor. He was renowned as an innovator, and was widely known for his eclectic work, flamboyant stage presence, and wide vocal range. He was widely regarded as the pioneer of Minneapolis sound. His music integrates a wide variety of styles, including funk, rock, R&B, soul, psychedelia, and pop.
Prince sold over 100 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling artists of all time.He won seven Grammy Awards, a Golden Globe Award,and an Academy Award. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, the first year of his eligibility. Rolling Stone ranked Prince at number 27 on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.
Purple Rain is the sixth studio album by American recording artist Prince, the first to feature his backing band The Revolution, and is the soundtrack album to the 1984 film of the same name. It was released on June 25, 1984 by Warner Bros. Records. To date, it has sold over 22 million copies worldwide, becoming the sixth best-selling soundtrack album of all time.[1]
Purple Rain is regularly ranked among the best albums in music history, and is widely regarded as Prince’s magnum opus. Time magazine ranked it the 15th greatest album of all time in 1993, and it placed 18th on VH1’s Greatest Rock and Roll Albums of All Time countdown. Rolling Stone magazine ranked it the second-best album of the 1980s and 76th on their list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. The first two singles from Purple Rain, “When Doves Cry” and “Let’s Go Crazy”, topped the US singles charts, and were hits around the world, while the title track went to number two on the Billboard Hot 100. The RIAA lists it as having gone platinum 13 times over.[2]
In 2007, the editors of Vanity Fair labeled it the best soundtrack of all time, and Tempo magazine named it the greatest album of the 1980s.[3] The 1,000th issue of Entertainment Weekly dated July 4, 2008, listed Purple Rain at number one on their list of the top 100 best albums of the past 25 years.[4] In 2013, the magazine also listed the album at number two on their list of the 100 Greatest Albums ever.[5] In 2012, Slant Magazine listed the album at #2 on its list of “Best Albums of the 1980s” behind only Michael Jackson’s Thriller.[6] In the same year, the album was added to the Library of Congress’s National Recording Registry list of sound recordings that “are culturally, historically, or aesthetically important”.[7]