On this day (June 25) in 1984, Prince released his sixth studio album, Purple Rain. It was his first album to feature his backing band, The Revolution, and his first to top the Billboard 200 albums chart. Recorded as the soundtrack to the film of the same name, the LP was a massive hit. It also contained a song that would change the music industry forever.
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Prince’s first five albums were mostly solo recordings in which he played all of the instruments and handled vocal duties. Those records saw some chart success. His 1979 self-titled sophomore album and his 1981 full-length Controversy were top 40 hits. His fifth album, 1999, broke into the top 10, peaking at No. 7. Purple Rain spent 24 consecutive weeks at No. 1.
[RELATED: On This Day in 1993, Prince Changed His Name to a Symbol (And He Did It for Good Reason)]
Purple Rain stands as a testament to Prince’s genius as an artist, songwriter, and arranger. It features lush pop production with a psychedelic edge. At the same time, he balanced pop elements with the more experimental nature of the albums that came after it. It is, without a doubt, a monumental album.
How a Track from Prince’s Mega-Hit Album Changed the Music Industry
It’s hard to overstate the influence and impact of Prince’s career. He has inspired generations of musicians and will continue to do so. Also, music fans across the country, regardless of their chosen genre, see the impact of one song from Purple Rain every time they enter a record store.
According to Songfacts, Tipper Gore, wife of then-Vice President Al Gore, walked in on her 11-year-old daughter singing along with “Darling Nikki,” and she was appalled. Her shock over the song’s sexually explicit lyrics led her to form the Parents Music Resource Center. The PMRC then set its sights on the recording industry with utter disregard for the First Amendment.
After several hearings, the PRMC’s campaign of censorship proved fruitless. However, the industry agreed to put parental advisory warnings on albums with explicit lyrics. Prince’s “Darling Nikki” is the reason many of the albums in our collections boast a small black and white box proclaiming “Parental advisory. Explicit lyrics.”
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