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Prince’s ‘Purple Rain’ at 40: Here’s What Happened When It Stormed Our Charts

Prince's 'Purple Rain' at 40: How Billboard tracked Prince's reign over the charts

But with the June 25, 1984, release of Purple Rain, Prince took his throne as a global pop star. The next week’s issue called it “the most gripping contemporary rock movie in years,” as well as “the most performance-oriented music exploitation film since the glory days of Richard Lester’s classic Beatles films.” Another article, about the release of the single “Let’s Go Crazy,” reported that Prince had delivered “a second tour de force” — “even before the doves have stopped crying.” It became his second Hot 100 No. An article in the Dec. 22, 1984, issue declared that the year had been “dominated by the phenomenon of His Purple Badness, thanks to a multimedia blitz of vinyl, video and film soundtracks” that “epitomized the upbeat creative and commercial climate.” “When Doves Cry” was revealed as the “top-selling single of the year.” But mainstream success didn’t clean up Prince’s dirty mind: The same issue noted that growing interest in B-side “Erotic City” — “fueled” by “controversial lyric content” — was forcing radio stations to “wrestle with how to deal with its popularity.”

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