The year 2016 will be remembered throughout history for many reasons, but to the world of music and millions of fans worldwide, it will be remembered as the year the legendary artist known as Prince passed away. The term “artist” is often used to describe musicians. However, no one wholly embodied the word like Prince. His music, his performances, his clothing, everything about him, and what he did was a work of high art. His boundary-defying music challenged the way we looked at the world while offering poetic commentary on everything from religion, to politics, to love, and even war. There will never be another like Prince.
If you ask any fan to name one song that they would have someone listen to if they had never heard Prince’s music before, most folks would probably say “Purple Rain.” The song was perhaps one of the most popular tunes in the 80s. In fact, Prince even starred in a feature film with the same name, while making his debut into the world of acting. However, there are probably a lot of diehard Prince fans who may not know that initially the song was supposed to be something completely different. You see, Prince was supposed to perform the song as a collaboration with country artist Stevie Nicks. That’s right; it was going to be more of a country song. Prince sent Nicks a 10-minute instrumental tape and wanted her to write the lyrics. But after she listened to it, Nicks apologetically had to turn down the project, because it was way too overwhelming.
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Prince made some adjustments, and after hearing a different version of the melody created the final version.
Source: YouTube
Two years before Prince’s death, Adam Levine performed “Purple Rain” at the 60th “Birthday Bash” of Howard Stern. But, the performance did not become public until April 22, 2016— a day after Prince’s death.
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In the video, we see Levine pay homage to the legend with a beautiful rendition complete with smooth and soulful vocals that resonated with emotion and passion.
Source: YouTube
However, people were blown away by Levine’s incredible guitar solo, which, if you ask anyone, plays guitar wasn’t an easy feat, considering the fact that “Purple Rain” has one of the most difficult-to-play guitar solos.
You can enjoy the entire performance in the video below.
