DID Legend's’ 1984 #1 Classic PREDICT His OWN Death Decades Before It Happened? | Professor of Rock

coming up it may be the most famous opening monologue from a classic song ever put to record a brave sermon every 80s kid Knows by heart no doubt about it are you kidding me from a number one hit that is a high energy Savage synthrock Masterpiece that will have you on your feet at the moment it hits the only thing is it may not be the straight up party song that you think it is in fact if you missed the cues in the intro you may have missed its coded message entirely sung by one of music's most enigmatic and controversial Superstars I mean this artist could really do it all he's a genius is genius he was already a singer-songwriter multi-instrumentalist and producer this time he went beyond even that and strangely enough this 80s smash would prove to be prophetic as the artist was found dead in the very place he described in the song this is crazy once you hear this story it'll bring a whole new meaning to this song it's coming up next on professor of Rock hey music junkies Professor Rock always here to celebrate the greatest artists and the greatest song of all time you know if you ever stole your older brother or sister's records or tapes or CDs growing up you're gonna dig this channel pure musical Nostalgia shouldn't say still borrowed make sure that you subscribe below right now and click the notification Bell so you know when everything drops we have new stuff coming out all the time also check us out on patreon even more content helps us keep it a daily Channel check out our merch below as well three chords in the truth so Prince Rogers Nelson absolute Marvel a certified musical genius a truly rare and gifted artist this talented singer-songwriter multi-instrumentalism producer he was a one-man phenomenon and today we're going to pay tribute to him and his legacy by telling the story of a song that people get wrong a lot it's one of his most beloved and popular hits Let's Go Crazy from his 1984 soundtrack album Purple Rain [Music] the 80s his momentum was accelerating he was a Critic Starling from the beginning he issued a trio of albums from 1980 to 1982 each in turn one-upping the last dirty mind became Prince's first gold offering controversy his first Platinum and his double album 1999 that was his first to go multi-platinum and although his first two 80s records wouldn't yield any hits on the Billboard Hot 100. 1999 kicked open the floodgates spawning three top ten singles Little Red Corvette Delirious of course the title track tonight [Music] 1999 pushed Prince's sound into the realm of synth heavy dance and the world went crazy for it the album's commercial breakthrough success was pure Vindication years of artistic struggle finally paid off for this Man released worldwide in October 1982 Prince's fifth studio album reached number nine on the billboard 200 and certified platinum four times in the United States but that would only be the beginning of a prince Haddon store for the world the success of 1999 it made Prince The Artist To Watch and as you prepared to drop his next album Purple Rain released on June 25th 1984 the record showcased the purple one's extraordinary talent and vision a multimedia event if there ever was one in the 80s Purple Rain served as the soundtrack to one of the most memorable films of 84. [Music] Purple Rain the movie is released a month after the album on July 27th and not only cast prince in the leading role but was written as a stylized autobiography Prince spent months jotting down the basic plot points which he then handed off to screenwriter William blint the movie borrows heavily from Prince's experiences growing up in Minnesota most of the roles were played by musicians in his inner circle using their real names and acting out fictionalized versions of real life situations the film opened in 900 theaters across the United States and earned back its investment of seven million dollars on his first weekend ultimately Purple Rain would gross over 70 million dollars at the box office which is equal to about 200 million though more than 200 million today while the film itself has become a lasting landmark of modern pop culture it is Prince's music and specifically his concert performances that have kept it there I mean take prince off the stage and some of the rest of the movie becomes a little suspect that being said though the twin media strategy of Purple Rain the film and the album a brilliant move on Princess Part together they showcase the next level in the evolution of Prince's musical Excellence the christening him as a global Superstar which he became [Music] Purple Rain as for the album itself it was mostly recorded between August and 1983 and March of 1984. some of the songs were actually live takes from an August 83 concert at the fame First Avenue nightclub in Minneapolis the album's last three tracks I would die for you baby I'm a star in Purple Rain we're recording live on August 3rd 1983 with overdubs and edits taking place over the next few months [Music] [Music] despite the first time the prince had included live recordings on an album it also marked the First Time Prince released a non-solo album you know whereas Prince's previous records are all credited to the purple Enigma himself Purple Rain is credited to Prince in the revolution Purple Rain featured the most pop oriented music the prince had ever made and would ever make so it's not surprising the record certified platinum in the U.S a mere two months after its release I mean by November 1984 to reached Platinum eight times by January of 85 was Platinum times nine eventually it sold in excess of 25 million copies worldwide once again Prince had really upped his game at the time of its release the lp spent 24 consecutive weeks at number one on the billboard 200 album chart [Music] Purple Rain like way stormed the charts around the world it reached number 12 in Japan and went to number eight in France and Austria seven in UK and Switzerland number five in Germany number four in Norway number three in Sweden number two in New Zealand and I went to number one in Australia Holland Zimbabwe in Canada the record also scored an Oscar uh two gram he's in four Hot 100 top 10 singles including two number one hits and a number two while this may have seemed like overnight success to much of the world who weren't aware Prince truth was that he had been plotting his Global takeover for years in 1985 he said I worked a long time under a lot of different people and most of the time I was doing it their way I mean that was cool but you know I figured if I worked hard enough and kept my head straight one day I get to do this on my own and that's what happened the final version of the record it was locked in totally nine tracks and coming in just under 44 minutes it works brilliantly as both a companion piece to the film and a standalone offering that's why it's hard to call it a soundtrack album Purple Rain of course turned out multiple cross format hit singles there was when doves cry I would die for you Purple Rain take me with you and today's feature Let's Go Crazy [Music] [Music] how do you say it let's go crazy it's a fire-breathing melodic rocker that forces you to your feet the moment it kicks into action this track was a declaration of intent for the new band and this new era showcasing the Precision and the power of Prince and the revolution while adding a strong pop appeal I might add said bass is brown Mark when he presented that Groove to us it definitely was the start of a change in another Direction [Music] according to the song's handwritten lyrics sheet its original title though was let's get crazy it's funny how one small word can make such a huge difference I mean can you imagine Let's Go Crazy any other way I don't think so let's get crazy it's like when Michael Keaton said in the original Batman so the basic idea for the song and the Riff was put the tape in a session on May 18th 1983 at the Kiowa Trail home studio in Minnesota but before laying down a proper studio recording prince in the revolution debuted and recorded the song live on August 3rd 1983 at First Avenue then a basic tracking of the version released on Purple Rain took place on August 7 1983 at the warehouse in St Louis Park Minnesota this version was then edited down for the actual album engineer Susan Rogers remembered it this way Prince wanted to be able to record his rehearsals so I was told to make a control room right in the middle of a warehouse which breaks every rule in the book but I hadn't been an engineer I knew nothing about record making which in hindsight was why I was perfect for Prince because he could have me make his records his way for the warehouse Studio I guess they brought in a console they threw down a square of carpet on the cement floor that was it it was left completely open they recorded Let's Go Crazy live at rehearsal and then Prince sent the band home and it was just prince and Rogers who worked the overdubs together [Music] Susan called Prince a great band leader who spent a lot of time with his band mates and ripped off all their ideas keyboardist Matt the doctor Fink concurred saying that when Prince brought the song to the banner rehearsal and he'd already recorded the demo pretty much on his own but he also wanted the band to put their flavor on it and perform it live to record it the revolution's other keyboardist Lisa Coleman remembered that she said The more we played it the more it developed into a sparkly tough song sort of Disneyland was talking about life before death the band added just the right attitude fittingly as the first track on Purple Rain Let's Go Crazy opens with an iconic spoken intro likely the most famous of the 80s dearly beloved we are gathered here today to get through this thing called life [Music] I mean is it a eulogy is it a sermon is it a Manifesto maybe all three whatever it is is one of the most famous song introductions in pop music history one that we all knew by heart I don't know if there's a more perfect way to kick off anything ever an album a concert a movie and you know what this intro it did all three joined by a church organ Prince preaches from the pulpit to us his congregation admonishing us to enjoy this life that we live because in this life things are much harder than the after World the world to come in this life we're on our own and so at the D elevator tries to bring us down it's time to go crazy to punch a higher floor so good [Music] I think all this missing here is a backup choir and can I get an amen it just sparkles if you're picking up on some religious undertones here that was actually really intentional Prince explained that the original draft of Let's Go Crazy was very different from what landed on the album it was an overtly religious track he said and I quote as I wrote it let's go crazy it was about God and the de-elevation of sin he further clarified saying the song was about God and the devil get a better break from he said I had to change those words up but Vader was Satan I had to change those words up because she couldn't say God on the radio you imagine that same thing with God Only Knows Let's Go Crazy was God to me stay happy stay focused and you can beat the D elevator I love that since religion was taboo and popular music Prince turned the song a new coded message but it's not like it's not incompatible with Prince's character or his catalog in fact he also invoked religious imagery and popular songs like 1999 I would die for you and Purple Rain just to name a couple [Applause] so even though let's go crazy it's typically heard as a pure party track Prince infused it with a deeper spiritual meaning for those who wanted to hear it or could hear it between the lines I also got to take a moment here to give Prince's guitar solos a true shout out because he does not get the credit he deserves as a guitarist I still think he's underrated starting to come around a little bit with the video of him playing as My Guitar Gently Weeps and everybody there including Tom Petty and and Company are just you know picking their mouth up off the floor of their job off the floor [Music] but let's go crazy features two incredible solos reminiscent of the great Jimi Hendrix princess solo at the end of the song is a near minute long master class in high speed shredding and out of me more than enough to secure his rightful status as a legitimate not only music genius but guitar genius it's one of the top solo moments in a decade that was full of said drummer Bobby Z he was down on those pedals he was studying those dials he knew exactly what he was doing when that guitar saw at the end of Let's Go Crazy hit that could have been the first take he definitely was a guitar student Purple Rain for its part was his sixth studio album sixth people really forget about that he had all that time to master Guitar by the time he got to let's go crazy you knew he figured it out the guitar parts were now Epic and to quote Amen to that Bobby C Let's Go Crazy fall When Doves Cry as the second number one single off of the soundtrack I also reached number one on the dance club songs chart and also the hot black singles chart and it broke into the U.S top 20 mainstream Roger should have been the number one there internationally Let's Go Crazy went to number 13 in New Zealand went to number 11 in the Netherlands in Belgium number 10 in Australia number seven in the UK and number two in Canada the music video for Let's Go Crazy it mixes Prince's performance of the song in the movie with a variety of other clips from the film Albert magnoli who directed Purple Rain he's credited as the director for the music video as well as you can imagine it was a popular clip [Applause] foreign to the New Millennium in the era of music videos on YouTube rest in peace MTV let's go crazy it's still making its mark I mean music video and all between YouTube and Spotify the song has been streamed over 150 million times but surprisingly the track has only showed up in a handful of movies and TV shows probably because it's so connected to Purple Rain the movie but it's been in Muppets tonight with Prince himself seeing two American Dad [Music] Kingsman Golden Circle and Empire such a cinematic song fortunately the Minnesota sports Market knows what they're doing here reportedly the Minnesota Twins began playing the song in 2010 whenever a Twins player hit a home run and the Minnesota hockey team the wild likewise adopted let's go crazy they actually used it in their 2017 to 18 season playing it whenever one of their players put a puck in the net foreign let's go crazy he's been sung by a wide variety of artists from all different genres there's Sheila E Incubus Maroon 5 train 311 Christine Aguilera Sugarland Sister Hazel Bruno Mars Green Day Corey Taylor the darkness [Applause] Kelly Clarkson and also Sir Paul McCartney nice tip of the Hat there if you want to hear a great version of Let's Go Crazy though check out Prince and the revolution live it's actually first release on VHS back in 85 and then later it was released on DVD and check out the deluxe edition of purple rain as well which contains multiple versions of Let's Go Crazy including the seven and a half minute dance mix it was actually used in the movie at first [Applause] it's actually one of Prince's favorite songs uh he showcased Let's Go Crazy during his Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony clear back in 2004. the Time Prince released his follow-up record to Purple Rain 1985's around the world in the day very psychedelic album the man was a certifiable superstar enigmatic Innovative and prolific Prince would go on to put together a career the tally the release of uh 40 plus albums and also retaining vaults of unreleased material on top of all that not to mention they're all the artists he mentored and collaborated with through the years just an incredible incredible career it's been almost a better part of a decade now since Prince passed away allegedly according to medical examiners he died from an accidental overdose of the painkiller Fentanyl this is back in April 21st 2016. Prince was discovered unresponsive in an elevator at his Paisley Park Studios First Responders attempted to revive him with CPR but to Noah Bell he was pronounced dead shortly after that not long after Prince's passing members of the Revolution announced they would reunite to pay tribute to their fallen front man according to Brown mark it wasn't hard for them to decide which song would open the shows [Music] said Brown Mark about it if you remember in the song it asks are we going to let the elevator bring us down and the ironic thing is that he died in an elevator so it was our choice we needed to come out with let's go crazy because Prince lived and breathed what he was this guy was very energetic he loved life and he loved music so much that was his Happy song if you listen to the lyrics he's talking about the very thing that happened to him right nothing's gonna bring us down but it caught him off guard and Bam it's over so we thought it was a very appropriate song for us to come out with it represents that energetic side of who he was in that time period this song oh man it's gotten me through so many down moments I remember in high school right before graduation day it was like a couple days before I was completely fatigued I could barely get out of bed I would later find out from a doctor it was mono this was going to ruin my summer after getting away from school which I hated well one morning I got just enough strength to put a CD into my stereo and it was let's go crazy I was immediately on my feet jamming it gave me sheer motivation and you know the little faith a little prince and a little prayer I somehow dodged this sickness seriously I went back to the doctor a couple days later they could not find any trace of the illness it's true story and I graduated and I had a great summer we all have to ask that question are we going to let the elevator take us down well in the immortal words of the purple one oh no let's go crazy long live the prince of rock and roll [Applause] thanks so much for watching leave us a comment about Prince Purple Rain and let's go crazy what do you remember about the song the album what are your memories tied to it what do you think about this song his guitar solos Prince is an artist let's have a great discussion and tribute about truly a genius of musical Geniuses if you like our content we invite you to subscribe we'd love to have you as part of our content part of our community till next time records [Music] foreign [Music]

Channel: Professor of Rock

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Keywords: professor of rock, professor of rock 80s, professor of rock prince, classic albums, song story, 80s, 80 rock, 80s greatest hits, 80s music, 80s hits, 80s nostalgia, prince, let’s go crazy, purple rain soundtrack, prince let’s go crazy, prince documentary, prince interview, prince and the revolution, 1984, rock, 80s pop, prince's death, prince tribute, eighites, purple rain album, purple rain movie, pop, behind the music, prince purple rain, classic rock, 80s rock, guitar, funk

Id: EbdKjuHsG5M

Length: 23min 22sec (1402 seconds)

Published: Sat Aug 12 2023