Prince and Purple Rain: 40 Years

Authoritatively written and including rare photography and memorabilia, this sumptuous slipcased hardcover is the only illustrated gift book to examine Prince's most iconic album and film, Purple Rain.

In 1984, Prince, along with his band, The Revolution, released what would become his best-selling album and a touchstone of 1980s pop culture. Purple Rain has gone on to sell 25 million copies and counting. In Prince and Purple Rain, Andrea Swensson, a Minneapolis-based journalist and host/co-producer of Prince Official Podcast, takes a deep dive into the legendary musician's most famous album on its 40th anniversary.

The book features:

• A lush purple velvet slipcase with gold-foil lettering
• A foreword by Prince superfan Maya Rudolph
• Stunning performance and off-stage photography
• Interviews with musicians who worked with Prince
• Images of memorabilia from top collectors

Chapters cover:

• Prince's youth and early music career in Minneapolis, as well as each of the five studio albums that preceded Purple Rain
• Prince's backing band, The Revolution, and the backgrounds of each of its individual members, with an emphasis on the Purple Rain studio and touring members: drummer Bobby Z, bassist Brown Mark, guitarist Wendy Melvoin, keyboardist Lisa Coleman, and keyboardist Matt Fink
• Track-by-track analyses of each side
• A look at the groundbreaking film of the same name and its multiplatinum soundtrack
• Awards, accolades, and critical reception
• Prince's legacy post-Purple Rain, up to his untimely death in 2016

Prince and Purple Rain is a definitive and beautifully produced tribute to a legendary album from a legendary performer and artist.


About the Author

Andrea Swensson is an author, podcast host, and music journalist based in Minneapolis. She hosts the Official Prince Podcast, produced in collaboration with Paisley Park Enterprises, NPG Records, Warner Records, and Sony Music Entertainment, and has contributed music journalism to numerous outlets, including NPR Music, Pitchfork, The Minneapolis Star Tribune, City Pages, and The Current, where she previously hosted "The Local Show." Her first book, Got to Be Something Here: The Rise of the Minneapolis Sound, chronicling the funk and soul scene from the 1950s to the 1970s, was released in October 2017 and honored with a Minnesota Book Award. She is also the author of the new book Deeper Blues, a heartfelt biography of the nonagenarian blues musician (and Jimmy Jam's father) Cornbread Harris.