Let’s Go Crazy: Prince and the Making of Purple Rain (Atria Books 2015)
2014 marks the 30th anniversary of the release of Purple Rain, the hugely successful film and soundtrack album by the Minneapolis-based singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Prince. A fictionalized version of Prince’s own life story, the film would make over $80 million at the box office; the album sold over a million copies in its first week and blasted to Number One on the charts, where it would remain for six months and eventually sell over 20 million copies worldwide. The work won Grammys and an Oscar, and permanently altered the rules and definitions for rock, funk, and pop music, and its impact and influence have never waned.
“Thoughtful and illuminating… [Mr. Light] is a fine companion for this journey through one song’s changing fortunes.” —The New York Times