Prince's 'Purple Rain' Named 'Best Power Ballad of All Time'

Prince's 1984 classic "Purple Rain" was ranked No. 1 on a list of the 50 Greatest Power Ballads from Ultimate Classic Rock. The track was a game-changing rock song whose poetic lyrics and progressive instrumentals are still admired today.

Written by Prince and performed alongside his band The Revolution, "Purple Rain" was originally released as the third single from his 1984 album of the same name. It was an immediate hit upon release, peaking at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and remaining there for two weeks. It was held off the top spot both times by Wham! with "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go".

While Prince was already an established rock legend before "Purple Rain" was released, the track has since gone down in history as one of his greatest and most iconic tracks, with its pulsing electric guitars and orchestral arrangements.

However, "Purple Rain" wasn't always intended to belong exclusively to Prince. The artist composed the music with another artist in mind: Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac. He sent her the instrumentals with a request to write her own lyrics, but the beloved rock icon didn't know what to do with it.

"I listened to it and I just got scared. I called him back and said, "I can't do it. I wish I could. It's too much for me," Nicks admitted (via NME). She passed on the song, and Prince rewrote the music to fit his own musical style and wrote his own lyrics.

While it's fun to imagine what Nicks' version of "Purple Rain" could have sounded like, there's no denying that Prince managed to turn the song into a perfect rock ballad that fit his unique style expertly.

His lyrics discuss what it means to face the end of the world without fear, and understanding that your loved ones are the only thing in the world that matters. Explaining his song, Prince once said: "When there's blood in the sky... red and blue equals purple. "Purple Rain" pertains to the end of the world and being with the one you love and letting your faith/God guide you through the purple rain."

The song became a staple of Prince's live performances in the years following its release, often accompanied by fierce purple lighting that defined the artist's visual aesthetic for years to come. He performed it as the closing track during his Super Bowl performance in 2007, which went down in history as one of the event's greatest performances ever.

"Purple Rain" was also the final song Prince ever performed live. It closed his concert in Atlanta, Georgia, just one week before his death in 2016.