Purple Rain

Prince, 1984. Solo by Prince.

Rolling Stone's 2026 #1. The long closing solo turns a power ballad into a benediction.

The long closing solo was largely improvised on stage at First Avenue in August 1983, and the record keeps that live take with only a few edits and added strings. Prince played his Hohner-built Mad Cat, a Telecaster-style guitar, through a Mesa/Boogie amp with distortion, dialling back the bass for a biting, singing tone. The solo grows slowly from lyrical phrases to high, sustained bends before the band returns for the wordless vocal chant. It turns a power ballad into something close to a hymn, and it proved Prince belonged in any conversation about great rock guitarists. Listen for the high sustained bends near the end, where each note seems to climb just a little further before the chant takes over.

Purple Rain by Prince is ranked #19 in our consensus of 79 guitar-solo lists. The solo is played by Prince and the song was released in 1984. It appears on 24 lists, placing as high as #1 (Rolling Stone).

The story of Purple Rain

Purple Rain did not start out as a rock anthem. Prince first imagined it as something closer to a country tune and sent Stevie Nicks a long instrumental sketch, asking her to write lyrics for it. Nicks turned the offer down, later explaining that the piece felt too overwhelming for her to take on. Prince kept working on it himself, and the song eventually became the emotional centerpiece of both his film and its soundtrack album.

The arrangement took shape at a Revolution rehearsal when Prince told the band he wanted to try a mellow idea before they went home. Guitarist Wendy Melvoin began voicing the chords differently, which Lisa Coleman said pulled the song away from its country feel and delighted Prince. The group then played it over and over for roughly six hours, and by the end of the day the structure was essentially finished. Worried that it resembled Journey's Faithfully, Prince even phoned Jonathan Cain, who told him the two songs only shared a few chords.

The master was captured live on August 3, 1983, at a benefit for the Minnesota Dance Theatre at First Avenue in Minneapolis, which was also Melvoin's first concert with the band. David Z coordinated a mobile truck from New York's Record Plant to record the show. The performance ran about eleven minutes; later edits removed a verse about money and trimmed the intro, while Coleman added a string arrangement and further overdubs were done at Sunset Sound in Los Angeles.

Warner Bros. issued the song as a single on September 26, 1984, with an edited 4:05 version for radio. It climbed to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, kept from the top only by Wham!'s Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go, and topped charts in several European countries. After Prince died in April 2016 it re-entered the Hot 100 at No. 4 and returned to No. 6 in the UK.

The solo

The climactic solo is Prince himself, and most of it was improvised on the night of the August 1983 First Avenue show; he had tried out melodic ideas in rehearsals, but the version on the record was invented on stage. MusicRadar reports that he played his maple Hohner Mad Cat, a Telecaster-style guitar, through a Mesa/Boogie Mark IIB amp and a Boss DS-1 distortion pedal, with the bass rolled back and presence turned up for a biting, singing tone. The solo builds slowly from lyrical phrases to high sustained bends before the band returns for the famous wordless vocal chant. Beyond a few edits and added strings, the live take was kept, and Rolling Stone praised the fluid phrasing and the notes that seem to climb heavenward.

Legacy

Purple Rain is widely treated as Prince's defining song. Rolling Stone placed it at No. 18 on its 2021 list of the 500 greatest songs and in May 2026 named its solo the greatest guitar solo of all time. Pitchfork picked it as the best song of the 1980s, Paste called it Prince's finest track and the greatest album closer ever, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame lists it among the songs that shaped rock. Its rain-soaked Super Bowl XLI performance is often called the best halftime show in history.

Top 10 facts about Purple Rain

Prince originally offered the song to Stevie Nicks as a long instrumental and asked her to write lyrics, but she declined.
Wikipedia
Before releasing it, Prince called Journey's Jonathan Cain to make sure it was not too close to Faithfully; Cain said they only shared a few chords.
Wikipedia
The basic track was recorded at a Minnesota Dance Theatre benefit at First Avenue on August 3, 1983, which was Wendy Melvoin's first gig with the Revolution.
Wikipedia
The live performance originally ran about 11 minutes; a verse about money was cut because it weakened the song's emotional impact.
Wikipedia
Prince played the solo on a maple Hohner Mad Cat through a Mesa/Boogie Mark IIB and a Boss DS-1, and largely improvised it on stage.
MusicRadar
Lisa Coleman recalled Prince hyping the band that night by telling them they were making history.
MusicRadar
The single stalled at No. 2 on the Hot 100 behind Wham!'s Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go, though it reached No. 1 on the Cash Box chart.
Wikipedia
Although Prince wrote it alone, the film credits the song to band members Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman as well.
Songfacts
It was the last song Prince performed in concert, closing his Atlanta show on April 14, 2016, one week before his death.
Wikipedia
Its use in the 2025 Stranger Things finale was the first time Prince's original recordings were licensed for film or television.
Wikipedia

Live versions

First Avenue, Minneapolis (Minnesota Dance Theatre benefit) (1983) The live performance that, after edits and overdubs, became the album master.
Syracuse, New York (Purple Rain Tour) (1985) A roughly 20-minute rendition featuring an extended ten-minute guitar solo.
Grammy Awards (with Beyonce) (2004) Opened a medley of Prince hits shared with Beyonce on the Grammy telecast.
Super Bowl XLI Halftime Show (2007) Played in real rain under purple lights; frequently ranked the greatest halftime show.
Final concert, Atlanta (2016) Closing song of Prince's last-ever show on April 14, 2016.

Notable covers

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band (2016) Opened a Brooklyn show as a tribute days after Prince's death.
Pearl Jam (2016) One of many rock acts that paid tribute with the song after Prince died.
Jeff Beck and Beth Hart (2016) Guitar-and-voice tribute performed in the weeks after Prince's death.
Santana (2016) Tribute performance in the weeks following Prince's death.
Phish Live cover sung by drummer Jon Fishman, complete with his vacuum-cleaner solo.

In our lists

The Most-Taught Solos — #24
The Greatest Solo of Every Year — #41
The 25 Greatest Funk and Soul Guitar Solos — #2
The 25 Greatest Pop Guitar Solos — #2
The 1980s — #4
Ballad Solos — #3
Epic-Length Solos — #6
Most Agreed-Upon — #19
Critics' Picks — #8
Fans' Picks — #24

Sources

What guitar was used on the Purple Rain solo?

A h.s. anderson mad cat through a Mesa/Boogie amp, with Boss chorus, according to widely reported accounts.

Where does Purple Rain rank among the greatest guitar solos?

#19 in the GreatestSolos consensus of 79 published lists; it appears on 24 of them.

Who played the guitar solo on Purple Rain?

Prince played it himself, improvising most of it live at First Avenue in Minneapolis on August 3, 1983.

What guitar did Prince use on Purple Rain?

A maple Hohner Mad Cat Telecaster-style guitar, played through a Mesa/Boogie Mark IIB with a Boss DS-1 distortion pedal.

Was Purple Rain recorded live?

Yes. The basic track comes from a 1983 benefit concert at First Avenue, later edited and given string and other overdubs.

What does purple rain mean?

Prince linked it to the end of the world and being guided through it by love and faith; Lisa Coleman saw it as a new beginning, like dawn after cleansing rain.

Did Purple Rain reach No. 1?

Not in the US, where it peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 behind Wham!, but it hit No. 1 in several European countries.