On 3 August 1983, Prince and The Revolution recorded the basic track of "Purple Rain" live at First Avenue in Minneapolis. The following year it became the title song of an album and a film of the same name. In 2026 Kim Hyuk Gun — who debuted in 2003 with THE CROSS's "Don't Cry" — sang it with THE CROSS BAND.
This piece is for anyone coming to "Purple Rain" for the first time: Prince and The Revolution, the song's path, and the cover by Kim Hyuk Gun and THE CROSS BAND. It is part of our old-school rock covers series.
01.A Minneapolis band: Prince & The Revolution
The Revolution formed in 1979 in Minneapolis as Prince's backing band. At the time of Purple Rain, the members were Prince, Wendy Melvoin, Brown Mark, Lisa Coleman, Matt "Doctor" Fink and Bobby Z.
The Purple Rain album spent 24 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and is certified 13× Platinum in the US. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inducted Prince in 2004 and calls him a "visionary composer and mesmerizing performer."
02.August 1983: a song that began at First Avenue
The basic track of "Purple Rain" was recorded live on 3 August 1983 at First Avenue, Minneapolis, during a benefit concert for the Minnesota Dance Theatre. It was also Wendy Melvoin's live debut with the band. Prince wrote the song, and Lisa Coleman arranged the strings. The album version runs 8:41.
It is the title track of the 1984 album and film soundtrack Purple Rain, and Warner Bros. released it as the third single on 26 September 1984, with "God" on the B-side. The single climbed to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, held off the top by Wham!'s "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go."
03.From the 2007 Super Bowl to the last concert in 2016
"Purple Rain" was the song Prince closed with. It ended his Super Bowl XLI halftime show in 2007, played in the rain, and it was the last song of his final concert, in Atlanta on 14 April 2016. After his death in 2016 the song re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at No. 4.
Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time (2021) ranked it No. 18.
04.Voice, band and dance
Kim Hyuk Gun and THE CROSS BAND's "Purple Rain" brings together five musicians and a dancer. Kim Hyuk Gun sings, with Han Seung-ju (한승주) on guitar, Moon Jin-young (문진영) on bass, Kang Sun-woo (강선우) on drums and Hong Young-eun (홍영은) on piano and strings, featuring dancer Lee Jae-min (이재민). It was directed by Choi Yun-young (최윤영) of Y2film.
The guitar part draws on Eric Gales's version of "Purple Rain."
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Original | Prince & The Revolution, "Purple Rain" |
| Released | 26 September 1984 as a single (Warner Bros., B-side "God") |
| Album | Purple Rain (1984, soundtrack to the film of the same name) |
| Written by | Prince (strings arranged by Lisa Coleman) |
| Recorded | 3 August 1983, First Avenue, Minneapolis (basic track) |
| Cover performers | Kim Hyuk Gun (vocals) · Han Seung-ju (guitar) · Moon Jin-young (bass) · Kang Sun-woo (drums) · Hong Young-eun (piano, strings) · Lee Jae-min (dance) |
| Cover released | 30 April 2026 · THE CROSS OFFICIAL |
| Videos | Original · Cover |
05.The old-school rock covers series
For another guitar-and-voice cover, see Jimi Hendrix's "Little Wing": the original and the cover.
The 1980 heavy metal of Black Sabbath's "Heaven and Hell": the original and the cover and Ozzy Osbourne's "Mr. Crowley": the original and the cover, and the 1974 hard rock of Deep Purple's "Burn": the original and the cover, complete the series. The full list is in THE CROSS Band's Rock Covers.
06.Listen again
The "Purple Rain" cover and the other cover videos are on THE CROSS's official YouTube channel, THE CROSS OFFICIAL, and subscribing is the fastest way to hear about new ones. The musicians who played on it are introduced on the THE CROSS BAND page.
A song that began on a Minneapolis stage in the summer of 1983 stood once more, four decades later, on the stage of another band.