As his posthumously-published memoir, The Beautiful Ones, attests, Prince played a fundamental role in creating the narrative at the heart of the Purple Rain screenplay. This comes as no surprise when one considers the richness of Prince’s song catalogue with respect to story-songs, which are notably rare in contemporary pop music overall. A Purple Rain Era song such as “Darling Nikki” contains all the elements of a classic narrative, including exposition and action; a protagonist with a conflict; development, a climax, and consequences. The same is true of “Raspberry Beret,” a song written prior to Purple Rain and updated before its 1985 release with a scene inspired by one deleted from the film. Prince was a songwriter. He was also a storyteller.

Adam Reid Sexton’s books include Desperately Seeking Madonna, which Pitchfork called one of the Best Madonna Books; Master Class in Fiction Writing; and the forthcoming Difficult Listening: Art Rock Reconsidered. He teaches Writing About Music at Yale University, where he is a Lecturer in the English Department and a Critic in the School of Art.