Purple Rain Tops Billboard’s Hot Rock Charts
Dying unexpectedly is probably the best thing for a musician’s career. Maybe that’s a bid morbid, but if you look at what happens to a musician’s song album positions in the charts as well as sales, you can see the huge boost. Taking David Bowie as an example, his final album Blackstar, released just days before his death in January, became his first album to reach the number one spot on the Billboard 200 chart. It lasted three weeks in the top spot before being replaced by the compilation Best of Bowie.
Prince’s music has also shot up the Billboard charts and “Purple Rain” sits at number one. It’s the first time in the seven years since the ranking was created that a non-current song tops the chart, which includes airplay, sales, and streams. Moreover, six of the top 10 belong to the late musician, all from the ‘80s:
No. 1, “Purple Rain”
No. 2, “When Doves Cry”
No. 4 “Little Red Corvette”
No. 5 “Let’s Go Crazy”
No. 9 “Darling Nikki”
No. 10 “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”
Rock Digital Songs also has Prince’s catalogue holding the top five spots and according to Nielsen Music, “Purple Rain” has been downloaded 282,000 times. “Purple Rain” also holds the number three spot on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and number four on the Billboard Hot 100 charts.
