It’s one of his signature recordings, so it’s hard to entertain the idea of anyone playing the Purple Rain guitar solo apart from Prince (although that hasn't stopped plenty of people from giving it a go). So imagine how Donna Grantis felt when, for one night only, Prince turned to her on stage and asked her to take the Purple reins instead.
Grantis was part of Prince’s final band, 3rdeyegirl, which he formed in 2012 and was with him until his death, in 2016. It also featured Hannah Welton on drums and Ida Kristine Nielsen on bass.
This being a Prince project, 3rdeyegirl came together in properly eccentric fashion. After being contacted and asked if she’d like to go and jam at Paisley Park - yes, obviously - Grantis was given a shortlist of songs to prepare, one of which happened to be Purple Rain.
This wasn’t followed by a job offer, though: “We had that initial jam and then we were given another list of songs to learn,” Grantis tells CBC News’ The National. “We learned those the next day. Then we were given more and it just kept kind of growing and escalating then before you know it we had a repertoire.”
Still, though, Grantis didn’t really know what was going on. Songs were recorded - sometimes directly to tape with the band’s gear mic’d up on Paisley Park’s basketball court - but, after various social media teasers were put out, 3rdeyegirl only officially became a thing when they appeared on Jimmy Fallon’s TV show.
What follows sounds like a whirlwind, as 3rdeyegirl headed out on tour and played both scheduled and pop-up shows, some of which the band only became aware of at the last minute.
“We were on the Hit and Run tour in the UK. I kid you not - we found out about certain gigs from seeing Tweets from fans who realised that there was a concert before we did,” laughs Grantis.
The group released their own album, Plectrumelectrum, and put a rockier spin on many of Prince’s hits when they played them live - most notably Let’s Go Crazy, which became much heavier at its slowed-down tempo - but the iconic Purple Rain solo remained pretty much as it was on record. Of course, it was always expected that Prince would be the one to play it, but during a show in Toronto, Grantis’s hometown, the guitarist got the shock of her life.
“That night, it was a total surprise to me,” she admits. “After the third chorus, he’s singing ‘in the purple…’ and then he pointed at me, which was the cue to take the solo. And I felt like that was a really special moment, and I consider that a gift to have the chance to play that for a hometown audience.”
‘Gift’ is one way of putting it: ‘Absolutely terrifying’ is probably how most people would describe being put in that situation. So, how did Grantis feel when she got the nod?
“In that moment, I mean, what are you gonna do, right?” she laughs. “You’ve got to jump in and go for it, and it was such a thrill and such an honour. The last time that I had played that solo with him was that initial jam in November of 2012. Of course it’s just so quintessentially Prince that he always played it. But in that moment you don’t have much time to think about it, right? There’s about two seconds and then you’ve got to hit the overdrive pedal, add the flanger on there and just jump in.”
While Prince’s decision to hand Grantis the Purple Rain solo could be viewed as a moment of generosity, he was known for having a mischievous side and liked to keep his bands on their toes. As such, he may also have been challenging her, so what was said after the show?
Again, it was a typically Prince interaction: “I believe we went to a ping pong social club, if I remember correctly,” says Grantis - Prince was known to be a big table tennis fan - “and I said to him ‘wow, what a gift - thank you for that opportunity.’”
And his reply? “He just gives a nod and a smile,” says Grantis.
Elsewhere in the interview, Grantis offers other fascinating insights into life in Prince’s band. There were long conversations about “heavy topics” such as religion and spirituality, and 30- to 45-minute jams around a single funk groove. Paisley Park visitors included Kendrick Lamar, Stevie Wonder and Janelle Monae, and there was a secret gig for the Obama family.
And although he’s no longer with us, Prince’s influence on Grantis remains. “He was my mentor,” she says.
