Rare Photos of Prince Released in Honor of 'Purple Rain' 40th ...

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A batch of rare and never-before-seen Prince photos are being released to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the late music icon’s Purple Rain album. The collection, released by Sonic Editions earlier this week, coincides with what would have been Prince’s 66th birthday on Friday (June 7).

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Sonic Editions partnered with the photographers and picture archives to release limited-edition photo prints of music stars including Tina Turner, Aretha Franklin, Aerosmith, Snoop Dogg, Tupac Shakur, Bruce Springsteen and more.

Prince’s legendary album, released on June 25, 1984, marked a lot of career milestones. Aside from being his first LP to top the Billboard 200, where it remained for 24 weeks, Purple Rain was certified 13x platinum by the RIAA, it sold more than 25 million copies globally and spawned classics such as “When Doves Cry” “Let’s Go Crazy” “I Would Die for You” and the title track.

Sonic Editions’ Prince prints range from $149 -$499 for small (14 x 11 inches), medium (20 x 16 inches) and large (24 x 20 inches) sizes. The XL-XXL prints — measuring 20 x 16 inches and 37 x 26 inches — are priced between $699 -$1,199.

Purple Rain took home a Grammy for best rock vocal performance by a duo or group and was accompanied by a musical film released July 27, 1984. The album earned multiple Grammy nominations, including album of the year, while the film went on to win an Oscar for best original song score.

In addition to the photo release, Prince will be honored in a musical tribute at his Paisley Park home from June 20-24. The annual celebration will feature The Revolution – Wendy, Lisa, Bobby Z, Brownmark and Dr. Fink – taking the stage in honor of Purple Rain’s 40th anniversary. Morris Day (who appeared in Purple Rain) is scheduled to perform along with New Power Generation. The celebration will include a block party in downtown Minneapolis on Saturday, June 22, in addition to themed panels, DJ dance parties, screenings of films from the Purple Rain era and other surprises to be announced.