Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Pages: 592
•
Trim: 6 x 9
978-1-5381-1462-9 • Paperback • November 2018 • $27.95 • (£19.99)
978-1-5381-1643-2 • eBook • November 2018 • $26.55 • (£19.99)
Duane Tudahl has worked in entertainment for over twenty-five years and has produced and/or directed documentary programming for the History Channel, CBS, GTV, Fox, Discovery, Pax, the Gospel Music Channel, the Food Channel, Tru-TV, and HGTV, among others. He has also been an editor on multiple Emmy-nominated programs, including Intervention, Unsolved Mysteries, and Cops. He is a former stand-up comic and has been writing about Prince and the Minneapolis music scene for two decades. He lives in Los Angeles.
Foreword by Questlove
CHAPTER 1: January 1983
CHAPTER 2: February 1983
CHAPTER 3: March 1983
CHAPTER 4: April 1983
CHAPTER 5: May 1983
CHAPTER 6: June 1983
CHAPTER 7: July 1983
CHAPTER 8: August 1983
CHAPTER 9: September 1983
CHAPTER 10: October 1983
CHAPTER 11: November 1983
CHAPTER 12: December 1983
CHAPTER 13: January 1984
CHAPTER 14: February 1984
CHAPTER 15: March 1984
CHAPTER 16: April 1984
CHAPTER 17: May 1984
CHAPTER 18: June 1984
CHAPTER 19: July 1984
CHAPTER 20: August 1984
CHAPTER 21: September 1984
CHAPTER 22: October 1984
CHAPTER 23: November 1984
CHAPTER 24: December 1984
Epilogue
This fascinating book offers a portrait of an artist continually seeking to grow creatively and maintain control over his musical identity.
— Publishers Weekly
A revealing behind-the-scenes glimpse of a musical genius. Prince fans will savor the details.
— Booklist
Documentary producer and director Tudahl draws on unlimited access to studio archives and interviews with Prince’s music associates and friends to produce this meticulously detailed chronicle of Prince’s rise from local Minneapolis celebrity to one of the world’s biggest rock stars. Tudahl presents a day-by-day description of Prince’s live shows and his studio work from the release of his album 1999 in late 1982 to the making and release of the album and movie Purple Rain in late 1984. Tudahl opens the doors at L.A.’s Sunset Sound studios and provides insider glimpses into Prince’s recording processes. According to the original work order for the session for 'When Doves Cry,' Prince recorded the song in a single day; it became his first number one hit. Producer Peggy McCreary, interviewed here, says Prince knew exactly what he was doing and knew he had a hit. For each recording session, Tudahl lists the studio and some elements of the song being laid down, as well as the names of the producers and engineers. Prince fans will most enjoy Tudahl’s thorough archival work; his fascinating book offers a portrait of an artist continually seeking to grow creatively and maintain control over his musical identity.
— Publishers Weekly
5 Stars. Hands-down, the most exhaustive study of the most crucial period in Prince’s career. The next volume can’t come soon enough.
— Record Collector
The Beatles and Apple Records. Elvis and Sun Records. Musicians and their iconic works are often associated with a particular studio. Prince expert Tudahl points out that although most people link Prince with his Paisley Park home studio in Minnesota, his biggest albums were in fact recorded at Sunset Sound Studios in Los Angeles. Tudahl’s granular study of Prince during his 1983 and 1984 recording sessions covers the production not only of Purple Rain and Around the World in a Day as well as ‘Little Red Corvette,’ ‘When Doves Cry,’ ‘Raspberry Beret,’ and many B-sides but also recordings by the Time, Sheila E., the Bangles, Sheena Easton, and Stevie Nicks. Tudahl also describes more than 100 live performances and rehearsals by Prince during this fruitful two-year period and discusses the Purple Rain film soundtrack and the origins of the movie. Tudahl conducted hundreds of hours of interviews with Prince’s former band members, studio engineers, and others. Although he did not interview Prince before his untimely death for the book, he does include copious quotations from the Purple One to create a fly-on-the-wall effect. A revealing behind-the-scenes glimpse of a musical genius. Prince fans will savor the details.
— Booklist
Die-hards and casual Prince fans, alike, will find the book to be a worthy contribution to an already vast body of knowledge.
— The Huffington Post
4 1/2 Stars
— Rolling Stone (Germany)
Though it covers just two years in Prince’s life, Prince and the Purple Rain Era Studio Sessions is, hands-down, the most exhaustive study of the most crucial period in Prince’s career. It also sets the scene for what looks set to become a series of books that, depending on how much ground they up covering, will likely obliterate the need for another serious critical study of the Purple One’s work. In over 20 years of graft, Duane Tudahl has interviewed almost anyone who recorded with, helped facilitate the dreams of, or got a perfumed whiff of Prince during his time coming off the cult-level success of 1999 and gearing up for the globe-shattering triumph of Purple Rain…. With Prince now unable to ever tell his own story, Tudahl and his interviewees are lifting the veil with love, in order for the rest of the world to understand what a genius he was. In doing so, a bar has been set that, frankly, it looks like only he himself will be able to reach. The next volume can’t come soon enough.
Five Stars.
— Record Collector
The level of detail in the book is phenomenal. PrinceVault will be forever in debt to the research that Tudahl did.
— PrinceVault.com
One of the most comprehensive works ever crafted about the Purple One…While there has been a lot written on the Purple Rain era because of its popularity, the genius of this book lies in its attention to detail. Simply put, the work Tudahl has done on this book is astounding. Books like these help keep Prince’s legacy alive and remind us what a special artist he was. Tudahl should be applauded for his exhaustive effort.
— True Funk Soldier
An amazing work. Valuable research and a terrific perspective
— Alan Leeds, tour manager, production manager for Prince
Prince insiders eagerly anticipate Duane Tudahl's book for the thoroughness and diligence he has brought to his investigation. His work has the rare qualities of a good reporter's objectivity coupled with an insider's instinct for the true story.
— Susan Rogers, Prince's recording engineer (1983-1988)
Duane Tudahl’s meticulously researched work is truly remarkable. It shows how closely Prince’s work was intertwined with his life. Providing unique insights into Prince’s creative process and personality, this book is a must for anyone wanting to understand this exceptionally talented and driven artist.
— Per Nilsen, author of The Vault and Dance, Music, Sex, Romance
Archivist, interviewer, and discerning fan Duane Tudahl has delivered a fly-on-the-wall account of some of Prince's most important and productive years in the studio. This book bristles with energy, passion, and knowledge, and stands as an essential documentation of Prince's work and artistic process.
— Alex Hahn, author of 'Possessed: The Rise and Fall of Prince and The Rise of Prince'
Duane Tudahl has uncovered the hard work and real time hours behind the genius that was Prince. An awesome lifetime task that will hopefully lead to future volumes.
— Steve Parke, Paisley Park artist and author of 'Picturing Prince'
January 2, 2019: Sunday Journal with Hal Clark on WYLD-FM 98 featured author Duane Tudahl. Listen https://wyldfm.iheart.com/featured/sunday-journal-with-hal-clark/content/2019-01-06-duane-tudahl-author-of-prince-the-purple-rain-era-studio-sessions/2018 Winner of ARSC Best History in Rock Music7-9-19, New York Times: Author Duane Tudahl and his book are featured in the article "‘Stranger Things’ Season 3 Is a Portal to 1985. Here’s What It Sounded Like. Listen to a playlist of songs from the summer that brought Prince’s 'Raspberry Beret' and Aretha Franklin’s 'Freeway of Love.'" Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/09/arts/music/stranger-things-1985-playlist.html10/1/21, The Believer: Bestselling author Nick Hornby featured the book in his “Stuff I’ve Been Reading” column and said: “This isn’t a gossipy book, nor does it try to decode Prince or tell us what he means. It is an attempt to discover his art through the truth of its creation, and that makes it invaluable and unique, certainly in the field of music writing, and rare in all arts writing. Tudahl intends to write books about the next few albums in this golden run, and I’ll be there waiting for them.”
Link: https://believermag.com/stuff-ive-been-reading-nick-hornby/
• Winner, Association for Recorded Sound Collection (ARSC) Best History in Rock Music (2018)