FLW Special - Purple Rain at 40

In this very special episode, we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the release of the film “Purple Rain”. The overwhelming success of the movie made Prince the first artist in history to have the same project simultaneously #1 on the singles, albums, and movie charts in the United States.

We speak to one of the foremost Prince experts; author and podcaster Alan Light. Alan talks about the creation of Purple Rain the song, the album and the movie. He also reveals…

• How the version of the title track that we’re all familiar with was recorded in one take at a fundraiser. It was also the first time that 19-year-old Wendy Melvoin had played with the band.
• Movie executives didn’t want to cast Prince in the lead role, and suggested much more famous star (who would have been badly miscast!)
• How Prince tried to recruit Stevie Nicks to help with the lyrics for “Purple Rain” - and why she said no.
• How the movie has held up well (for its live performances) and been held up to ridicule (for its acting performances and misogyny).
• Prince’s tenuous relationship with Morris Day & The Time – and his greatest musical regret.

Alan Light is the prolific author of many music biographies, including his books about Tupac Shakur, Nina Simone and The Beastie Boys. He also collaborated on “My Cross To Bear”, the Gregg Allman autobiography and Peter Frampton's “Do You Feel Like I Do”. Other books include “The Holy Or The Broken” – a great history of the Leonard Cohen masterpiece “Hallelujah”; and of course, “Let’s Go Crazy: Prince and the making of Purple Rain”. Alan is also the co-host of the “Sound Up” podcast with his good friend Marc Goodman.

With Taylor Swift being a big part of the pop culture conversation lately, we thought we’d present three Taylor interviews from our archives, one that has never been heard on FLW.

• From 2019 – a great chat with Taylor and broadcaster Shannon Burns, talking about Swift’s album “Lover” and how it reflects a more positive outlook than the moodier “Reputation”. She also talks about putting “Easter Eggs” in her work as part of a fun dialogue with her fans. (Bonus content for Swifties: Taylor talks about her first meeting with her cat, “Benjamin Button”)
• From 2014 – Taylor joins Roger Ashby and Marilyn Denis to promote “1989”, her first pure pop album. Swift explains why she needed to be honest with her fans about the new direction of her sound. She also talks about the big house party she threw for Swifties.
• From 2010 – our earliest TS interview in which she tells interviewer Richie Favalaro about her album “Speak Now” and what that album means to her. She also explains how she was surprised that fans could relate to her songs even when they were specifically written for one person. She also talks about performing onstage with Katy Perry.
• Plus, we have some Cool Taylor Facts!

Famous Lost Words, hosted by Christopher Ward and Tom Jokic, is heard in more than 100 countries worldwide and on radio stations across Canada, including Newstalk 1010 Toronto, CJAD 800 Montreal, 580 CFRA Ottawa, AM 800 CKLW Windsor, 610 CKTB St Catharines, CFAX Victoria, AM1150 Kelowna and 91x in Belleville. It is in the Top 20% of worldwide podcasts based on the number of listeners in the first week.

A Famous Lost Words drinking game? Is this REALLY a good idea? Tom proposes a non-alcoholic version that is based solely on his own (many) verbal quirks.

For our last episode of season 9, we begin with Carly Simon in conversation with broadcaster Ingrid Schumacher in 1987. This was a great year for Carly because she had just worked on the soundtrack for the movie “Heartburn” and her new album “Coming Around Again” would prove to be a comeback for her. She talks about work with Mike Nichols on “Heartburn”, tussling with Clive Davis on song choices and how her close friend Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis convinced her to write a book.

Following that is a really fun encounter with the guys from Train, from a morning show encounter with Roger Ashby and Marilyn Denis. The interview, from 2012, captures the goofiness of lead singer Pat Monahan.

Then, we have an early ‘80s chat with Gary Wright, who passed away in September of 2023. Gary only had three significant chart hits, but he was a well-respected musician who worked with George Harrison on a number of projects. He also made synthesizers a staple on Top 40 radio.

We close out the show with a great chat with Triumph, a band that started in a bowling alley in Mississauga, Ontario forge their place in rock history. The Canadian power trio are legendary here in their home country, but also had a great run in the U.S. and beyond. Bassist Mike Levine has a ton of fun chatting with broadcaster Rick Ringer in this very entertaining and lively 1983 interview.