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Prince: Eight More Things You May Not Know About The Purple One, What’s The Deal With Purple Tickets?

By Merry Strong
Published on: 08:47 PST, Apr 24, 2016

It’s no secret. Prince was a relatively private man, for someone who was a household name. In the wake of his death, more information about the Purple One continues to surface. For example, as recently reported by Inquisitr, Prince loved The New Girl and Zooey Deschanel. So much so, he met Zooey and starred in an episode of the show.

Here are eight more things about Prince, which may or may not surprise you. He really was quite phenomenal.

Prince’s weirdly iconic symbol actually had a name, according to Mental Floss. While it’s true everyone on the planet referred to the Purple One as “The Artist Formally Known as Prince,” or simply “The Artist,” the symbol was known as “Love Symbol #2.” It was copyrighted in 1997, during a dispute with Warner Brothers. Prince took back his given name, shortly after December 31, 1999, when the WB contract expired.

Who knew Prince was a Willy Wonka fan? Or, more to the point, a fan of purple tickets? In 2006, Universal hid a total of 14 tickets in Prince’s 3121 album. There were 7 located somewhere in the United States, and seven located globally. The ticket winners were invited to a private concert in Prince’s L.A. home.

Prince is the only musician, other than the Beatles, who held the No. 1 spot for single, album, and film during the same week. It was the week of July 27, 1984. Purple Rain topped the box office, the soundtrack for the movie was No. 1, and “When Doves Cry” was the No. 1. single.

The Parents Music Resource Center was formed after Tipper Gore (the then wife of former vice president Al Gore) was extremely upset with the explicit lyrics of Prince’s song, “Darling Nikki.” As a result, a ratings system was put into place somewhat similar to that of the movie industry. Prince didn’t disagree with the new rating system. In fact, he was one of the first musicians to put out a “clean” version of risqué or explicit albums.

Prince got the opportunity to dance with James Brown twice in his lifetime, Boombox tells readers. The first time, he was 10-years-old. His stepfather put him onstage, where he danced until a bodyguard removed him. The second time was in 1983. He danced with Brown and Michael Jackson at the Beverly Theater in Los Angeles.

Speaking of Michael Jackson, he wanted the Purple One to accompany him on his hit song, “Bad.” Prince refused because of the lyrics, “your butt is mine.” Learn more about it in this video.

Ask any journalist how easy it was to interview Prince, and he or she will probably tell you it was a difficult task. Why? Prince didn’t like his interviewers to take notes. He never allowed his voice to be recorded, either.

Stevie Nicks, of Fleetwood Mac, turned down the opportunity to write the lyrics to “Purple Rain,” when Prince asked her to. She declined, saying the job was more than she could handle.

Have you learned something new about the Purple One, since his death? Did it surprise you? Feel free to share your comments about or memories of Prince below.

[Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images]

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