# Prince's Sister Says Purple Wasn't His Favorite Color **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 1, 2017, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/princes-sister-says-purple-wasnt-his-favorite-color/795235 "2017-09-01T11:23:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2017, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/princes-sister-says-purple-wasnt-his-favorite-color/795235/1 "2017-09-01T11:23:48Z")
Link to article here: [http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/31/entertainment/prince-purple-favorite-color/index.html](http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/31/entertainment/prince-purple-favorite-color/index.html) [QUOTE=Prince’s sister, Tyka Nelson] “The standout piece for me is his orange Cloud guitar,” the publication quoted Nelson as saying. “It is strange because people always associate the color purple with Prince, but his favorite color was actually orange.” [/QUOTE] Amusing. If true, then he sure used purple brilliantly to support his brand. ---
**Author:** ![G0sp3l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@G0sp3l](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G0sp3l)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2017, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/princes-sister-says-purple-wasnt-his-favorite-color/795235/2 "2017-09-01T16:35:45Z")
\*I never meant to cause you any sorrow I never meant to cause you any pain I only wanted to one time to see you laughing I only wanted to see you Laughing in the orange rain Orange rain, orange rain Orange rain, orange rain Orange rain, orange rain I only wanted to see you Bathing in the orange rain\* I mean, I guess it _could_ work, but it kinda doesn’t _feel_ the same. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Telperion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telperion/32/509_2.png) [@Telperion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperion)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2017, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/princes-sister-says-purple-wasnt-his-favorite-color/795235/3 "2017-09-01T17:07:25Z")
> [@G0sp3l](#): > > I mean, I guess it _could_ work, but it kinda doesn’t _feel_ the same. 🙂 No kidding. That’s an entirely different genre. ---
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2017, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/princes-sister-says-purple-wasnt-his-favorite-color/795235/4 "2017-09-02T02:44:37Z")
[Well, Prince’s other sister claims purple was his fave after all.](http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/7949892/prince-purple-favorite-color-sharon-nelson) Depends on whether you trust a full or half sister. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2017, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/princes-sister-says-purple-wasnt-his-favorite-color/795235/5 "2017-09-02T03:05:12Z")
I could certainly see the if it were the case (and I’ve wondered about this) where he did something that associated him with purple (was Purple Rain the first time he was assocaited with it?). The general public put it together and he ran with it. There’s certainly no denying that in addition to his music ability, he understood marketing…or at least how to give the people what they wanted (while also satisfying his own needs and wants). IOW, if it’s true, I can see it as plausible. Purple Rain comes out, people decide that it’s his favorite color, he makes it his ‘theme’. From a marketing standpoint, it sure makes sense. When you see something purple, you think of Prince, to a certain extent anyways. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2017, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/princes-sister-says-purple-wasnt-his-favorite-color/795235/6 "2017-09-02T03:05:56Z")
Nothing makes sense anymore. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2017, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/princes-sister-says-purple-wasnt-his-favorite-color/795235/7 "2017-09-02T10:39:16Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > I could certainly see the if it were the case (and I’ve wondered about this) where he did something that associated him with purple (was Purple Rain the first time he was assocaited with it?). The general public put it together and he ran with it. > There’s certainly no denying that in addition to his music ability, he understood marketing…or at least how to give the people what they wanted (while also satisfying his own needs and wants). > > IOW, if it’s true, I can see it as plausible. Purple Rain comes out, people decide that it’s his favorite color, he makes it his ‘theme’. From a marketing standpoint, it sure makes sense. When you see something purple, you think of Prince, to a certain extent anyways. He had his metallic purple trenchcoat, which he wore with black speedo underwear and boots, by Dirty Mind, years before Purple Rain. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2017, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/princes-sister-says-purple-wasnt-his-favorite-color/795235/8 "2017-09-02T11:29:27Z")
Always knew that boy was weird. ---
**Author:** ![TCMF-2L](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tcmf-2l/32/16553_2.png) [@TCMF-2L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TCMF-2L)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2017, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/princes-sister-says-purple-wasnt-his-favorite-color/795235/9 "2017-09-02T11:56:51Z")
Pretty cynical behaviour by **Prince** if you ask me. It is widely reported almost nothing rhymes with ‘Orange’ other than ‘Sporange’ (a very rare alternative form of sporangium, a botanical term for a part of a fern or similar plant). He choose ‘Purple’ as a favourite colour so he would have more rhymes available. To his credit he didn’t choose ‘Blue’ so it could have been worse I suppose. TCMF-2L ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2017, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/princes-sister-says-purple-wasnt-his-favorite-color/795235/10 "2017-09-02T12:02:53Z")
I have found a lot of images of Prince on stage wearing orange. But purple tends to be the most common in promotional material. In the end, it doesn’t matter what his favourite is, _Purple Rain_ itself is enough justification to associate the colour with him. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2017, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/princes-sister-says-purple-wasnt-his-favorite-color/795235/11 "2017-09-02T12:17:03Z")
> [@TCMF-2L](#): > > Pretty cynical behaviour by **Prince** if you ask me. > > It is widely reported almost nothing rhymes with ‘Orange’ other than ‘Sporange’ (a very rare alternative form of sporangium, a botanical term for a part of a fern or similar plant). He choose ‘Purple’ as a favourite colour so he would have more rhymes available. > > To his credit he didn’t choose ‘Blue’ so it could have been worse I suppose. > > TCMF-2L There is whooshing in this post, yes? He got more rhymes with Purple? ---
**Author:** ![TCMF-2L](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tcmf-2l/32/16553_2.png) [@TCMF-2L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TCMF-2L)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2017, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/princes-sister-says-purple-wasnt-his-favorite-color/795235/12 "2017-09-02T12:46:08Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > There is whooshing in this post, yes? He got more rhymes with Purple? Like I said, “Blue” would have made it TOO easy… 😃 TCMF-2L ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2017, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/princes-sister-says-purple-wasnt-his-favorite-color/795235/13 "2017-09-02T14:54:28Z")
Or Silver. Has a royal feel but not rhyme-ish. Rhyme-ful. Rhyme-able. That. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2017, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/princes-sister-says-purple-wasnt-his-favorite-color/795235/14 "2017-09-02T16:47:19Z")
I heard one acquaintance claim that he liked purple because he was a Minnesota Vikings fan. ---
**Author:** ![Trancephalic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trancephalic/32/380_2.png) [@Trancephalic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trancephalic)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2017, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/princes-sister-says-purple-wasnt-his-favorite-color/795235/15 "2017-09-02T20:59:15Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > I could certainly see the if it were the case (and I’ve wondered about this) where he did something that associated him with purple (was Purple Rain the first time he was assocaited with it?). The general public put it together and he ran with it. > There’s certainly no denying that in addition to his music ability, he understood marketing…or at least how to give the people what they wanted (while also satisfying his own needs and wants). > > IOW, if it’s true, I can see it as plausible. Purple Rain comes out, people decide that it’s his favorite color, he makes it his ‘theme’. From a marketing standpoint, it sure makes sense. When you see something purple, you think of Prince, to a certain extent anyways. So it was all for the green ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2017, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/princes-sister-says-purple-wasnt-his-favorite-color/795235/16 "2017-09-03T02:34:59Z")
Sinatra already had nailed down orange. ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2017, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/princes-sister-says-purple-wasnt-his-favorite-color/795235/17 "2017-09-03T13:52:53Z")
> [@TCMF-2L](#): > > . . . It is widely reported almost nothing rhymes with ‘Orange’ other than ‘Sporange’ (a very rare alternative form of sporangium, a botanical term for a part of a fern or similar plant). He choose ‘Purple’ as a favourite colour so he would have more rhymes available. . . . > > TCMF-2L Not true. “Door hinge” rhymes with orange. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2017, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/princes-sister-says-purple-wasnt-his-favorite-color/795235/18 "2017-09-03T15:59:07Z")
Holy shit. Purple wasn’t his favorite color!?!? That’s so achingly sad that it makes doves cry.