Diamonds and Pearls is Prince’s 13th studio album recorded with his New Power Generation band. The title track is a romantic pop and R&B duet he sang with Rosie Gaines who had just joined the band. Gaines’ plush soul was a harmonious answer to Prince’s melodic monotone. She had heft in her notes to soar above the song’s dramatic drum builds and added the right amount of ad-libs at the end. Prince brilliantly combined soul with syrupy pop styling to create his most successful single of the decade. “Diamonds and Pearls” was a Top Ten hit nationally and Top Twenty in four European countries and put Prince back in the commercial spotlight after the moderate success of the Graffiti Bridge movie and album. The video and the song played regularly on MTV and radio. The album hit the Top Ten on charts nationally and abroad. Diamonds and Pearls was remastered and reissued with deluxe and super-deluxe versions in 2023. The 40th anniversary of Prince’s Purple Rain album and movie has been acknowledged with the upcoming June 26 film release in 4K UHD. There was a movie screening in Los Angeles last week at the Regent Theater with a panel discussion of Prince’s friends and colleagues afterward.
