You know if Tom Jones and David Gilmour team up on a tune, it’s gonna be a banger. You can be doubly sure of that if they’re hooking up to jam on Prince’s classic “Purple Rain”! Jones performed the timeless hit on his 1992 television show The Right Time, and he made it an extra special one by recruiting the Pink Floyd legend on guitar. Tiger was dressed for the part in a snappy purple suit and drew upon his famous baritone to give the song an intense emotional depth.
The Music Man readers will definitely want to tune into the big moment from 2:30 onwards, where Tiger delivers a rocking scream to kick off Gilmour’s guitar solo. It’s no secret that Gilmour is the undisputed master of six strings, and he definitely doesn’t disappoint here with a tasteful and emotive guitar solo. Gilmour then beautifully plays around the backing vocalists to bring the song to a thunderous conclusion.
Although the “Purple Rain” cover is by now quite a retro performance, it’s only a recent upload, as Jones released it on his YouTube channel on June 7, 2024. Fans watching online knew they were seeing something special, and added appreciative comments such as “As a diehard Prince fan, this is one of the best remakes I’ve ever heard of this song. Who knew?!” and “You can tell David Gilmour loves this song. He plays like he wrote it.”
It seems that Jones was really firing on all cylinders in the ‘90s, as he had a number of truly epic collabs from that era. Another great moment was when Tiger teamed up with another British guitar legend, Mark Knopfler, on “I Feel Like Coming Home.” Knopfler had previously recorded the Charlie Rich-penned tune with his country project The Notting Hillbillies, and roped in Jones to play it live in 1996. As you might expect, the live cut also features another cracking guitar solo.
Prince and the Revolution released “Purple Rain” on September 26, 1984, as the third single from his sixth studio album of the same name. The Music Man readers might be interested to hear the curious fact that “Purple Rain” peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100, as it was kept off the number one spot by Wham!’s “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go.” What a time for music the ‘80s were, hey?
