Prince’s sister backs bill naming ‘Purple Rain’ as a Minnesota state song

Having his 1984 hit “Purple Rain” named one of the state songs of Minnesota “would have meant so much” to Prince, his sister Sharon Nelson told a state Senate committee Tuesday.

“It was more than just a song,” Nelson said. “It was a movement, a story and a symbol of all emotion and unity that touched people around the world.”

She said anywhere she goes, when “Purple Rain” comes on, “everybody stops and they listen.”

Nelson was before the Senate committee to support legislation that would name “Purple Rain,” recorded by Prince and the Revolution, as a state song of Minnesota. The title track to the movie of the same name, “Purple Rain” is among the most recognizable songs released by Prince Rogers Nelson. The bill would also name Bob Dylan’s “Girl From the North Country” as an official state song. “Hail! Minnesota” was adopted as the state song in 1945, and it serves as a school song for the University of Minnesota.

The committee heard testimony on the bill, sponsored by a bipartisan group of senators, but did not vote Tuesday.

Both Prince and Dylan hailed from Minnesota. Prince grew up in Minneapolis and lived in Chanhassen from the early 1980s until his death in 2016 at the age of 57. Dylan was born Robert Allen Zimmerman in Duluth. His family later moved to Hibbing. In the early 1960s, he moved to New York.

As “two of the most iconic artists from Minnesota,” state Sen. Robert Kupec said, they represent the state well. Kupec, DFL-Moorhead, is sponsoring the legislation to designate the three songs.

Nelson said her family was “deeply humbled and incredibly, incredibly grateful and thankful” for the proposal to honor Prince.

Nelson said Prince “poured his heart and soul into music day and night, night and day” and loved his home state.

“Today, his spirit lives on not just in the melody of the song, but in the hearts of all who call Minnesota home,” Nelson said.

She thanked lawmakers “for keeping his legacy alive and ensuring that his music continues to inspire for generations to come.”

The Minnesota Legislature in 2023 named a portion of Hwy. 5 “Prince Rogers Nelson Memorial Highway.”

Mary Palcich Keyes said she gives tours to visitors from around the world who trek to Hibbing to see Dylan’s hometown. She said the three songs are “worthy songs to say, ‘This is Minnesota.’”

Dylan released “Girl from the North Country” on his second studio album, “The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan” in 1963. In it, he asks the listener “if you’re travelin' in the north country fair, where the winds hit heavy on the borderline, remember me to the one who lives there for she once was a true love of mine.”

There’s some debate as to who inspired the song. It’s often speculated to be Dylan’s high school girlfriend Echo Helstrom.

Palcich Keyes said she showed Timothée Chalamet around Hibbing as he prepared to portray Dylan in “A Complete Unknown,” a biopic about the singer released late last year. Palcich Keyes said Chalamet was particularly interested in who inspired “Girl from the North Country.”

Palcich Keyes said she told Chalamet, “I think we all like to believe maybe we can be the ‘Girl from the North Country.’”