Congressmen Cover Prince, Battle Over ‘Purple Rain,’ ‘Raspberry Beret’
Two congressmen took to Twitter to show off their musical chops, commemorating “Purple Rain,” Prince’s top-charting, critically acclaimed sixth album that turned 30 years old on Wednesday.
First up was Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn. Also from Prince’s hometown of Minneapolis, Ellison posted a 6-second Vine of himself from his office performing “Purple Rain,” acoustic guitar and all. Ellison tweeted his disbelief in the album’s age and added the hashtag, “#Purplerain.”
Can’t believe it’s been thirty years since #PurpleRain https://t.co/HvGItKs4IY
— Rep. Keith Ellison (@keithellison) June 25, 2014
In response to Ellison, Rep. Joseph Crowley, D-N.Y., tweeted his Prince performance for “Raspberry Beret,” Prince’s first single off his 1985 album “Around The World in a Day.” Also with acoustic guitar, Crowley crooned the verse: “She wore a raspberry beret/The kind you find in a secondhand store.”
All due respect to #purplerain , Keith Ellison , I’m partial to #raspberryberet https://t.co/ZqlqlOxjjl
— Rep. Joe Crowley (@repjoecrowley) June 25, 2014
How do their covers stack up to Prince’s original versions? Which congressman’s take on Prince is the best? Will any other members of Congress step up to the plate to show off their favorite Prince song? Let us know in the comments section.