Sometimes It Snows In April - Chris "Preach" Smith

Photo Credit: ABC News

Sometimes it snows in April
Sometimes I feel so bad, so bad
Sometimes I wish life was never ending,
And all good things, they say, never last..

- Prince Rogers Nelson, 1958 -2016 


It’s been one full hour since I, and the rest of the world got
their hearts broken with the news that Prince was gone. In
that hour, there has been confusion, bewilderment, disbelief
and sadness. There’s a void now, one similar to what we all
felt when Michael Jackson took his leave seven years ago. 
It’s vast, it’s raw. And it will linger on.

I began the morning thinking about the impact of the late,
great Nina Simone who also left this world today 23 years ago.
It’s another reason that Prince leaving far, far too soon will
be on many minds - I once heard an old head on the corner
say in conversation, “The great ones pick when they go. How?
Because they are that great.” Today, it’s kind of hard to dispute
that. Amid all of the buzz and rush to confirm the news, I
found myself drawn to one song in particular. As you can guess,
it is the title of this article. “Sometimes It Snows In April”,
from the soundtrack to Prince’s second musical motion picture,
Under The Cherry Moon.  

As much as I love, LOVE Purple Rain, Under The Cherry Moon 
connected with me as a young cat as other critics assailed it.
It was a cheeky, spirited romp on the French Riviera that drew
influence from those Hollywood Pre-Code films I sometimes 
saw later on channels like Turner Classic Movies and other movies
that Pops would watch that featured Dick Powell and Myrna Loy
and many other stars. And it featured Prince and Jerome, brothers
whose swagger stood out despite the black and white scenery.
That and it being Prince’s directorial debut didn’t prevent it from being
seen as one of the greatest flops of movie history, sadly. But there’s
still some influential stuff from it that I dug. One of the scenes that
stuck with me is right here:

I mean, how utterly gangster is that?

The music from the film resonated with me too. It pointed
at a different direction from what Purple Rain had provided.
There was that same raw sexuality, the desire, the unabashed
personality, but it was smoother. It struck at the spirit. It 
told you to let your inhibitions down, your way. But the last
song, “Sometimes It Snows In April” hit me hard. From the 
very first lines, Prince sings with such emotion - but he lets
it build and build throughout until you feel yourself overwhelmed.
And yet, with all of that reflection, that passion - it still remains
a bittersweet ballad styled as a eulogy to what was. It also
sits as a reminder to cherish the good things that will pass
like anything else.

In writing this, all of these Prince-related memories came 
crashing in. I remember sneaking to watch Purple Rain as 
a kid, having a crush on Vanity and Appolonia and jumping
all over the room as the title track came on. I thought about
those earlier Prince records and songs, the utter funk that 
he had on their. Man, I will always point to his work on the 
original Batman score as some of the best movie soundtrack
work EVER done. Prince’s impact is immeasurable, not just 
as a musician, but as a thinker and artist. Who else could’ve
had the absolute balls to go around with “SLAVE” on their
face as a protest against his recording contract? Who else 
would’ve changed their name to a symbol and have it be 
accepted? And we all remember THOSE pants. Not to mention
his promotion of talented women musicians from Sheila E.
to Rosie Gaines from the New Power Generation days to his
all-woman backing band that rocked with him these past 
couple of years. Think about this - in the last few months, 
Prince never wavered in his activist sense, holding a tribute
concert for Freddie Gray in Baltimore and donating proceeds
to social justice groups all while supporting Jay-Z’s TIDAL. 
His legendary performance at the Super Bowl. In the midst
of an epic rainstorm. And many, many more instances of just
how great he truly was. He wasn’t just an artist of his times,
he was one of those artists who proved that they were for all
times, all seasons, all reasons. 

Photo Credit: Billboard

I know that there’ll be many more tributes, shared stories 
and memories that will be shared over the next few days
and weeks. I just can’t help thinking about, and playing 
that song. It’s helping me cope with the shock and disbelief.
But it’s also giving me comfort and purpose. Because no
matter what anyone else says, Prince is and deserves to be
regarded as one of the greatest artistic icons that ever graced
the planet. And that’s something we have to remind ourselves
of even as we process the news. Something we need to have 
as we share his songs and albums with everyone. There’s 
generations behind us that he’ll still influence. And the next
time it does snow in April, we’ll smile. Sadly, but we will smile.

Farewell to the Purple One. Your reign is undeniable.