Prince Checked With Journey Before Releasing 'Purple Rain'

Newser reports:

Prince's "Purple Rain" bears enough similarities to Journey's "Faithfully" that quite a few cover version mashups can be found on YouTube. But there was never a legal battle over the songs, because Prince reached out to Journey before releasing "Purple Rain," Journey's Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain tell Billboard. Cain took a call from Prince in 1984, and Prince played "Purple Rain" for him, noting that the chord changes were similar to "Faithfully," which had been released the year prior. "I thought it was an amazing tune," Cain says, "and I told him, 'Man, I'm just super-flattered that you even called. It shows you're that classy of a guy. Good luck with the song. I know it's gonna be a hit.'"

Historic.