Prince's impact on American and world culture is incalculable -- and one of his all-time greatest moments came during the first rain-soaked game in the history of the Super Bowl.
Prince, who died at age 57 on Thursday, was the featured performer at Super Bowl XLI in Miami in 2007. Super Bowls are typically played indoors or under beautiful conditions, but this game was an exception.
Bruce Rodgers, production designer for that halftime show, remembered waking up the day of the game and freaking out just a bit.
"The morning of the game, I opened the curtains in my hotel room, and it was like a scene from Moby Dick," he said. "The rain was one of those Miami rainstorms that would not relent."
Did Prince mind? Not so much.
"We're in this truck sitting behind (producer) Don Mischer, and I remember Don said, 'Put me on the phone with Prince,'" Rodgers said. "Don says, 'I want you to know it's raining.' ... and Prince was like, 'Can you make it rain harder?'
"And I was like, 'Right. On.'"
So, naturally, Prince went on to sing "Purple Rain" in the middle of a Miami rainstorm, helping to make his performance the No. 2 all-time Super Bowl halftime show according to both USA TODAY and Sports Illustrated.
