"Sometimes It Snows in April" is a song by American musician Prince. It was on his eighth studio album, Parade, which also served as the soundtrack for his film Under the Cherry Moon (1986). Prince wrote, performed, and produced the song with Wendy & Lisa, who helped write the music.
The song’s narrator shares memories of Christopher Tracy, a character Prince played in Under the Cherry Moon, and describes how Tracy’s death affected the narrator. It also expresses the narrator’s hope to reunite with Tracy in heaven. Prince often performed the song live, sometimes using it as a final encore to end concerts.
The song gained attention after Prince’s death on April 21, 2016, which was exactly 31 years after the song was recorded. It later returned to several music charts around the world.
Commercial performance
After the first release of Parade, the song "Sometimes It Snows in April" was not released as a single, which meant it could not chart. However, after Prince passed away on April 21, 2016, sales of the song increased greatly, allowing it to reach several charts. The song was most successful in Europe; in France, it reached number 14 and stayed on the chart for three weeks. It did well in the Netherlands, Austria, and Switzerland, where it reached numbers 63, 69, and 64, respectively. It had the lowest success in the United Kingdom, where it stayed on the chart for one week and reached number 193.
Personnel
Credits are provided by Duane Tudahl, Benoît Clerc, and Guitarcloud.
- Prince – lead vocals
- Lisa Coleman – piano, supporting vocals
- Wendy Melvoin – acoustic guitar, supporting vocals
Amar version
British Indian singer Amar recorded a cover version of the song for her album Outside. The song was released as a single on June 12, 2000, and reached No. 48 on the UK Singles Chart. It also reached No. 6 on the UK Dance Singles Chart because of the popular UK garage remix by Dreem House, called the "Dreem House Dub Mix."
Mixmag listed the Dreem House remix of "Sometimes It Snows in April" in their list of "40 of the best UK garage tracks released from 1995 to 2005." Gemtracks also included the Dreem House remix of the song in their list of the "top UK garage songs between 1995–2005."
Other cover versions
French R&B group Native made a cover of the song for their first album, which came out in 1995. This version reached number 49 on the French Singles Chart.
Shawn Smith, who was part of the bands Brad and Satchel, included a live version of the song on his 2000 album Live at the Point. The recording was made at The Point in Philadelphia on September 30, 1999. Smith said this performance was one of his best vocal recordings.
Australian artist Gotye created an acapella cover of the song, which he uploaded to his YouTube channel on April 21, 2016. This was the same day that Prince passed away.
American musician D'Angelo performed the song as a tribute to Prince. He was joined by Maya Rudolph and Gretchen Lieberum from the Prince cover band Princess during a performance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on April 26, 2016.
British band Coldplay did a live cover of the song with Lianne La Havas, a British singer-songwriter, during a concert in Copenhagen, Denmark, on July 6, 2016. This was part of their tour for the album A Head Full of Dreams.
Barry Hyde, the former lead singer of the Futureheads, included a cover of the song on his solo album Malody, which was released in June 2016.
American artist Meshell Ndegeocello recorded a cover of the song for her album Ventriloquism, which came out on March 16, 2018.
In 2019, Sandra Bernhard performed the song as Judy in the Pose episode "Love's in Need of Love Today." This version was released as a single on July 23, 2019, the same day the episode aired.