The Night Prince Made it Rain in Sheridan, Wyoming
Today, music fans are mourning the loss of Prince. His genre-bending catalog of work is timeless and his influence was felt all over the world, including one magical night nearly 30 years ago in the small town of Sheridan, Wyo.
In the summer of 1986, MTV conducted a nationwide contest to promote Prince's latest film "Under the Cherry Moon," promising a private premiere party in the winner's hometown.
Lisa Barber was 20 years old at the time, working at a hotel in Sheridan, when she saw the contest on MTV. In a stroke of luck, she was the 10,000th caller, winning the party for her hometown.
On Tuesday, July 1, Prince's private plane landed in Sheridan. Hundreds of excited fans greeted him at the airport, including a team of equestrians on horseback who welcomed the pop star and his entourage.
When Prince stepped off the plane, he thew his jacket into the frenzied crowd before riding off in a fleet of limousines that had been brought in from Billings, Mont., the closest town with enough vehicles to accommodate the film's cast and crew.
Later that evening, Barber and 200 of her closest friends joined Prince for the premiere, which was held at the Centennial Theater.
VJ Martha Quinn hosted the after-party from the nearby Holiday Inn, which was broadcast live on MTV. In a nationally televised interview, Barber said, "This is the biggest thing that's ever happened here."
Prince also performed a concert at the Holiday Inn in Sheridan that evening. The short set began with "Raspberry Beret" and finished six songs later with "Purple Rain."
Lisa Barber still lives in Sheridan, working as a real estate agent. But she and her friends will never forget the night Wyoming shined under Prince's cherry moon.