TIME Prince, an Artist's Life 1958-2016 by The Editors of TIME

Author:The Editors of TIME
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Composers & Musicians
Publisher: Liberty Street
Published: 2016-05-13T04:00:00+00:00

MAN IN COMMAND Prince, onstage in the Netherlands, liked Europe—and Europe loved him back throughout his career.

17 Essential Prince Songs

From a repertoire spanning five decades, these are the tracks that cut right to the heart

By Eric Renner Brown and Madison Vain

1. “SOFT AND WET” (1978)

Prince’s first single peaked at No. 92 on the Hot 100 chart in late 1978, but it established early his knack for groove and melody.

2. “I WANNA BE YOUR LOVER” (1979)

A displeased Warner Bros. Records pressured Prince for something accessible, and he quickly threw this together, scoring a Top 40 hit.

3. “HEAD” (1980)

This might be Dirty Mind’s dirtiest song: a wild, sexy ode to meeting a bride-to-be and—well, we’ll let Prince take it from there.

4. “1999” (1982)

With that icy synth hook and white-hot funk guitar riff, it’s one of his most instantly recognizable anthems—and never has a party for the end times sounded so hot.

5. “LITTLE RED CORVETTE” (1982)

Sex is like a ride in a limousine! Sex is like horse racing! Prince went all in on metaphors to describe the thrill of a one-night liaison, and it turned into his first U.S. Top 10 hit. (Fun fact: it was actually written in the back of a bright pink Ford Edsel that belonged to his bandmate, keyboardist Lisa Coleman.)

6. “WHEN DOVES CRY” (1984)

Prince scored his first No. 1 single with this prime example of his pop sensibility and rock chops. Hard to believe it was a last-minute addition to the Purple Rain soundtrack.

7. “LET’S GO CRAZY” (1984)

Less than two months after “When Doves Cry” left the top spot, Purple Rain’s opening track—an ode to getting “through this thing called life”—took the throne.

8. “PURPLE RAIN” (1984)

After back-to-back No. 1 hits, this peaked at No. 2. With the Revolution prominently featured and the XXX-rated lyrics toned down, Prince introduced the world to the Minneapolis sound.

9. “RASPBERRY BERET” (1985)

Prince’s gift for seduction through song is off the charts in this tale of an elusive female who sports a hat that would become one of the most iconic in pop history.

10. “BATDANCE” (1989)

Tim Burton’s Batman spawned two soundtracks: Danny Elfman’s classical score and Prince’s smash collection of pop gems. His soaring, playful reimagining of the iconic Batman theme hit No. 1.

11. MADONNA, “LOVE SONG” FT. PRINCE (1989)

Two musical titans collaborated on three songs for Madge’s seminal late-’80s set Like a Prayer. With its side-eyed look at relationships, “Love Song” is a prime example of how Prince didn’t have to sing loudest to shine brightest.

12. “CREAM” (1991)

Prince scored his final No. 1 on the Hot 100 with this funky gem from Diamonds and Pearls, his first album with backing band the New Power Generation.

13. “MY NAME IS PRINCE” (1992)

By Prince, about Prince, and sampling earlier Prince songs “Controversy,” “I Wanna Be Your Lover” and “Partyup,” it’s hard to imagine there being a more purple experience than this song, right here.

14. “BOB GEORGE” (1994)

It would seem unlikely that any single track could rightfully be considered the weirdest Prince song—until you hear this. Recorded

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.