50 Prince Songs You Better Have…Or Else
“Pink Cashmere”
(1993, #50 pop)
Writer: Prince
Producer: Prince
from the album The Hits 1
“I’m making you a coat of pink cashmere,” Prince proudly sings to another one of his former girlfriends. The song is really inspired by a pink cashmere coat, given to an eighteen-year old Anna Fantastic. With origins dating back to 1988, “Pink Cashmere” was finally inserted in the mix of previous hits on The Hits 1. It features Prince’s peppery falsetto and Clare Fischer’s glowing string arrangement, which sends the slow jam into orchestral heaven.
“Sugar Walls”
(1985, #9 pop)
Writer: Prince (Alexander Nevermind)
Producer: Prince (Greg Mathieson)
from the album A Private Heaven
Prior to “Sugar Walls,” Sheena Easton was a squeaky clean adult contemporary singer with a Grammy New Artist win on her shoulder. On her A Private Heaven disc, she decided to tweak her image, tilting in a Madonna direction. With Prince contributing “Sugar Walls,” a risqué song paying homage to the “walls” of her vagina (“come spend the night inside my sugar walls”), Easton grabbed headlines and many radio antennas. Despite it being banned in some places, even making it on Tipper Gore’s Filthy Fifteen banned song list, the song still managed to break into the Top Ten on both pop and R&B charts. Heck, it was number one on the dance charts. Because of Prince’s obligations to Warner Bros., he couldn’t put his name on the track, so he created yet another clever pseudonym for the occasion – Alexander Nevermind. The whole world knew Prince’s fingerprints were all on this bad-ass, synth-raging galactic funk track.
“Delirious”
(1983, #8 pop)
Writer: Prince
Producer: Prince
from the album 1999
With a cartoon-like whiny synth line and a rockabilly throttle akin to Elvis, “Delirious” is primed with hand-clapping black gospel quartet energy, a style that goes well with Prince’s knockout funk. But seriously, it’s hearing the silly, whiny synths aboard this is what makes this track so exceptional and magnetic. And oh yeah, that baby heard at the end of the track? R&B singer Aaliyah sampled throughout her 1998 hit, “Are You That Somebody?”
“The Most Beautiful Girl in the World”
(1994, #3 pop)
Writer: Prince
Producer: Prince, Ricky Peterson
from the album The Gold Experience
In Sylvester-channeled full falsetto mode, Prince sings a romantic love ballad done in the tradition of Philly soul giants The Stylistics. As a tribute to then-wife Mayte Garcia, the silky slow jam flutters with symphonic radiance, bright synths and harp add-ons. The lyrics are also packed with sweet nothings: “It’s plan to see you’re the reason that God made a girl,” he sings on the chorus. The song shot to number three pop and number 2 on the R&B charts, signaling a major comeback during the Emancipation era.
“Baby I’m a Star”
(1984)
Writer: Prince
Producer: Prince
from the album Purple Rain
Usually at the close of “I Would Die 4 U,” Prince would sway right into “Baby I’m a Star.” That’s how it went it went down on the soundtrack and in the film. Although “Baby I’m a Star” was regulated to the B-side of “I Would Die 4 U,” it isn’t entirely forgotten. It’s considered one heck of a party dance jam, infused with infectious hand claps, a funky drum loop and crazy jam session segments, one featuring Dr. Fink delivering a mighty synth solo.
“Nothing Compares 2 U (live)”
(1993)
Writer: Prince
Producer: Prince
from the album The Hits 1
In 1990, Sinead O’ Connor would take this song to pop’s apex, but it was Prince’s live version – revealed on a 1993 greatest hits compilation – that seemed the most ethereal. With vocalist Rosie Gaines by his side and a ballsy sax solo by Kathy Jensen, this version is rooted in a gospel-inspired arrangement. Despite some disturbing mic feedback, the live take is completely blistering for its emotional fireball energy.
“When 2 R In Love”
(1988)
Producer: Prince
Writer: Prince
from the album Lovesexy
Originally meant to see the light of day on Prince’s shelved The Black Album, the slow jam “When 2 R in Love” eventually saw its official release on Lovesexy and even landed on the backside of the 12-inch maxi single of The Scandalous Sex Suite. It burns with a come-hither midnight passion (“Come bathe with me”) and a swooning rhythm akin to ‘70’s Commodores soul. If one needed to pick a hidden gem inside Prince’s mounting deep, this would be one of his rarest and finest.
“If I Was Your Girlfriend”
(1987, #67 pop)
Writer: Prince
Producer: Prince
from the album Sing ‘o the Times
A minimalist smooth R&B production lies underneath Prince’s pitch modulated vocals, and there he is playing with a narrative that does a gender switcheroo. The inspiration for Beyonce’s “If I Were a Boy,” Prince broke barriers by putting himself in the shoes of a girl, creating a controversial piece of art that’s cinematic genius. It proved to be a hit in the UK (jumping to number 20), but failed to catch steam in the US, where it landed at a very dismal number 67 on the pop charts. Still, it’s regarded as a landmark in Prince’s Eighties output, a hip-hop sampled favorite (2Pac, Jay-Z & Beyonce, Mobb Deep) and was even covered in 1994 by TLC.
“The Glamorous Life”
(1984; #7 pop)
Writer: Prince
Producer: Sheila E, Prince (Jamie Starr)
from the album The Glamorous Life
The song was originally meant to go on Apollonia 6 (“Sex Shooter”), but when the sexy frontlady Patricia Kotera walked away from the group and from Prince entirely, he ultimately gave the track to percussionist Sheila Escovedo, daughter of famed Latin percussionist Pete Escovedo. It proved to be a worthy investment on Shelia’s breakout debut album, in which Prince completely produced. The song, bearing an enthralling story of a woman hungry for materialism, Prince’s subtle backing vocals and an unbreakable percussion performance by Sheila E., found a comfy spot in the Top Ten on the pop charts, total domination on the dance charts and two Grammy nods.
“I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man”
(1987, #10 pop)
Writer: Prince
Producer: Prince
from the album Sign o’ the Times
Dancing around a kind of cozy pop-rock that Paul McCartney would’ve gladly soaked in, “I Could Never…” shines brightly for its bubbly feelgood melodies, a sing-a-long chorus and Prince’s multilayered harmonies. It had been in the vault since 1982 and updated with the hopes of landing on the shelved final album featuring The Revolution (Dream Factory). After the verses and chorus is heard for the last time, the band goes into a lengthy jam exalted by big guitar solos, one even a bit bluesy in the vein of “Sign o’ the Times.” It’s probably the prettiest piece of pop that Prince released in the late Eighties.
