50 Prince Songs You Better Have…Or Else
“Scandalous!”
(1989; #5 r&b)
Writer: Prince, John L. Nelson
Producer: Prince
from the album Batman
Up there with “Adore,” “Scandalous!” ranks as one of Prince’s sexiest and dreamiest slow jams ever created. With the help of Kim Basinger offering soft sexual moans of pleasure as her Vicki Vale character in Batman, this fantasy orchestral movement felt like a fantasy ballad for high-end soft porn. A bold three-part suite totaling twenty minutes was constructed for the maxi single release, which suspended the fluttery strings across a stream of never-ending Quiet Storm consciousness.
“D.M.S.R.”
(1982)
Writer: Prince
Producer: Prince
from the album 1999
Prince’s trademark “ohh-oww” opens up this festive party jam. Then comes a funky invitation to hit the dance floor (“Everybody, get on the floor/What the hell’d you come here for?”) and to “work your body like a whore.” The rest of the song is basically an overture of The Time’s “The Stick,” but with heavier use of the rafter-raising synths. The song title also sums up Prince’s entire catalog: “dance, music, sex, romance.” Despite Prince’s come-to-Jesus moment and his decision to shy away from the dirtier content of his earlier works, “D.M.S.R.” would still end up in his live shows. He did modify the lyrics, though.
“Soft and Wet”
(1978, #92 pop)
Writer: Prince, Chris Moon
Producer: Prince
from the album Into You
The first single from Prince was actually a wise move for the Minneapolis funk freshman. It put him within inches of Rick James dramatics and Studio 54 radiance, exactly the perfect spot for R&B aiming at crossover pop. Probably because no one knew of Prince yet and a lack of a strong follow-up single, the riveting three minutes of “Soft and Wet” only managed to make movement on black radio (number 12 R&B), stalling at number 92 on the Hot 100. Using some of the bare ingredients here, Prince would repeat the formula on “I Wanna Be Your Lover,” where he discovered greater success.
“When You Were Mine”
(1980)
Writer: Prince
Producer: Prince
from the album Dirty Mind
Popularly covered by Cyndi Lauper on She’s So Unusual three years later, Prince’s version is marinated in the rock of John Cougar Mellencamp and Bruce Springsteen. Boombastic drums, arena-rock guitars, glowing backing harmonies and a churning classic rock melody are at the center of the creation. Except for the familiar falsetto here and the omission of Prince’s “Bambi,” “When You Were Mine” seemed like a style detour for the dance-funk hero. It would pave the way for future rock embellished gems to come.
“Uptown”
(1980; #5 r&b)
Writer: Prince
Producer: Prince
from the album Dirty Mind
Recalling the cool hangout scene in Minneapolis, Prince pulls in riveting pop-funk cupped with queer questioning (“Baby didn’t say too much/She said ‘Are you gay?’) and being open-minded to fun (“Good times were rolling/white, black, Puerto Rican/Everybody just a-freakin’…Everybody’s going Uptown/It’s where I wanna be/Uptown, you can set your mind free”). It’s the finest moment on Dirty Mind, proof that Prince was miles ahead of many of his funk predecessors. Sadly, it failed to make a dent on the pop charts.
“Controversy”
(1981, #70 pop)
Writer: Prince
Producer: Prince
from the album Controversy
Finally addressing all those tabloid rumors, Prince decided to respond, but he does by reiterating their questions (“Am I black or white, am I straight or gay?…Do I believe in God, do I believe in me/Controversy”). He tosses in a recital of The Lord’s Prayer halfway through the album version and later tosses out his own set of Garden of Eden wishes (“I wish we were all nude/I wish there was no black and white/I wish there were no rules”). The song only fueled even more rumors and headlines, but at least he got a funky good temper-tantrum song out of it.
“Take Me With U”
(1985, #25 pop)
Writer: Prince
Producer: Prince
from the album Purple Rain
On the Prince-Apollonia duet “Take Me With U,” a combustible drum solo sprinkled with third-world finger cymbals serves as the prelude. Then a bubbly pop gem protrudes to the front. Prince carries verses, while Apollonia (and an uncredited Lisa Coleman and Jill Jones) round off certain lines, the bridge and sing-a-long chorus. The song was released as the last single off of Purple Rain and became a modest pop hit, scoring a spot in the Top 40.
“The Beautiful Ones”
(1984)
Writer: Prince
Producer: Prince
from the album Purple Rain
There’s something awe-inspiring about Purple Rain’s most intimate reward, the love song of “The Beautiful Ones.” In full falsetto mode, Prince engages in a suite of “baby, baby, baby” calls. Suddenly, he finds himself caressing the silky fabrics of doo-wop love-making and the Smokey Robinson songbook. The song finally climaxes with an aggressive campaign of preachy exhortations. “Do you want me? ‘Cause I want you” Prince yells and barks at his love interest. The last segment of this torch ballad is the stuff that James Brown would’ve co-signed off on. The song was never released as a single, but it remains one of Prince’s mightiest deep cuts.
“Diamonds and Pearls”
(1991; #3 pop)
Writer: Prince
Producer: Prince
from the album Diamonds and Pearls
Of all the duet songs Prince has done, “Diamonds and Pearls” reigns as the most familiar and sophisticated. The song structure is overtly jazzy, strutting a number of chord progressions and runs. Prince avoids his infamous falsetto and settles for a booming baritone, even hitting notes below the Barry White vocal scale. Rosie Gaines, a NPG singer with a Mavis Staples type of soul, works around the vocals of her coveted ringleader. When she spells out the letters of “diamond” on the song’s bridge using an urban cool confidence, she points to the obvious fact that Prince was listening to the beats of the new generation. The musical marriage between Prince and Gaines proved to be magical, opening the floodgates for yet another encore with the live cover of “Nothing Compares 2 U.”
“Cream”
(1991; #1 pop)
Writer: Prince
Producer: Prince
from the album Diamonds and Pearls
Dressed up in gospel harmonies and Tom Petty-esque rock (or Robert Palmer’s “Addictied to Love” riffs), “Cream” exposes an adrenaline-heavy, sex-laced workout that finds Prince strolling through the song without resorting in his iconic falsetto or his usual preachy exhortations. Instead he leans on a slick, confident vocal that crackles like a chimney fire. There’s also the ambiguous phrasing of “Sha-boogie-bop,” which could be code for anything. We will leave it to the imagination.
