Prince was an icon.
He was a performer.
"Let's go crazy"
"Go crazy!"
He was an actor.
"That ain't Lake Minnetonka."
He was one of the most talented musicians of his generation.
But above all he was a songwriter.
"Purple rain, purple rain."
And he was such a prolific songwriter, that he wrote songs for other artists. And more than a few
artists covered his lesser-known songs to make a name for themselves. The most famous
example starts with this image of a beautiful woman with a buzzed head.
"It's been seven hours and 15 days..."
Sinead O’Connor’s incredible one-hit-wonder torch song Nothing Compares 2 U gives me chills
every time I listen to it.
But if numbers and the letter U in the song title didn’t remind you of Prince –
"Nothing compares – nothing compares to you."
Making a pop song this slow is another good clue.
Listen to the intro of Purple Rain.
Once you hear that, it’s less of a shock to hear it out of Prince’s mouth, in 1985
on “The Family” album.
"It's been seven hours and 15 days..."
…which was just Prince by another name.
"... since you took your love away."
And if you put that version over Purple Rain..
"I go out every night and sleep all day..."
well, they’ve got a lot in common.
"...since you took your love away."
Another surprise is Manic Monday by the Bangles (1985).
"Six O'clock already I was just in the middle of a dream."
You can’t deny these hooks – they really sound like Prince.
"I was dreaming when I wrote this, forgive me if it goes astray."
"Just another manic monday."
He wrote it under a pseudonym, “Christopher.”
He launched Morris Day and the Time to the national stage in Purple Rain.
Jungle Love – which he co-wrote as “Jamie Starr” with Morris Day and produced as “The Starr
Company” – that was probably their biggest hit. But he also wrote many other songs for
The Time.
He gave “Sugar Walls” to Sheena Easton in 1984.
He gave “The Glamorous Life” to Shiela E., a collaborator on Purple Rain, and it
hit #7 on billboard.
And he co-wrote a song with Stevie Nicks.
"...Stand back, stand back."
This melody came to Stevie while she was listening “Little Red Corvette” on her wedding day
in 1983.
And when she was recording it, she called up Prince from the studio to tell him she
was going to give him 50% of the royalties. According to Nicks, he showed up 20 minutes
later and played on the song.
He co-wrote with Madonna in 1988.
"Say what you mean, mean what you say. Don't go and throw our love away."
And Chaka Kahn grabbed an old Prince song from 1979 –
"Baby, baby when Iook at you, I get a warm feeling inside..."
– and turned it into a platinum selling album.
"I feel for you. I think I love you."
Prince grabbed a Grammy for his then 5-year-old song.
Alicia Keys tried this too in 2001.
That song was a B-side to this song you might have heard before.
"So, tonight we're gonna party like its 1999."
TLC dipped into the Prince well too–
"If I was your girlfriend"
But it's not like "If I Was Your Girlfriend" was completely unknown before that. It was
the second single on "Sign 'O' The Times." That wasn't the last time it'd turn up either.
Beyoncé and Jay-Z quote it in their song Bonnie and Clyde –
"If I was your girlfriend..."
– which is actually mostly a cover of Tupac's "Me and my girlfriend."
"Look for me, lost in world..."
But in that song, Tupac's girlfriend is a gun.
"One shot making N****s heartbeats stop."
Obviously this could go on and on. No video about the gigantic influence of Prince would
ever be complete.
But let’s end with MC Hammer.
"Can't touch this."
After he sampled another titan of 80s music, Rick James,
"She's a super freak. Super freak. She's super freaky."
He needed another hit. So he went with a no brainer.
"That's why we pray. All my live I've wanted to make it to the top. That's why we pray."
He sampled When Doves Cry.