Or perhaps, you are one of those people that just love to hear Prince scream. Prince on songwriting Credit: Mark Savage For those who love Prince (and for that matter, those that don’t) but may not be as familiar with his catalogue beyond what was played on the radio, do yourself a favor and explore more of Prince’s work that cements his status as one of the most gifted songwriters in history.įor those who might like softer, soul-searching works, take the time to listen to “It’s Gonna Be Lonely,” “Condition of the Heart,” “The Ladder,” “The Ballad of Dorothy Parker,” “Anna Stesia,” or “Joy in Repetition.” If you are into political manifestos then perhaps “Annie Christian,” “Dance On,” “The Sacrifice of Victor,” “Dear Mr. That figure doesn’t even include the associated acts from the early days or the rosters of artists from Paisley Park and NPG Records.Īnd it is on these albums, in addition to the songs that were released as singles, that you will find gem after gem after gem. If you include three digital albums and three more credited to the New Power Generation, Prince composed, produced, and recorded at least 44 studio albums in his 38-year career. And Prince would have been the first in line to agree with those people, bringing us back to why albums matter. Some might say, appropriately so, that songwriting is about more than the number of records sold, airplay, and chart position. With all due respect to each these individuals, none of them have any business getting into the Songwriters Hall of Fame before Prince.
In the last decade alone, Jon Bon Jovi has been inducted, as have John Sebastian, Jermaine Dupri, Linda Perry, and Steven Tyler. Which leads me to the question I posed at the end of my previous column: “With all of his hits - over the course of nearly 40 years and across multiple genres - how is it that Prince is not in the Songwriters Hall of Fame?” But did you know he also wrote for the likes of Joe Cocker, Kenny Rogers, Celine Dion, and Candy Dulfer? Plus, all the notable tracks he wrote for other veterans of the Minneapolis Sound, including The Time, André Cymone, Vanity 6, and Sheila E. Many of us are familiar with Prince-penned hits recorded by Chaka Khan, Stephanie Mills, Stevie Nicks, Patti LaBelle, and Sheena Easton, among numerous others.
In 1986, Prince-penned songs coveted the top two spots on Billboard’s Hot 100. That’s to say nothing of his impact on the R&B and Dance charts, much less about the litany of hits he composed for others or, for that matter, all the artists that have covered or sampled Prince compositions. In fact, he landed dozens of them on the Billboard Hot 100, including five number-ones and a total of 19 top ten singles. Of course, Prince knew something about hit singles as well.
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Most music consumers sought that one song from an artist, new or old, that they could easily download as an mp3 for 99 cents.īy way of both consumer nostalgia and corporate avarice, the re-emergence of vinyl records has given new life to the album, but it is still the hit single that drives music sales and radio airplay. Still, for the better part of the past two decades - an era which has been defined by file sharing, streaming services, and mobile devices - it appeared that the long play album (aka the LP) would go the way of the dinosaurs. Prince knew a little something about the power and profundity of albums after all, he sold more than 100 million of them.
These sentiments offer us a rather fitting starting point to talk about Prince, the songwriter. “Like books and Black lives, albums still matter,” said Prince during his final appearance at the Grammy Awards in February of 2015. Prince, “I Wish U Heaven (Parts 1, 2 & 3)” So why isn’t he in the Songwriters Hall of Fame?