I don't remember the exact day, but it was summer of 84. Listening 2 the radio and knew Prince had just hit with the single so, i was jammin my "box" ( 4 all U old-schoolers who know what that is...) and i remember hearing it 4 the first time. laying on my stomach with my box right in front of my face! My eyes closed, taking in the song and all it had 2 offer. the lyrics, the background vocals, that awsome chorus, and the Lin drum machine pumpin in my head! I then waited 4 it 2 come on again 2 tape it. Recorded it and listend 2 it over and over. Then my dad was cool enough 2 give me th emoney 2 buy the cassette and i was so in2 the cassette as a whole, i didn't stop listening 2 it!! I woke up 2 it, i fell asleep 2 it, i listened 2 it all the time!
That song, alone with Purple Rain, r probably my all time faves!!! I even asked a girl that i was seeing at the time if it could be our song, she thought it was wierd but agreed, we broke up 2 weeks later, and the song meant even more!!! With that in mind i will say this thank U Prince U will be 4ever in my soul and always in my spirit, "make love not war, Erotic City come alive"!!!!! May U Live 2 See The Dawn.

It was '84 and two guys had challanged each other to a break dance dual. The first guy did a dance to the "Fatboys" or "Whodini" or "Kertis Blow" or "Run DMC" or some group like that, and did a pretty good break dance. All of the sudden the second guy starts. The guitar starts to "When Doves Cry" and this guy starts dancing.The song made the whole dance! He kicked the other guys ass! He tore that shit up through the whole song!!!
Oh well, I guess you had to be a child of the 80's!

I was 13 hanging out in my room doing whatever. My radio tuned to the best station in NYC at the time 107.5 WBLS with Frankie Crocker. I knew of Prince through the 1999 performance on SoliD Gold. I dug that but had yet to figure out that the man also did I wanna be your lover, Do me Baby, and 777-9311. Anyway,the guitar intro to When Doves Cry really through me for a loop when I heard it searing through my little speaker.I remained frozen trying to figure out if it was The Gap Band's( I liked them too) new joint but something told me it wasn't those cats. This shit was more complex, musically as well as emotionally. When the song ended they didn't mention Prince's name, I spent the next hour or song switching to various stations hoping that I would hear it again.(remember doing that?). Eventually, I heard it again, I might have been surprised that it was Prince, I might have not. But more importantly, I knew that this was the man to watch and I've been watching ever since.

I was 11 years old, at my Dad's for the weekend. My step sister and I liked to stay up late and do whatever little kids do when they try to stay up all night lol anyway we were downstairs with the radio on jumping around when WDC came on, she said "I love this song" and started dancing. I really liked the song and we would listen to it as much as we could. For the longest time I thought he was saying "maybe I'm just like my Mother, she never sat outside" lol (remember I was 11)

Friend said:

that's too gorgeous !

UsexyMF said:

that is one gay looking picture you got posted there, mr. man

dekabes said:

My experience was similar. Because I didn't know who it was and I can't remember if the dj ever back announced who it was after first hearing it. I sat up in bed thinking to myself, "Who IS this?" I thought it was The Time at first. I know that's weird. Then I thought to myself, "What the hell are they trying to do?"

I think I was in the den of my parents house and the video came on MTV...

I have no idea, since I wasn't even a year old when it first came out, but I'm pretty sure the first time I heard it, I crapped myself.

I was just thinking about the first time I heard WDC th oter day. I was in hicago visitingmy cousins and everyone was talking about this new Prince song and movie. I was outside when the song came on te radio and I thought it was crap. Then a few days later I saw Purple Rain amd pretty much fell in love wit the entire album and thus my conversion to the purple side was complete.

I had just gone to see The Last Dragon with my friends and we were driving home when I heard When Doves Cry for the very first time. Funny thing is that it would be a full year before I would start to become mesmerized by the man's music, but I really did love the song from the moment I heard it. I would go on to spend the summer in Winston-Salem, NC when Purple Rain hit theaters, but didn't buy the album until I got back home to San Diego in late August. And I only bought the album because it was the thing to do.

Cornerman said:

Thanks Cornerman... I guess it wasn't my fault I wasn't born early enough... I have a LOT to catch up on but I'm getting there. Although some albums aren't as good as the others, it hasn't harmed me much... I figure if the whole album is crap but there's one terrific song then it's worth it. And I completely agree with you on the retrospect!

Hopefully, Prince can revive your faith with another album. It would be a shame to lose you

Mtv.

I was in Jr High school. I was in the passenger seat of my mothers hooptie, backing out of the driveway. I was already a huge Prince fan from the Controversy and 1999 days and knew that Prince was making a movie. Me and my brother tripped out because the song sounded wired. It grew on us after we saw the video on MTV. I now know it sounded wierd because up to that point, almost every R & B song had a bassline. "When doves cry" did not.

I cannot remember exactly where I was, but I can remember watching the video on both MTV and BET.

The first time I heard When Doves Cry was in the movie theater actually watching Purple Rain.

I remember at that point they were only playing Let's Go Crazy and Erotic City on the radio.

I was in my living room in Dayton Ohio and a radio station called WBLZ out of Cincinnatti claimed that it was the first radio station in the country to play the song. I was in the fifth grade and I ran to record it on my boom box and I listened to it the entire day on my headphones at school.

Donny

I was in front of the TV waiting for MTV to world premier the video. I did not hear it on the radio in S Florida until maybe 4-5 days after the video was aired.

I have the preimer taped too. The first time that they showed the video on MTV the title in the bottom left corner said Prince, not Prince and the Revolution. Every other time I have seen the video since the premier that summer night, says Prince and the Revolution.

I was blown away by the song. I had high expectations because I was still getting off on the 1999 and prior albums. My love affair with his music had only started the summer before that. I was on a crash course with getting up to date with all his music at that time. I must have played that video about 50 consecutive times that night. I was stunned by the song. It was unlike anything else I had ever heard before. But it was still a Prince song done only the way he can.

I have a lot of favorite Prince songs and I do not listen to that one much anymore because I have heard it so many times. But no other song has ever had the same initial effect on me as that one. I remember telling my friends about it the next day at school and playing it for them as I recored the audio to my cassette recorder and everyone being blown away as well. Everyone loved Prince back then.

I am thankful that I got on the Prince bandwagon when I did. But, I have tremendous respect for all newer fans that have gotten the Price bug. I listend to Prince all the time from the summer of 1983 and on. It was so much fun listening to all of his 1999 and prior albums, waiting for Purple Rain to come out. I cannot imagine being a new fan of his work and having to catch up on such a huge volume of work. It must be fun, and at the same time mind blowing, not to mention extremely time consuming.

Peace

Mike
[This message was edited Sun May 5 6:45:07 PDT 2002 by liltalkm]

In my memory, my first recollection of hearing it was on Top of The Pops - the video was on. The most memorable bit to me at that time was at the end of the video, when he rides under the bridge on his bike and on the walls is written Love on one side and God on the other (I think...?)

I was walking through park, I didn't even see them! Stepped right on em.

They cried.

I was probably home.

June 14,1984
Radio station:WVOL the mighty 147 NASHVILLE,TN

For all those who were not there you missed RADIO at it's finest.

In front of the Hellavision

eye was a lil gurl.... eye do remember watching him dance on TV and getting horny he was the first man 2 get me all tingley inside

I have NEVER heard when doves cry? Is that a Prince Song ??
Just Kiddin

On MTV the best video of all times surely a master
piece hasn't been a video that could touch it. Love
the way he came down those stairs wearing that hat.8)

I was teaching hairdressing in kindergarden, shaving the school gerbil with the headmaster's nose clippers.

I always wanted to be a celebrity animal stylist and move to Hollywood. I was gonna call my boutique 'Pussy Control', but in the end I finally called it 'Napoleon's Bona Pets'. I remember when Prince's dove 'Divinity' came in for a shampoo & set, she claimed I got shampoo in her eye, making her cry, but I didn't! But Prince wrote a song about it anyhow....

I should've sued for defication of character but I'd already fallen out with the judge over an unfortunate incident when doing a fierce weave for her 4yr old pot bellied pig 'Tyson'.
[This message was edited Sun May 5 11:07:26 PDT 2002 by BorisFishpaw]

))))
In the SCHOOLBUS!!!!!

Supernova said:

Word up.

Cornerman said:

Word up--WDC is timeless. It still sounds fresh and it still sounds like nothing else out there.