For many fans, this was the song that started the journey into Prince world. Why do you guys think this song worked so well? I've mentioned here that before Prince, all I listened to was strictly rap and R&B music back in the day, did not care or think about Prince at all. Mind you, this is even after hearing LRC (go figure). However, when I heard this song, it was so damn intriguing, and then....I saw the video..... .

What about this song that reeled you into Prince world? Was it the intro, the video, the movie?

Wow you're making me go back in time with this one. I was 5 years old when "When Doves Cry" came out and I remember vividly how the beat had grabbed me. I knew it was a Prince song because of the beats. I had heard the song "1999" months earlier and loved it mainly because of the beats, so that made me like WDC instantly. Man, everything about this song grabbed me, video and all. The video was icing on the cake cause to me, it seemed to fit the song, film clips and all. Prince and the Revolution on the double screen was just too cool to me. They played the piss out of the video on MTV. It's the song that made me an official fan, even though I wasn't in Kindergarten yet.

It was the sense of abandonment and loneliness I heard in his voice and the lyrics. I was just growing out of Michael Jackson, and although I wasn't even close to being a teenager at the time, I could relate to the angst and alienation Prince portrayed. Prince's world seemed so dark and fascinating to me, and it came just at the right time for my hormones and curiosity! lol ( I was always intrigued by him, though-- my friend's older sister was his biggest fan. We'd have Prince vs Michael Jackson discussion at almost every sleep over lol)

It's hard to describe. There's the quality of the music itself, which even someone who's never played a ntoe in their life can recognize. The lyrics are surprisingly complex for something that got -and still gets -that much radio play. But bigger than anything else, there's a darkness to it that leaves the whole package stuck in your mind much longer than it might have stayed otherwise.

purplecam said:

I concur. Lately I know I've been on Prince drum kick (no pun intended), but.....THAT BEAT!!! Especially in '84, it sounded so crisp and heavy and sparse and full all at once. I didn't know it at the the time (I was nine), but the fact that it was a number one single WITHOUT A BASSLINE!!!!, blows me the fuck away. That, and it was everywhere! All damn summer! PLUS!, that damn guitar intro was like a clarion call at school dances.

I waited so long for When Doves Cry to come out. It had been a year and a half since Prince's last album, and I wanted new music now (some things still haven't changed). I still remember hearing the song in May 1984 - actually I saw the video first when it premiered on MTV - it was instant love: the manic burst of guitar at the intro, Prince's clear plaintive voice, those synthetic strings, the haunting melody. the screams. In reality, When Doves Cry is a masterpiece of a pop song - at once totally innovative and totally accessible. First chance I could, I went out and bought the 7" single (it was purple vinyl!). I was already a huge admirer of Prince when this record came out, but it definitely solidified my estimation of him as a genius. Imagine my shock when I fliped the record over and heard 17 Days - 2 materpieces on one record.

fms said:

That's a great way to describe it, it's definately a haunting melody and a masterpiece. Lucky you! I could imagine first hearing 17 days back in the day.

AvramsDad said:

Not only is the song without a bassline but isn't Prince playing the notes backwards on the guitar intro?!

wonder505 said:

Dunno. But I wouldn't doubt it. He was in the zone on that joint. Wasn't it the last song recorded for Purple rain? Knocked out (by himslef) in a day? crazy.

I was already hip to Prince with 1999 when I was around 12. But once Purple Rain came out, that was IT! Done deal. He was my main love interest. I discovered even at that young age that Prince fans are not top 40 fans. They are in a Space of their own. It is a unique love. And once you start, you don't stop.
That video was SOOO ahead of the game. Really fun to watch. He was SO young. Like 24, yes? I mean, that is so young to achieved all he had achieved. He is really blessed with talent.

I remember the first time that I heard this. I was 9 years old and was listening to the radio with my older brother. I heard the intro and was mesmorised. To this day, I have not heard anything like it.

shorttrini said:

Ditto

Prince in the bathtub, nuff said!!

fms said:

My sentiments exactly. I myself have posted very similar themes as yourself, in regarding the description of this song. Maybe 5 or 6 months ago, I ran a thread just on the guitar intro of When Doves, the song is that great. As I've stated several times on this site in the past, it truly was a gift to have been around as a kid when this song was released. Not many kids my age were into P as much as I. Evidence of this can be seen as I'm dressed up in my best Hendrix/Prince/Dez wardrobe at the premire of Purple Rain. I'm in a few shots on the dvd release of the event. What many have to understand is that at the time of When Doves, NOTHING on earth sounded remotely like it. Not even P's past songs were anything close to this. WB hated the song and wasn't going to release it. If it wasn't for Mo Ostin being such a fan of P's and if he hadn't had the power at Warner's that he had, it never would have been a single. Matt Fink and Bobby Z both claimed that they didn't like the song when P played it to them in his car. It was the last song P wrote for the film because the producers of the film told P that they didn't hear a "hit" from the music that he had supplied for the film so far and could he come up with something. The movie was already shot and the album, in P's mind, was completed. This is where When Doves was created, as an afterthought. Fucking amazing.

blackguitaristz said:

Great post! I think this is why the song gained so many new fans for Prince. There was no song like it yet it hooked so many people in.

To this day I remember sitting in the movie theatre. Right after the scene where Billy gave the Kid the warning about three acts, then WDC kicked in, the audience just cheered and got excited because the song was already a big hit. I loved the montage the director put together for the song, worked really well.

blackguitaristz said:

Right on all points. And the producers were actually right about the album not having a hit,which means radio airplay. But in actuality, WDC, as a lead single, really grabs you into what the movie itself is really about. I was listening to the song just yesterday. It still gives me chills...and occasionally a few tears. I also rocked the "live" version from the second sho on the "Parade" tour. The ending kicks ass!!

blackguitaristz said:

Well said. Especially the part about nothing sounding even remotely like it.

It was ground-breaking. Great post.

One of his greatest songs ever.

It just seems so rare to me, especially nowadays, that something like that can be become so popular. Strangely enough, it's one of his most popular AND maybe his best song ever. Usually, this does not go hand in hand.

This was the song that got me into prince. I was fooling around with my dad's old cds and came across "The Very Best of." At first, the first 3 songs didn't really impress me instantly but they I loved them later as the rest of the songs. But when I first heard this, withtin the first 10 seconds it became my favorite song. I dont even have to discuss the guitar intro. The beat and his yelling in the beginning gives it a sort of wild jungle like tone, like your mind is free of all thought. His voice for the verses is so elogant and majestic. The lyrics so extremely catchy but artistic at the same time. That keyboard at the start of the third time into the chorus just gives the song a whole uplifting sensational feeling, and that angry guitar solo at the end just puts the icing on the cake. This song truly is a masterpiece. I was watching some show about black music and they showed clips of the video with no sound and I instantly knew it was WDC just by the image the music portrays. It's a shame people my age can't recognize it. I've been in two situations where this song was on and they changed the station. I get so frustrated What has the world come to...

The doves... He was speaking with the doves !!! And the music, the emotion, the lyrics...

wonder505 said:

It was how good he looked 2 be honest!! After that I finally listened to the song....I love the beat and the vocals!!

It's that handeling of Doves he does that makes them cry as they do that should be reported to someone for christ sake.

Dang...I feel so shallow!!