I remember when I was a kid, back in 82, with baited breath, WAITING on the release of the 1999 album. I was a HUGE fan of Prince back then. And everything that was a Jamie Starr production; The Time, Vanity 6. Anyway, Vanity 6's and The Time's second album had already been released and they were both bangin'. It was definately time for P's own album to drop. I already had the single "1999" which was a masterpiece of a song. The overall sound and production was sooo much bigger than anything off of the Controversy album, I just knew that this album was going to be huge. And it was....but not as huge as it could have been. Dig, and this thread is more for the o.g.'s that were actually there than the folks that got hipped to P during say, Parade or even Lovesexy era. Ya'll wouldn't know anything anything about this. This is for the Solid Gold crowd! Anyway, my wondermint is with P's and Warners choice of singles from that album. P has a history of making somewhat poor choices for singles. And Warners certainly didn't help in 82/83. First off, the first two singles, 1999 and Little Red Corvette, were on target. And just off of those two songs and videos alone, is what sold the album and the tour. And really set up what was to be P's biggest year in his life, 1984. BUT, P and Warners could have gotten so much more out of that fantastic album. Delirious, the third single, NEVER should have been released as a single. And the 4th, Let's Pretend, ditto. Instead, the 3rd single should have been D.M.S.R. without a doubt. Black radio played this song to death, like it was a single. And then, the 4th single should have been Automatic. Yes, Automatic. New wave/pop oriented stations would have played the shit out of this song. It's combo of new wave/funk/rock was perfect and P's image would have fit right along with the other New Romantic artists of the time, i.e. Adam Ant, Duran Duran, etc. Then what was odd was that WB re-released the song 1999 in 83. I , along with everybody else was like "What?...Why?" They wanted to capitalize on the song, again. It had already done what all it was going to do. Anyway, for the folks that were around and were actually into Prince at this time, what do ya'll think of the singles released from this album?

Oh yes and this is a "Z Cult" production!

The first single, "1999" was an excellent choice for a lead single. Everyone I knew was thinking that either "D.M.S.R." or "Lady Cab Driver" was going to be the second single. I was hoping for "Lady Cab Driver" because I was curious as to how the single would be edited (you know, like "Controversy" is cut and edited in two or three places on the 45). I had even made my own edited version on a cassette to see what it would sound like.

Anyway, they knew what they were doing when they released "Little Red Corvette" as a second single. I knew what they were doing at the time also and didn't like it. They were trying to get the pop/rock crowd's attention and that's exactly what I didn't want because I knew how R&B/funk artists changed at that time once they get a crossover audience. They got the pop/rock audience and they kept them even further by releasing "Delirious" as the next single. They knew the R&B stations would be playing the album cuts anyway because Prince was already a huge star on R&B radio and had been for years.

As for "Let's Pretend We're Married", I think they just released any old thing to try to drag the album out that extra year in 1983 when he didn't release an album. The album had already gone out of style on R&B radio even before "Delirious" was released. We moved on quickly on R&B radio and always had.

vainandy said:

Vain, u being a o.g., I knew I would see u on this thread. I totally agree with Warners wanting to hit a crossover crowd, which is what P ALWAYS wanted from the get go. LRC was tailored made for the white audience. I think that's the main reason P wanted Dez to record a guitar solo more so than P record one himself cuz Dez's sound had a more "whiter" twang to it than P's did. Plus, Dez was very popular, visually, with the whites in P's audience. So Dez was very prominent in the video. Delirious was TOTALLY released strictly for the white folks. No doubt about it. It is easily the weakest song on the whole album. A total filler track, by Prince's standards. And Let's Pretend isn't much better. The coolest part of the song is towards the end where he talks about wanting to fuck Marcia Brady. And the waaay out part where P mentions being in love with God and in the same sentence talking about having fun every motherfucking night. Besides that, another throwaway tune. But clueless WB thought it had a white vibe to the song, which is true, so they pushed that for that reason. That's why I said Automatic would have been a perfect single. That would have blew up on pop radio, i.e. stations in 83. They already had been seduced by Little Red, so P had the white kids attention at that point. Blacks dug Automatic enough. It was no Lady Cab or DMSR but it was definately funky. That should have been a single. DMSR wasn't released because P felt it wasn't needed. He had the black crowd in his pocket at that point. Besides, I think the only reason he even put DMSR on the album was to compete with The Time. Cuz that's a Time sounding song. I disagree with ya though about the 1999 album being through in 82. That wasn't the case at at out here in Los Angeles. Just the opposite. It picked up more steam out here in 83.

I remember hearin CabDriver before Corvette and thought it was the second single.

That groove really made me buy the album

funkpill said:

Yep. Black radio never really fucked with Little Red.

funkpill said:

this is what made me a Prince fan .. this song right here.. heard the extended version on the radio ... i heard 1999 1st and i wasnt moved

blackguitaristz said:

Now the remix got played alot.

funkpill said:

I can see that. It didn't out here. Probably cuz it was too long. But that's the version I only listen too.

Although I had heard IWBYL on the radio, 1999 is the album that drew me in to Prince...and I'm part of the white audience that came (so I respectfully disagree about Delirious, lol, even though I see your point--but it's definitely not the weakest track on the album; Free is). A couple things: I thought the 1999 single wasn't a hit when it was first released, so it was rereleased after LRC blew up.

I think I understand what you're saying about the promotion, but I think WB promoted it exactly right. They had already taken a huge risk by letting Prince do a double album in the first place (and there weren't that many songs on it). It sold well, had three respectable hits, and it established the Prince mythology--and then it went away, allowing him the perfect entrance for Purple Rain.

Finally, I'm not sure I agree about Marcia being Marcia Brady, but I have no evidence either way.

Efan said:

Haha, about Marcia. Trust me, it's Marcia Marcia Marcia. But uh, the initial release of the song 1999 did fairly well. It didn't hit #6 on the pop charts like LRC did but id did alright. The song wasn't going to be a #1 hit no matter how many times WB released it. Granted, I know that WB didn't want P to release an album in 83, which he did have material for, so there was a gap before the film.

I remember buying 1999 at my local record store, a black mom and pops operation. The album was so hot that they were selling it right out of the distribution box! I was a huge fan of P that was only cemented by the brilliant 1999 album. I agree that the album was marketed to crossover Prince into the pop market. Automatic would've been an interesting single choice but I believe radio stations would have resisted it. Not only was the subject matter controversial (S&M, Dominance/Submissive themes) but radio was at a conservative, segregated peak. LRC and 1999 are more subversive while at the same time unavoidable in their genius. Plus, the song doesn't work as an edit. Funk or New Wave radio didn't need a single to grab from the double LP.

Around this time, I remember going to a Great America theme park and they had a video jukebox. I was fascinated to see Nasty Girl and the uncut Automatic video being worn out by all the kids. Great cutting edge music will always find a marketplace somewhere.

Thanks for bringing up some great memories!

Wait, can I say one more thing? Not to put too fine a point on it, but I remember when I got "into" Prince distinctly. I heard LRC on the radio but I didn't know if Prince was a person or a band. Then, during the video for LRC, when the break comes and he does the fancy footwork, the splits, all that--THAT is when I became a fan. I know there's a lot of talk about whether Prince should have gone after the white audience (if you ask me, he already had, with Controversy), but I love that he did.

And I love the songs you mention as should-have-been singles, but I'm glad they weren't. I love to put those LPs on, starting with side two of the first LP, skipping over the overplayed tracks and enjoying the hell out of the rest of the album.

jdcxc said:

Hey, your welcome. Thanx for posting. Interesting point about the S&M element of Automatic, although the song would have been edited down for a single release and most folks wouldn't have understood the lyrics to be about S&M anyways. That only comes across cuz of the video. Which also would have had to have been edited. The bed scene would have been GONE. And probably the closeup thigh shots of Jill. Which would have sucked.

blackguitaristz said:

C'mon, Don't take away those creamy thighs!

jdcxc said:

Hell nah.

I was under the impression that Delirious was released as a single, as a way to cross-promote it w/ a movie that was out at the time? Wasn't it called Delirious? John Candy movie?

I have to disagree with you on "Delirious". It was a perfect single and cemented his status as a pop artist. It reached number 8 after all- not too shabby! The opening triumvirate of "1999", "Little Red Corvette" and "Delirious" are all obvious radio singles, leaving room for the album to open up to its darker, moodier brilliance later. I do agree, however, that "Automatic" should have been a single.

blackguitaristz said:

The four singles from this project ("1999","Little Red Corvette","Delirious" and "Let's Pretend We're Married") are definitely more pop/rock/New Wave than R&B/funk.It's clear that,with this album,Warners were trying to cross Prince over to the pop audiences.The two funkiest songs on the album,"D.M.S.R" and "Lady Cab Driver",were extremely popular on R&B radio but probably "too funky" for the audience that Warners were trying to reach.

I agree with you about the third and fourth singles.I like these songs but these aren't the singles that I would have chosen.I would have gone with "Automatic" and "Lady Cab Driver" (an edited version,of course,lol).

blackguitaristz said:

Here in the Bay Area,that "Little Red Corvette" remix was HOT! It got played alot in this area.It takes the song to another whole level.

Moonbeam said:

Yeah, Delirious was a Top 10-er. I just never took the song seriously. Understand, I like the groove and his vocals. Old time gospel mixed with Elvis. I just think it was an inferior track on a great album.

SoulAlive said:

Yep. Let's Pretend in some ways, is weaker than Delirious. Automatic is a much more stronger and fully realized song. It's just better developed. I think it would have actually gotten an audience that P didn't get from any of the releases from that album. An edited version of Automatic, released in 83, instead of Let's Pretend, would have done so much more. And again, it would have really elevated Prince and grabbed many people who were really into the new wave British artists. Many of the New Romantic bands like ABC, for example, all had a funk element in their sound. Automatic, obviously an ode to Gary Numan's "Cars", along with it's funk/rock element and the catchy ass keyboard hook on the chorus, that had "hit" written all over it. It would have done the same thing LRC had done but just with a different crowd. He actually would have gathered an audience in 83 that looked like the extras in the beginning of the Purple Rain film during Let's Go Crazy with an Automatic release.

cool thread! I think that back in that day, the strategey was to leave some of the more popular songs as 'album cuts' to get people to shell out cash for the whole album rather that just a single( $8.00 vs $1.00). I remember Rick James talking about Street Songs, and he said "Fire and Desire is selling the hell out of the album". Probably the same w/ Prince and Warner Bros. If there were songs that were moving entire albums, why make them singles? I think it was all about the ca$h.

unkemptpueblo said:

I can dig it.

I totally agree that D.M.S.R. should've been a single. It was my favorite track
off the album back in '82 and it still is today too.

1999 and Little Red Corvette were perfect choices for the first two singles.
I was never keen on Delirious (that synth lead line was just way too cheesy
for my taste), and even though I did like Let's Pretend We're Married, I thought
there were much better songs on the album that could've been given the
exposure instead. I remember making my own single edit of D.M.S.R. which I'd
include on my own 'best of's. My personal choice of singles from that album
would've been (in order)...

1999
Little Red Corvette
D.M.S.R.
Lady Cab Driver
Automatic

.

Hey, can I ask something? You say lady cab driver was played alot on the radio? Was Jill's part in the middle cut out? Or did people not care/weren't bothered about that?
[Edited 11/5/07 13:39pm]

ToraToraDreams said:

I was in Miami and Jill's part wasnt cut out lol ..matter of a fact.. the DJ came on after groovin' n yelling "My man Prince! with Lady Cab Driver!!" and I ran like a week later to find the album lol
[Edited 11/5/07 14:03pm]

ToraToraDreams said:

Yes, no, and no. Back then, they played the entire track (, orgasmic screaming and all and LCD was a very popular song on black radio, trust me) You couldn't do that today. They did the same thing with Do Me Baby, played the whole thing. They no longer do that nowadays. I miss old school radio
[Edited 11/5/07 14:01pm]

Thanks, guys/ladies(?) That is tight. LCD is a favorite of mine and I can't see it being cut. Those radio stations were tight.

i hate the fake puritan attitude people have now.

I'm bummed to see "Delirious" getting picked on here.