Hey orgers. Not sure if this was covered before so bear with me. She's always in my hair is one of my top 5 prince jams. So I've often wondered what would have happened if this was an actual single instead of a b side. Dont get me wrong, as and artist myself I was all for Prince going in a different direction after Purple rain. Even now I wonder sequencing wise where it could have been placed on atwiad. My least favorite song on atwiad is probably temptation, but even that fits the flow of the album. So alas, Prince probably made a good decision "artistically" not putting it on the album, but damm that song needed a studio album home lol. I think it would've been another big chart hit for P.

On a side note, I recently heard d angleo's version for the first time in awhile. While Prince's version is obvioulsly the best (imo), I think his is pretty funky.

I think it would have fit on the album since those sounds are kinda all over the place anyway. As a single on the heels of Purple Rain, I'm sure it would've been a huge hit.

wasn't this a b-side of two of the songs off of ATWIAD? in my estimation it is a part of that universe of prince releases. as far as ideas about repackaging of his studio works this would definitely be on some kind of remastered ATWIAD project most likely.

i love prince's music of the 80's, but alas, i too, am waiting for a re-imagining of his creative genius!

kmc said:

wasn't this a b-side of two of the songs off of ATWIAD? in my estimation it is a part of that universe of prince releases. as far as ideas about repackaging of his studio works this would definitely be on some kind of remastered ATWIAD project most likely.

i love prince's music of the 80's, but alas, i too, am waiting for a re-imagining of his creative genius!

B-side of Raspberry Beret in the US (not sure about elsewhere)

B-sie of Paisley Park in the UK (not released in the US)

Though I agree that it fits better on ATWIAD, it could technically have been on Purple Rain, since it was recorded on December 30, 1983.

This being said, ATWIAD's sessions started in January 1984, so it's hard to define where it "belongs".

"She's Always In My Hair" should have been on ATWIAD instead of "Tamborine" (which I consider to be a weak track).

xpertluva said:

As a single on the heels of Purple Rain, I'm sure it would've been a huge hit.

Pretty crazy huh. Same for Erotic City, 17 Days, etc, etc. Prince's b-sides were not cast offs or filler like a lot of artists, they stood on their own and yeah SAIMH could've easily been a huge hit in it's own right, and fit on ATWIAD.

SoulAlive said:

"She's Always In My Hair" should have been on ATWIAD instead of "Tamborine" (which I consider to be a weak track).

Both could work

I've always had my own playlist and all the songs work together

Tamborine is a hot song about lust, is the same stretch as the 81 unrel version of Tick Tick Bang

ATWIAD is a perfect package

I dont feel it fits the vibe of ATWIAD

SoulAlive said:

"She's Always In My Hair" should have been on ATWIAD instead of "Tamborine" (which I consider to be a weak track).

funny, "Tambourine" is my favorite track on the album that I had originally put on compilation cassettes back in 1985-6. It was also one that really showed me how self sufficiently creative he was. Other faves are "Condition of the Heart" and "Pop Life". "She's Always in my Hair" could have replaced "America". I get nothing from that song. It sounds like generic Prince music funk vamp with a horribly conservative Republican message!

Its a good things fans don't manage or edit his career! I probably wouldn't even care about Prince if best-of lists from fans were all he had put out.

replacing America on ATWIAD is blasphemy! you're right (ufoclub) it IS interesting how different people respond to music. Tambourine and America are my faves from that album, but i agree (xpertluva) that the album was so sprawling sonically, SAIMH could've fit, not sure where to PLACE it. but it even though it never found a proper album "home", or wasn't a "single" it was a HIT even if not "chartwise". its pretty universally well loved and isn't considered obscure or unknown. i think he was being strategic in placing album quality, A-side quality tracks as B-sides. Me thinks it turned out to be genius and helped build mystique and anticipation.

rdhull said:

I dont feel it fits the vibe of ATWIAD

I don't either. Nor does it really fit on Purple Rain. In fact, it sometimes feels like an older, earlier style song to me with that duh-duh-duh-duh synth line. It's always sounded very transitional to me - I think being a b-side was a good place for it.

Now, 17 Days, that's a different story altogether.

He could have released the song as a non-album A-side. He did that with "Gotta Stop" (Messin' About)" in the U.K. (which was an A-side there although it was a B-side elsewhere). If he had done that between Purple Rain and ATWIAD, it might have made for an interesting bridge between the two albums. I can easily imagine "She's Always In My Hair" shooting to the top of the charts as an A-side. On the other hand, I've always thought it was cool that he included such great songs as the B-sides of singles. I can't think of another artist or group that did that so consistently, other than the Beatles.

Cerebus said:

rdhull said:

I dont feel it fits the vibe of ATWIAD

I don't either. Nor does it really fit on Purple Rain. In fact, it sometimes feels like an older, earlier style song to me with that duh-duh-duh-duh synth line. It's always sounded very transitional to me - I think being a b-side was a good place for it.

Now, 17 Days, that's a different story altogether.

Days seems like it fits in Purple Rain, the movie at least. Same tone, lyrics associated etc.

with a little reshuffling, it could have easily taken the place of The Ladder.

and should have. also, possibly America. always felt that one was a little weird on there, and it's only redeeming quality, to me, is the 21 minute version which could have easily been released as a b-side.

ufoclub said:

SoulAlive said:

"She's Always In My Hair" should have been on ATWIAD instead of "Tamborine" (which I consider to be a weak track).

funny, "Tambourine" is my favorite track on the album that I had originally put on compilation cassettes back in 1985-6. It was also one that really showed me how self sufficiently creative he was. Other faves are "Condition of the Heart" and "Pop Life". "She's Always in my Hair" could have replaced "America". I get nothing from that song. It sounds like generic Prince music funk vamp with a horribly conservative Republican message!

Its a good things fans don't manage or edit his career! I probably wouldn't even care about Prince if best-of lists from fans were all he had put out.

"Tamborine" is funk filler.That could have easily been taken out to make room for the superior "She's Always In My Hair" which is an 80s pop masterpiece.And shame on you for saying that "America" should have been taken off the album It's the funkiest track on the album and probably the only real 'danceable' track on the album too.

ufoclub said:

Its a good things fans don't manage or edit his career! I probably wouldn't even care about Prince if best-of lists from fans were all he had put out.

SoulAlive said:

ufoclub said:

funny, "Tambourine" is my favorite track on the album that I had originally put on compilation cassettes back in 1985-6. It was also one that really showed me how self sufficiently creative he was. Other faves are "Condition of the Heart" and "Pop Life". "She's Always in my Hair" could have replaced "America". I get nothing from that song. It sounds like generic Prince music funk vamp with a horribly conservative Republican message!

Its a good things fans don't manage or edit his career! I probably wouldn't even care about Prince if best-of lists from fans were all he had put out.

"America" is funk filler.That could have easily been taken out to make room for the superior "She's Always In My Hair" which is an 80s pop masterpiece.And shame on you for saying that "Tambourine" should have been taken off the album It's the funkiest track on the album.

I like what you said up here!

The record jacket gave a full graphic to SAIMH as opposed to just a flipside track listing...and on some pairings it was placed on Side 1 as the second track, instead of the B-Side.

So it was sort of inviting confusion, or hoping people would pick up on it like they did Erotic City.

Also, back then, the public wasn't as aware of what a B-side even was.

errant said:

with a little reshuffling, it could have easily taken the place of The Ladder.

and should have. also, possibly America. always felt that one was a little weird on there, and it's only redeeming quality, to me, is the 21 minute version which could have easily been released as a b-side.

Get rid of the Ladder and America??? BLASPHEMY!!! To each their own. Since we're all picking what to get rid of, I'll go with Pop Life. The regular song and especially the remixes did nothing for me.

treehouse said:

The record jacket gave a full graphic to SAIMH as opposed to just a flipside track listing...and on some pairings it was placed on Side 1 as the second track, instead of the B-Side.

So it was sort of inviting confusion, or hoping people would pick up on it like they did Erotic City.

Also, back then, the public wasn't as aware of what a B-side even was.

Say what???

motherfunka said:

treehouse said:

The record jacket gave a full graphic to SAIMH as opposed to just a flipside track listing...and on some pairings it was placed on Side 1 as the second track, instead of the B-Side.

So it was sort of inviting confusion, or hoping people would pick up on it like they did Erotic City.

Also, back then, the public wasn't as aware of what a B-side even was.

Say what???

We certainly did know what the B-side was. "Raspberry Beret" was all over the radio at that time in the U.S., but I never heard a radio station play "She's Always In My Hair." Also, it was the A-side that had a video. What surprised me when I bought the single was that the B-side was just as good as the A-side, if not better.

electricberet said:

motherfunka said:

Say what???

We certainly did know what the B-side was. "Raspberry Beret" was all over the radio at that time in the U.S., but I never heard a radio station play "She's Always In My Hair." Also, it was the A-side that had a video. What surprised me when I bought the single was that the B-side was just as good as the A-side, if not better.

Also I think back then, most of us bought the 45s for the B-sides. At least for Around The World In A Day, since we got the album first.

I was also at the Glam Slam show in Feb 93 where it was played live for the first time.

[Edited 1/11/12 17:21pm]

motherfunka said:

electricberet said:

We certainly did know what the B-side was. "Raspberry Beret" was all over the radio at that time in the U.S., but I never heard a radio station play "She's Always In My Hair." Also, it was the A-side that had a video. What surprised me when I bought the single was that the B-side was just as good as the A-side, if not better.

Also I think back then, most of us bought the 45s for the B-sides. At least for Around The World In A Day, since we got the album first.

I was also at the Glam Slam show in Feb 93 where it was played live for the first time.

[Edited 1/11/12 17:21pm]

the one in L.A.?

rdhull said:

motherfunka said:

Also I think back then, most of us bought the 45s for the B-sides. At least for Around The World In A Day, since we got the album first.

I was also at the Glam Slam show in Feb 93 where it was played live for the first time.

[Edited 1/11/12 17:21pm]

the one in L.A.?

No, the one in Minneapolis.

electricberet said:

motherfunka said:

Say what???

We certainly did know what the B-side was. "Raspberry Beret" was all over the radio at that time in the U.S., but I never heard a radio station play "She's Always In My Hair."

What ever are you talking about? Of course Rasberry Beret was the single, but they didn't marginalize it as a throw away. Not everyone was a Goldmine subscriber, trying to put together a completist collection, most Prince fans were just hungry for new songs from him. This one got it's own cover art. Then it got released multiple times, with multiple singles.

And you're wrong, She's Always in My Hair did get some radio play. That's not unusual. B sides have even become hits in some cases....but the general public wasn't as business aware as we are today. There weren't B side collections for example.

[Edited 1/11/12 21:37pm]

treehouse said:

.

Also, back then, the public wasn't as aware of what a B-side even was.

huh? what? the generations that grew up on the 45 as a single format were well aware of what a b-side was.

where did you get that idea?

That the B-side was a non-album throwaway cut? People didn't think of it that way.

Context is everything. It used to be that a B-side could become the big hit (Elvis did it 51 times), or feature two different artists, or extended versions of songs broken up on to two sides, and there's this little thing called a Double A side record....

treehouse said:

electricberet said:

We certainly did know what the B-side was. "Raspberry Beret" was all over the radio at that time in the U.S., but I never heard a radio station play "She's Always In My Hair."

What ever are you talking about? Of course Rasberry Beret was the single, but they didn't marginalize it as a throw away. Not everyone was a Goldmine subscriber, trying to put together a completist collection, most Prince fans were just hungry for new songs from him. This one got it's own cover art. Then it got released multiple times, with multiple singles.

And you're wrong, She's Always in My Hair did get some radio play. That's not unusual. B sides have even become hits in some cases....but the general public wasn't as business aware as we are today. There weren't B side collections for example.

[Edited 1/11/12 21:37pm]

Well, I listened to a lot of top 40 radio in 1985 (that was the year my parents bought me a portable radio), and I never heard "She's Always In My Hair" get played. So you must have been listening to different stations than I did. I was 11 years old at the time and had no idea what Goldmine was until years later. I'm not really sure what your point is.

[Edited 1/12/12 6:44am]