Does anyone else hear old Prince songs and think, 'A-ha! Now I know where such-and-such got his / her / their riff!'?

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I ask because every time I hear the opening bars to 'Head', I want to start singing INXS's, 'Suicidal Blonde'.

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Do any of you find yourselves being reminded of P in this way?

When I hear the opening bars to Journey's Faithfully, I want to start singing Purple Rain.

FunkiestOne said:

When I hear the opening bars to Journey's Faithfully, I want to start singing Purple Rain.

Am I mis-remembering things, or didn't he think the same and make contact with them to ask if it was OK for him to use that chord progression? Or was that someone else..?

[Edited 7/29/16 11:16am]

When this song came out in 1997, I thought it sounded like one of his songs...I can't pinpoint exactly which one it sounds like, though.

Xarina said:

When I hear Beyonce's Partition, I am reminded of Ripopgodazippa.

I can see that. Both dirty, both sultry songs, etc.

Dibblekins said:

FunkiestOne said:

When I hear the opening bars to Journey's Faithfully, I want to start singing Purple Rain.

Am I mis-remembering things, or didn't he think the same and make contact with them to ask if it was OK for him to use that chord progression? Or was that someone else..?

Nope, you're correct. Prince called Jonathan Cain and played the song for him. Cain said there was enough difference that he didn't think there'd be a problem with copyright, etc. However, the songs are a half step difference in chords. To non-musical people, "Purple Rain"'s first chord is (simplistically) B flat major (Bb). "Faithfully" is B. That's about a half inch in other terms. haha

The songs follow virtually the same chord progression, which isn't really a copyright issue. Every other blues song follow a similar chord progression. It's when you get into melodies, lyrics, and hooks that you get in trouble.

gandorb said:

This is a song pre-Prince but I heard a childhood gave song for the6first time in decades and it dawned on me how much it sounded like Prince. It's called Groove Me and it is a great funk song. Perhaps the singer was also inspired by James Brown.

You talkin' about King Floyd? That's a good cut. The funny thing is, "Groove Me" was a b-side, but radio stations and clubs picked up on it and played it more than the A-side. That's how it became its own hit. Angie Stone covered that song for Austin Powers Goldmember soundtrack.

It sounds like Jean Knight's "Mr. Big Stuff", which ironically was recorded in the same sessions with some arranger whose name I never remember.

It could have been inspired by JB, but for me it doesn't sound too much like what JB did. It has characteristics, but almost has more of a newer Motown vibe on it - partly. Of course, so much good music influenced each other back then, it's hard to nail down that stuff sometimes. Plus it came out at the start of the 70s, so music was shifting a bit at that point, too.

TrivialPursuit said:

gandorb said:

This is a song pre-Prince but I heard a childhood gave song for the6first time in decades and it dawned on me how much it sounded like Prince. It's called Groove Me and it is a great funk song. Perhaps the singer was also inspired by James Brown.

You talkin' about King Floyd? That's a good cut. The funny thing is, "Groove Me" was a b-side, but radio stations and clubs picked up on it and played it more than the A-side. That's how it became its own hit. Angie Stone covered that song for Austin Powers Goldmember soundtrack.

It sounds like Jean Knight's "Mr. Big Stuff", which ironically was recorded in the same sessions with some arranger whose name I never remember.

It could have been inspired by JB, but for me it doesn't sound too much like what JB did. It has characteristics, but almost has more of a newer Motown vibe on it - partly. Of course, so much good music influenced each other back then, it's hard to nail down that stuff sometimes. Plus it came out at the start of the 70s, so music was shifting a bit at that point, too.

Yep, the King Floyd hit. Funny, I loved Mr. Big Stuff back then too. I was just about 12 and didn't know what funk was, but both of those seemed funkier and a bit rawer than much of Motown's top 40 stuff and I was really drawn to them. It was only when I just heard Groove me that I realized I have loved funk stuff since I was real young and no wonder why prince has been my favorite.

Phill Collins, Sussudio (1999)

He was a huge fan of Prince http://somethingelserevie...ince-1999/

I hadn't heard Sheena Easton's "Sugar Walls" in decades and then it came on Sirius XM's "80s on 8" the other day and I almost drove off the road.

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I know P wrote the song ... but after listening to so much P lately, it was so undeniably P!

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Also, anything by Ready for the World (Digital Display, Oh Sheila, Love You Down) seems ridiculously Princesque too.

I remember reading that Beck has always a huge Prince fan (which made Prince presenting him with his Grammy in 2015 even more special!). His song "Debra" always sounded like an ode to Prince's style...but done well!!!

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Also, Ready for the World's "Oh Sheila" was a total Prince knock-off!

Also Primetime by Janelle Monae with Miguel sounds like it is dripping with Prince's influence... great song...sexy, sultry....

Kenshader said:

Miguel - Adorn. It sounds like a marriage between Marvin Gaye and Prince.