Which songs would you have forced P to release as singles?

I was born in 91 so maybe I'm underestimated the reach of a B-side...but She's Always In My Hair would have got the full treatment under my watch. Video, remixes, everything. That song is a SMASH.

[Edited 2/2/20 21:07pm]

masaba said:

Which songs would you have forced P to release as singles?

I was born in 91 so maybe I'm underestimated the reach of a B-side...but She's Always In My Hair would have got the full treatment under my watch. Video, remixes, everything. That song is a SMASH.

[Edited 2/2/20 21:07pm]

Ha,,,bless you..you are the same age as my youngest daughter...so glad to see you here...

The thing is...

No one could FORCE Prince to do anything....

Lovejunky said:

The thing is...

No one could FORCE Prince to do anything....

LOL, WB forced Prince to do a lot of stuff he didn't want to do.
This is normal in that biz; he signed their contract and he does whatever they need him to do.

Specifically, during the Sign O' the Times era...

He released Sign first...COOL!(The whirlwind of heavy topics in that one song...)

Next he should have released: Housequake!(Alright, time to let our hair down and party.)

After that he should have released: Slow Love!(Let's make some love)

After that he should have released: Strange Relationship.(Our love/whatever is strange)

After that: The Cross.(Forget it all and think about God and his son's sacrifices)

After that: Adore.(But don't forget that I love you).

6 singles would have made things more interesting, a single every 2 months...let that marinate for a year and a half...then come out with Lovesexy and Batman in the same year...and tour off of both of them.

masaba said:

Can't see She's Always In My Hair managing to break out in on 80s pop radio, it'd have been about as big as Mountains.

[Edited 2/4/20 1:41am]

^ I dunno, I'd say somewhere between spots 10-16 on the Hot 100 for She's Always In My Hair.

If I were Warnes Bros...

How about, if I was a trusted manager?

I'd say release Girls & Boys before Mountains. Hell just release the song in the USA period.

I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man should've been the second single from Sign O The Times

SOTT should have toured the States instead of a movie...and yet we can now all love that fantastic concert film, so he did the right thing?

.....Parade should be the next Super Deluxe release.

[Edited 2/4/20 12:28pm]

JorisE73 said:

Lovejunky said:

The thing is...

No one could FORCE Prince to do anything....

LOL, WB forced Prince to do a lot of stuff he didn't want to do.
This is normal in that biz; he signed their contract and he does whatever they need him to do.

Somewhat. Prince was given more freedom than most artists.

jaawwnn said:

Can't see She's Always In My Hair managing to break out in on 80s pop radio, it'd have been about as big as Mountains.

[Edited 2/4/20 1:41am]

I'd agree with that.

He was pretty good at picking out singles, but one thing that I think worked for him was not releasing tracks that would become beloved by fans, that he knew were hits, and later regarded as hits when he played them live...they were just album hits.

She's Always In My Hair was a B-side single, for what it's worth.

lavendardrummachine said:

He was pretty good at picking out singles, but one thing that I think worked for him was not releasing tracks that would become beloved by fans, that he knew were hits, and later regarded as hits when he played them live...they were just album hits.

She's Always In My Hair was a B-side single, for what it's worth.

There were some questionable decisions as the lead single from a few albums.

Betch by Golly Wow, The Greatest Romance, The Work pt1, Letitgo spring to mind.....

Maybe a smashing record store day with undertaker audio or a 12"with Purple music (A)/(B) re-arrange and maybe a the unreleased ones (with bleep or info)

dualboot said:

Maybe a smashing record store day with undertaker audio or a 12"with Purple music (A)/(B) re-arrange and maybe a the unreleased ones (with bleep or info)

They could release the old testpressing of Purple Music that was never released that was discussed here years ago.

JorisE73 said:

dualboot said:

Maybe a smashing record store day with undertaker audio or a 12"with Purple music (A)/(B) re-arrange and maybe a the unreleased ones (with bleep or info)

They could release the old testpressing of Purple Music that was never released that was discussed here years ago.

Yes.

but they won't.

kewlschool said:

jaawwnn said:

Can't see She's Always In My Hair managing to break out in on 80s pop radio, it'd have been about as big as Mountains.

[Edited 2/4/20 1:41am]

I'd agree with that.

Me too, Excellent song . But wouldn't have suited radio back then in my opinion.

"Adore".

[Edited 2/9/20 19:03pm]

Agree that "She's Always in My Hair" would have been a great single and been an album highlight. Could have easily outperformed "America" (which I was mystified by as a single choice as a 15-year-old in 85).

"Girls & Boys" should have been released as a single before "Mountains" and its fun video would have been a better movie promotion.

"Housequake" or "U Got the Look" should have followed "SOTT" as a single. Also "SOTT" should have had a real video. "Adore" should have been a single.

I now love the Lovesexy album cover. But I remembered being embarrassed by the CD longbox as an 18-year-old. I bought it the first day it was out and remember thinking, "Oh, Prince" as a I pulled it out of the bin. Some stores wouldn't carry it. Not sure if WB could have mandated a different cover.

"Lovesexy" would have been a better followup single to "Alphabet St." than "Glam Slam." Not sure it would have been a hit, but it's a better song.

"The Question of U" should have been the first or second single from Graffiti Bridge. I enjoy "Bold Generation," but it got so slick and cheesy by the time it evolved into "New Power Generation."

"Willing & Able" could have been a hit and continued the momentum of D&P. Radio was never gonna play "Sexy MF" so releasing that ahead of the Symbol album was not very effective promotion.

"7" should have been the first single from the Symbol album. Also several other songs would have made catchier singles than "The Morning Papers."

If I'd run WB, I would have never given Prince to independently release "TMBGITW." Although it was his last big hit, it convinced him that he could do it on his own and fueled his Slave era battle. Was the song more of a curse than a blessing? It's been held up in songwriting litigation forever now.

"Space" (original album version) would have made a better lead single than "LetItGo" from Come.

Presented with both the Gold Experience and Come at the same time, I would have gone with TGE in '94 while TMGITW was a stilll a fresh hit that could have driven sales. TGE mattered to The Artist, whereas Come could have followed as the contractual fulfiller he considered it to be. WB went with the record that had Prince listed on the cover; not necessarily the quality.

An edit of "Shhh" would have made a better lead single than "I Hate U." Also "P Control" should have been pushed hard at the clubs. Years later, a lot of people seemed to learn of that song and get really into it during my latter bar days.

[Edited 2/12/20 10:50am]

[Edited 2/12/20 10:51am]

[Edited 2/12/20 10:52am]

positivity88 said:

Agree that "She's Always in My Hair" would have been a great single and been an album highlight. Could have easily outperformed "America" (which I was mystified by as a single choice as a 15-year-old in 85).

"Girls & Boys" should have been released as a single before "Mountains" and its fun video would have been a better movie promotion.

"Housequake" or "U Got the Look" should have followed "SOTT" as a single. Also "SOTT" should have had a real video. "Adore" should have been a single.

I now love the Lovesexy album cover. But I remembered being embarrassed by the CD longbox as an 18-year-old. I bought it the first day it was out and remember thinking, "Oh, Prince" as a I pulled it out of the bin. Some stores wouldn't carry it. Not sure if WB could have mandated a different cover.

"Lovesexy" would have been a better followup single to "Alphabet St." than "Glam Slam." Not sure it would have been a hit, but it's a better song.

"The Question of U" should have been the first or second single from Graffiti Bridge. I enjoy "Bold Generation," but it got so slick and cheesy by the time it evolved into "New Power Generation."

"Willing & Able" could have been a hit and continued the momentum of D&P. Radio was never gonna play "Sexy MF" so releasing that ahead of the Symbol album was not very effective promotion.

"7" should have been the first single from the Symbol album. Also several other songs would have made catchier singles than "The Morning Papers."

If I'd run WB, I would have never given Prince to independently release "TMBGITW." Although it was his last big hit, it convinced him that he could do it on his own and fueled his Slave era battle. Was the song more of a curse than a blessing? It's been held up in songwriting litigation forever now.

"Space" (original album version) would have made a better lead single than "LetItGo" from Come.

Presented with both the Gold Experience and Come at the same time, I would have gone with TGE in '94 while TMGITW was a stilll a fresh hit that could have driven sales. TGE mattered to The Artist, whereas Come could have followed as the contractual fulfiller he considered it to be. WB went with the record that had Prince listed on the cover; not necessarily the quality.

An edit of "Shhh" would have made a better lead single than "I Hate U." Also "P Control" should have been pushed hard at the clubs. Years later, a lot of people seemed to learn of that song and get really into it during my latter bar days.

[Edited 2/12/20 10:50am]

[Edited 2/12/20 10:51am]

[Edited 2/12/20 10:52am]

all good point butt remember that I HAte U went all the way up to 11 or 12 on the billboard charts despite Prince doing no promotion and the video not being played soon enough. with proper promotion it coud of easily gone up to the top 3 and replaced TMBGITW as his latest or last hit.

And yeah, 7, Damn U, God Created Woman were strong songs....possible hits.but the timing and single choices were not that great.......the album itself contained great songs ..the storlyine was too convoluted and the missing snippets added to the confusion

EmmaMcG said:

Harps said:

lavendardrummachine said:

He was pretty good at picking out singles, but one thing that I think worked for him was not releasing tracks that would become beloved by fans, that he knew were hits, and later regarded as hits when he played them live...they were just album hits.

She's Always In My Hair was a B-side single, for what it's worth.

There were some questionable decisions as the lead single from a few albums.

Betch by Golly Wow, The Greatest Romance, The Work pt1, Letitgo spring to mind.....

Great examples.

That said....I think She's Always In My Hair was intended to be a B-side and he knew of the great tradition of B-Sides getting discovered as the real hits. Did the same with Erotic City, and there's no way he didn't know that was a hit.

That's got to be why he releases She's Always in My Hair as the B-side 3 times (Raspberry Beret, Pop Life, Girls & Boys) with songs that were big hits, which were hard to say shouldn't have been singles themselves, and made it a staple of his live shows.

jaawwnn said:

Can't see She's Always In My Hair managing to break out in on 80s pop radio, it'd have been about as big as Mountains.

Really? To me,that song sounds like a surefire Top 5 hit single in 1985.

There's a 12" of Dorothy Parker in the Vault!!! The Song itself is FUNKY!!! The 12" Version must be STEAK SAMMICH FUNKY!!!

positivity88 said: