independent and unofficial
Prince fan community
Welcome! Sign up or enter username and password to remember me
Forum jump
Forums > Prince: Music and More > What was Prince’s favorite “Prince song”?
« Previous topic  Next topic »
  New topic   Printable     (Log in to 'subscribe' to this topic)
Author

Tweet     Share

Message
Thread started 12/01/22 5:03am

Monarch

avatar

What was Prince’s favorite “Prince song”?

So I know how this works. In an interview the artist will almost always respond with “the next one”. & I think I understand why they say that. But sometimes we hear an artist talk about a song that meant something special to them. What song do you think Prince probably played the most live? I’m sure he did Purple Rain for the fans, but was there something he consistently did simply out of enjoyment? Was there any song over the years that he said was special to him?

Another thought I had was since a lot of the unreleased material he either didn’t intend to release or he wasn’t interested in releasing in the near future, these songs weren’t played live for the purpose of promoting them. So for a few of them like Empty Room that I heard he did often (I think I remember hearing that), could it have been because he particularly liked that song?

I suppose the question is 2 fold. One being about whether a song was sentimentality important to him & or was there eventually any songs that he actually got into. I’m sure any artist who’s created enough material would eventually end up foot tapping to one of their own creations simply out of enjoyment. I mean Prince made great material. Surely something got his head bobbin when no one was lookin.
[Edited 12/1/22 5:04am]
[Edited 12/1/22 5:05am]
Chuck Norris can kill two stones with one bird.
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #1 posted 12/01/22 6:41am

JorisE73

Monarch said:

So I know how this works. In an interview the artist will almost always respond with “the next one”. & I think I understand why they say that. But sometimes we hear an artist talk about a song that meant something special to them. What song do you think Prince probably played the most live? I’m sure he did Purple Rain for the fans, but was there something he consistently did simply out of enjoyment? Was there any song over the years that he said was special to him? Another thought I had was since a lot of the unreleased material he either didn’t intend to release or he wasn’t interested in releasing in the near future, these songs weren’t played live for the purpose of promoting them. So for a few of them like Empty Room that I heard he did often (I think I remember hearing that), could it have been because he particularly liked that song? I suppose the question is 2 fold. One being about whether a song was sentimentality important to him & or was there eventually any songs that he actually got into. I’m sure any artist who’s created enough material would eventually end up foot tapping to one of their own creations simply out of enjoyment. I mean Prince made great material. Surely something got his head bobbin when no one was lookin. [Edited 12/1/22 5:04am] [Edited 12/1/22 5:05am]


Someone asked him privately in 2013 and he again said it was Moonbeam Levels according to the guy who asked him.
Probably the reason why he put on a configuration of almost every album he made ever since he recorded the song.

  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #2 posted 12/01/22 7:39am

LoveGalore

Ain't it obvious? The Beautiful Ones. He even named his memoir after it.
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #3 posted 12/01/22 8:39am

lurker316

avatar


Another generic response I hear a lot of musicians give to this question is: "I can't pick one. That's like asking me to name my favorite child. They're all special to me in their own ways."

It's possible that Prince was like us fans, in that his favorte songs changed depending on his mood or the day of the week.


[Edited 12/1/22 18:15pm]

  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #4 posted 12/01/22 10:09am

paisleyparkgir
l

avatar

Didn't he say the Breakdown was his favorite song on Arsenio ?

Or maybe songs he wrote for his son that he never released.

[Edited 12/1/22 10:15am]

  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #5 posted 12/02/22 1:02am

Vannormal

''The Ballad Of Dorothy Parker.''

He performed it in so many various styles.

Same goes for ''Something In The Water'' i believe

"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves. And wiser people so full of doubts" (Bertrand Russell 1872-1972)
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #6 posted 12/02/22 9:19am

nayroo2002

avatar

LoveGalore said:

Ain't it obvious? The Beautiful Ones. He even named his memoir after it.

Yup.

"Whatever skin we're in
we all need 2 b friends"
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #7 posted 12/02/22 5:28pm

lurker316

avatar

LoveGalore said:

Ain't it obvious? The Beautiful Ones. He even named his memoir after it.


Did he name his memoir? He'd just started writing it when he passed. It's very possible he hadn't yet settled on a title. The Estate may have picked The Beautiful Ones.


  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #8 posted 12/03/22 12:13am

LILpoundCAKE

avatar

lurker316 said:

LoveGalore said:

Ain't it obvious? The Beautiful Ones. He even named his memoir after it.


Did he name his memoir? He'd just started writing it when he passed. It's very possible he hadn't yet settled on a title. The Estate may have picked The Beautiful Ones.



no he named it. the title was already chosen when his deal with the publisher was anounced.


May U Live 2 See The Release of Parade SDE
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #9 posted 12/03/22 4:46am

lurker316

avatar

LILpoundCAKE said:

lurker316 said:


Did he name his memoir? He'd just started writing it when he passed. It's very possible he hadn't yet settled on a title. The Estate may have picked The Beautiful Ones.



no he named it. the title was already chosen when his deal with the publisher was anounced.



Ah, I didn't know that. Thanks.


  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #10 posted 12/03/22 5:14am

BlueShakooo

How about "Days Of Wild?" and "Joy In Repetition"?
I've always thought that he (rightly) loved these songs in particular -
because he played them very often live over the years,
even though they never were hits.
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #11 posted 12/03/22 6:19am

coldwinterdewi
nmtl

Didn't he seem to prefer his ballads, answering to this question with songs such as Breakdown, the One?

ColdWinterDew
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #12 posted 12/03/22 8:50am

LoveGalore

coldwinterdewinmtl said:

Didn't he seem to prefer his ballads, answering to this question with songs such as Breakdown, the One?



That's true, he almost always pointed to his latest ballad and often chose the ballad as his first single.

But he only named the story of his life after one ballad - THE BEAUTIFUL ONES!
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #13 posted 12/04/22 6:00am

WhisperingDand
elions

avatar

Just because he relates one song to the story of his life doesn't necessarily mean it's his "favorite". He might like "Cloreen Bacon Skin" best but it probably wouldn't make for a fitting memoir title. Probably among favorites though, sure.

  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #14 posted 12/04/22 10:25am

LoveGalore

WhisperingDandelions said:

Just because he relates one song to the story of his life doesn't necessarily mean it's his "favorite". He might like "Cloreen Bacon Skin" best but it probably wouldn't make for a fitting memoir title. Probably among favorites though, sure.



He could recoalesce into existence today and say it was his favorite and people on the org would still be skeptical.
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #15 posted 12/04/22 1:05pm

LILpoundCAKE

avatar

LoveGalore said:

WhisperingDandelions said:

Just because he relates one song to the story of his life doesn't necessarily mean it's his "favorite". He might like "Cloreen Bacon Skin" best but it probably wouldn't make for a fitting memoir title. Probably among favorites though, sure.

He could recoalesce into existence today and say it was his favorite and people on the org would still be skeptical.


besides, it was written by wendy and lisa, wasn't it?


razz lol

May U Live 2 See The Release of Parade SDE
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #16 posted 12/04/22 1:21pm

LoveGalore

LILpoundCAKE said:



LoveGalore said:


WhisperingDandelions said:

Just because he relates one song to the story of his life doesn't necessarily mean it's his "favorite". He might like "Cloreen Bacon Skin" best but it probably wouldn't make for a fitting memoir title. Probably among favorites though, sure.



He could recoalesce into existence today and say it was his favorite and people on the org would still be skeptical.


besides, it was written by wendy and lisa, wasn't it?


razz lol



Absolutely, and they wrote it about Susannah. confused
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #17 posted 12/04/22 2:27pm

LILpoundCAKE

avatar

LoveGalore said:

LILpoundCAKE said:


besides, it was written by wendy and lisa, wasn't it?


razz lol

Absolutely, and they wrote it about Susannah. confused


nod falloff


May U Live 2 See The Release of Parade SDE
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #18 posted 12/04/22 5:16pm

TrivialPursuit

avatar

Prince has often said his favorite song was "Purple Rain."

"eye don’t really care so much what people say about me because it is a reflection of who they r."
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #19 posted 12/04/22 8:47pm

WhisperingDand
elions

avatar

LoveGalore said:

WhisperingDandelions said:

Just because he relates one song to the story of his life doesn't necessarily mean it's his "favorite". He might like "Cloreen Bacon Skin" best but it probably wouldn't make for a fitting memoir title. Probably among favorites though, sure.

He could recoalesce into existence today and say it was his favorite and people on the org would still be skeptical.

Well I mean it's not like he was known for changing his opinions with the direction of the wind or anything.

He wouldn't straight up say "that's my favorite" anyway. It would be some cryptic indirect response where we'd have to infer/hypothesize like the org always does.

  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #20 posted 12/05/22 1:29am

Vannormal

lurker316 said:

LILpoundCAKE said:


no he named it. the title was already chosen when his deal with the publisher was anounced.



Ah, I didn't know that. Thanks.


The fact he chose this title, and presumably was going to write his whole life story,

he obviously would write about all the people he worked with.

That's a very nice thought to me.

As if it is an ode to the all those who crossed his path, and mentioned them all equally ''The Beautiful Ones'' in th etitle of his memoir ...

(as i come to think of it)

[Edited 12/5/22 1:35am]

"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves. And wiser people so full of doubts" (Bertrand Russell 1872-1972)
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #21 posted 12/05/22 7:19am

WhisperingDand
elions

avatar

Vannormal said:

lurker316 said:


Ah, I didn't know that. Thanks.


The fact he chose this title, and presumably was going to write his whole life story,

he obviously would write about all the people he worked with.

That's a very nice thought to me.

As if it is an ode to the all those who crossed his path, and mentioned them all equally ''The Beautiful Ones'' in th etitle of his memoir ...

(as i come to think of it)

[Edited 12/5/22 1:35am]

Exactly. The title felt apropos to his life story (and "The Beautiful Ones" that comprised it) to him. Doesn't mean it's the all-time fav...

  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #22 posted 12/05/22 7:35am

LoveGalore

WhisperingDandelions said:



Vannormal said:




lurker316 said:




Ah, I didn't know that. Thanks.




The fact he chose this title, and presumably was going to write his whole life story,


he obviously would write about all the people he worked with.


That's a very nice thought to me.


As if it is an ode to the all those who crossed his path, and mentioned them all equally ''The Beautiful Ones'' in th etitle of his memoir ...


(as i come to think of it)


[Edited 12/5/22 1:35am]



Exactly. The title felt apropos to his life story (and "The Beautiful Ones" that comprised it) to him. Doesn't mean it's the all-time fav...



Doesn't mean it isn't either. The song is put at the highest echelon one could reach, as far as I'm concerned. You don't just happen to put that song title as the title to your memoir because your book was a tribute to your ex girlfriends.
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #23 posted 12/06/22 12:47am

JorisE73

LoveGalore said:

WhisperingDandelions said:

Exactly. The title felt apropos to his life story (and "The Beautiful Ones" that comprised it) to him. Doesn't mean it's the all-time fav...

Doesn't mean it isn't either. The song is put at the highest echelon one could reach, as far as I'm concerned. You don't just happen to put that song title as the title to your memoir because your book was a tribute to your ex girlfriends.



Maybe he called it Teh Beautiful Ones because calling it The Divine would seem a bit arrogant?

  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #24 posted 12/07/22 1:24am

Vannormal

JorisE73 said:

LoveGalore said:

WhisperingDandelions said: Doesn't mean it isn't either. The song is put at the highest echelon one could reach, as far as I'm concerned. You don't just happen to put that song title as the title to your memoir because your book was a tribute to your ex girlfriends.



Maybe he called it Teh Beautiful Ones because calling it The Divine would seem a bit arrogant?

Exactly. wink))

"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves. And wiser people so full of doubts" (Bertrand Russell 1872-1972)
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #25 posted 12/07/22 1:32am

LILpoundCAKE

avatar

Vannormal said:

JorisE73 said:



Maybe he called it Teh Beautiful Ones because calling it The Divine would seem a bit arrogant?

Exactly. wink))


The Divine, when finally released will be such a let down lol It's the new Wally.

Now, that song he recorded a few days after The Divine and thought little of and
just filed away in the archive to collect dust, that will probably blow us all out of
our seats and become a blubbering mess going 'the man was utterly insanely and
otherworldly talented beyond belief, this is one of the best songs ever'.


May U Live 2 See The Release of Parade SDE
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #26 posted 12/08/22 8:03pm

rednblue

Can't answer the question of favorite.

In 1993, P wrote this about 1992's Damn U: "one of the songs PRN is most proud of; he adores it. Used to play it live even fore it was released. Through the years this has been the indication of his feelings about a new composition." https://medium.com/@anild....7sn13lnq4

  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #27 posted 12/08/22 8:25pm

Steelclawz

When asked that question in interviews, he always replied "The next one "

Even on arsenio, he said, "i usually reply with the next one, but right now its the break down"

Meaning at this present time, it was the break down ... but he never said my favorite song of mine

in the whole wide world is ....

so that's what ive collected

Maybe sheila has the answer to that question, he may have convided in her his favorite, and its probably one thats still unheard and laying in the vault.

I'm waiting to hear a Perfect quality HQ copy of Cookie Jar ... i would have to say that is my favorite prince song

... until i hear more from the vault

  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
  New topic   Printable     (Log in to 'subscribe' to this topic)
« Previous topic  Next topic »
Forums > Prince: Music and More > What was Prince’s favorite “Prince song”?