I was watching the Isaac Mizrahi documentary "Unzipped" last night and saw Cindy Crawford. "Oh, look," I said to myself, "there's Cindy C."

This got me to thinking: What other real people have been referenced in a Prince song? To my surprise, I was able to come up with a few right away. Here's the list off the top of my head.

(Note: I'm limiting this to references found on released tracks only. And I'm not including references to associated artists.)

---

* Cindy Crawford - "Cindy C"

* Ronald Reagan - "Ronnie Talk To Russia"

* Joni Mitchell - "The Ballad Of Dorothy Parker"

* James Brown - "Gett Off"

* Bonnie and Clyde - "The Other Side Of The Pillow"

* Jesus - "4 The Tears In Your Eyes" (Jesus is referenced in a few songs, but this track addresses the historical figure most directly -- "Long ago there was a man" -- while others are more about the mystical Christ.)

* Clara Bow - "Condition Of The Heart"

---

Okay, that's what I've got.

Help me make this list definitive. It'll be a cool resource for the FAQ.

Peace, David

you forgot the 2nd reference p made to reagan (in "annie christian", along with john lennon)...dorothy parker wuz a real person as well, so there's another reference....


all your edits are belong to us
[This message was edited Wed Aug 6 7:44:41 PDT 2003 by Handclapsfingasnapz]

'Style' (from Emancipation)

1. Style is more like Jackie O.
2. Style is the face U make on a Michael Jordon dunk
3. Style is Ali's jab
4. Style is Mayte in the shower


Hope these work

Dorothy Parker

Face Down...just like Elvis.

Nice work, summerdawn. That one song nearly doubles the list by itself!

Peace, David

Unless I'm wrong, there is no reference to the writer Dorothy Parker in "The Ballad Of..." It only references a fictional "waitress on the Promenade" with the same name.

Peace, David

I always thought that 'Mad Sex' on the New Power Soul album was a reference to Mel B. Everything about the song, bushy hair mulatto...tattoo's dizzy...stud in your mouth turns gold...same damn bird from London. I know that she isn't orginally from London but I'm sure she lived in London.

Let me know what you think.

soulse7en said:

Although many fans think that "Mad Sex" is about Mel B. -- and it very well may be -- for the purposes of this list I'm going to veto it as too vague. Thanks for participating though!

Peace, David

livewire said:

the reference is in the title itself, not within the song.

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

So does it count then, I think it does

Abraham Lincoln - "Avalanche"

Gustav Mahler - "Good Love"

Macey Gray - "Mellow"

Common - "Mellow"

John Lennon - "Annie Christian"

William Shakespear - "I Like It There"

Maceo Parker~G Spot

Just telling him 2 blow his horn of cause.

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

Hmmm...We'll have to defer to the other Orgers on this one.

I agree that Prince uses the name Dorothy Parker because of its association with the writer, but it is not a direct reference to her. The "Dorothy Parker" of the song and title is a witty waitress, nothing more.

livewire said:

it is a direct reference to dorothy parker. the song is prince at his metaphorical best. the waitress is providing to prince what dorothy parker provided to her circle of male friends at the infamous algonquin.

imnotsayinthisjust2bnasty said:

By using the name "Dorothy Parker," Prince is obviously telling us something about the sharp wit of his waitress, but the song never addresses the writer so is it really a direct reference like the others we've listed?

* I knew this one would be a sticking point before I even posted this thread.

Peace, David

isn't lennon too on annie christian?

What about Jim Crow (I put my foot in the ass of Jim Crow) in a song called (maybe contains a reference to a real person as well, who knows ) My Name Is Prince...?

(edit to make the obvious person referenced in a song clearer...)
[This message was edited Wed Aug 6 8:45:24 PDT 2003 by roverlo]

hazel said:

awready mentioned this one

Face Down-He references Prince
Kiss-He mentions Wendy (and her parade)
Mountains-He mentions Bobby (Z)
Mellow-Macy Gray and Common

livewire said:

he never said the waitresses name was dorothy parker, only dorothy. when he says "this is the ballad of dorothy parker" he is referring to the actual person, dorothy parker, who provided an outlet to the men of the algonquin round table. much like this waitresss provided an outlet to prince during a hard time in his relationship with another woman.

LittlePill said:

Tommay Barbarella and Levi in Sexy MF...

But those refernces don't count I guess?!

[/quote]
it is a direct reference to dorothy parker. the song is prince at his metaphorical best. the waitress is providing to prince what dorothy parker provided to her circle of male friends at the infamous algonquin.[/quote]

I've always Taken this song to be mostly taking place in Prince's mind. he has a witty waitress. but I think actually going home with her is imagined. The "violent room"
is just him getting worked up thinking of past girlfriends and he needed to get out for a while. So I would say he's talking about Dorothy parker as much as he's talking about a waitress.

Henry Mancini in "Dionne"
Erykah Badu and Common in "Mellow"
John Kennedy, Jr. in "White Mansion"
Martin Luther King, Jr. in "We March"
D'Angelo and NPG in "Get Yo Groove On"
Vanity 6 in "D.M.S.R."

That's all I can think of right now...

roverlo said:

Why not, they're real people.

Macey Gray - "Mellow"

I thought it was Erykah Badu, since she and Common are an item...

I could be wrong...

Okay, Dorothy Parker is in, but the bitch gets an asterisk!

Dorothy Parker* - "The Ballad Of Dorothy Parker"

*This entry has been deemed inconclusive.

Peace, David

Henry Mancini in "Dionne"
Erykah Badu and Common in "Mellow"
John Kennedy, Jr. in "White Mansion"
Martin Luther King, Jr. in "We March"
D'Angelo and NPG in "Get Yo Groove On"
Vanity 6 in "D.M.S.R."

That's all I can think of right now...

lovin is truth (thinks that rite) like Miles loves jazz "Miles Davis"

organgrinder said:

"lovin' this truth like miles loved jazz"