MickyDolenz said:

Mikado said:

Most of Prince's albums didn't have any hit songs.

Even when Prince was most popular in the 1980s, for every song that became a big Top 40 pop hit, there were 2 or 3 others that flopped. He wasn't like Madonna or Whitney Houston where pretty much every single went Top 10. Whitney had 7 #1s in a row at one point. She was the first to do that.

FIRST OF ALL! Prince(r.i.p.) wasn't a singles type of artist as if he even wanted to be. Plus UNLIKE other artist like Madonna, Whitney, & even his arch rival MJ. Prince released a NEW ALBUM EVERY YEAR! NONE of those other artist wasn't that prolific to do that and had YEARS in between each album.

ChocolateBox3121 said:

FIRST OF ALL! Prince(r.i.p.) wasn't a singles type of artist as if he even wanted to be. Plus UNLIKE other artist like Madonna, Whitney, & even his arch rival MJ. Prince released a NEW ALBUM EVERY YEAR! NONE of those other artist wasn't that prolific to do that and had YEARS in between each album.

If you count Genesis, Phil Collins had an album out just about every year in the 1980s. Then he had hits from soundtracks and collabs with others (Philip Bailey, Brand X, Howard Jones, Robert Plant, etc.) Phil even performed on 2 continents for Live Aid. Anyway if Prince wasn't a singles artist, then why did he release singles to radio and film music videos? There's no reason to do music videos if someone isn't trying to reach a wide audience. You don't see the average straight jazz act releasing singles. Smooth jazz acts made music videos, and they got radio airplay

nextedition said:

Where is all this anger comming from?

Anger?! it may be terrifying for you but I call it fair criticism which should still exist. Beyonce is forced on people whether they like her or not. By both print and media. I can't turn over/off quick enough. No hate here, just dislike her. BIG difference.

MickyDolenz said:

ChocolateBox3121 said:

FIRST OF ALL! Prince(r.i.p.) wasn't a singles type of artist as if he even wanted to be. Plus UNLIKE other artist like Madonna, Whitney, & even his arch rival MJ. Prince released a NEW ALBUM EVERY YEAR! NONE of those other artist wasn't that prolific to do that and had YEARS in between each album.

If you count Genesis, Phil Collins had an album out just about every year in the 1980s. Then he had hits from soundtracks and collabs with others (Philip Bailey, Brand X, Howard Jones, Robert Plant, etc.) Phil even performed on 2 continents for Live Aid. Anyway if Prince wasn't a singles artist, then why did he release singles to radio and film music videos? There's no reason to do music videos if someone isn't trying to reach a wide audience. You don't see the average straight jazz act releasing singles. Smooth jazz acts made music videos, and they got radio airplay

Two words record company.

ChocolateBox3121 said:

Two words record company.

Polka artists are signed to a record company, yet don't have radio singles. So are avant-garde acts, blues, folk, zydeco. etc. Most commercial radio stations are not going to play free jazz or death metal, maybe a college radio station will play it. But clooege radio run from pledges by the listeners. The majority of acts signed to labels don't get on the radio as there's too many for that.

MickyDolenz said:

ChocolateBox3121 said:

Two words record company.

Polka artists are signed to a record company, yet don't have radio singles. So are avant-garde acts, blues, folk, zydeco. etc. Most commercial radio stations are not going to play free jazz or death metal, maybe a college radio station will play it. But clooege radio run from pledges by the listeners. The majority of acts signed to labels don't get on the radio as there's too many for that.

U can keep trying to downplay Prince's(r.i.p.) success & legacy ALL U want. But U will NEVER win with me. What U said has NOTHING to do with what was said earlier in this thread. This thread is not about Prince(r.i.p.) any way.

By now there is a five year hit potential unless you are Adele. Music fans are very fickle. They change trends constantly. Click beats will lead to what? Cadence vocals to what, post metal? I just hope decent pop comes back.

kitbradley said:

Both Beyonce and Taylor's voices are like nails against a chalkboard to me. Really, I can't stand either one of them. if I were FORCED to choose between the two, I couldn't do it! Their music is equally wretched. I don't get either one's success. Especially Beyonce. U.S. media still talks about her like she is some kind of innovative genius and musical royalty. I don't hear Taylor receiving the same kind of accolades.

Best post in this thread.

ChocolateBox3121 said:

MickyDolenz said:

Even when Prince was most popular in the 1980s, for every song that became a big Top 40 pop hit, there were 2 or 3 others that flopped. He wasn't like Madonna or Whitney Houston where pretty much every single went Top 10. Whitney had 7 #1s in a row at one point. She was the first to do that.

FIRST OF ALL! Prince(r.i.p.) wasn't a singles type of artist as if he even wanted to be. Plus UNLIKE other artist like Madonna, Whitney, & even his arch rival MJ. Prince released a NEW ALBUM EVERY YEAR! NONE of those other artist wasn't that prolific to do that and had YEARS in between each album.

You are right. But so is Micky. That's why Prince is great.

Everything you say is true. Prince took was far more prolific and took far more chances creatively and thematically than his megastar peers did in the 1980's and was a hugely successful artist on the whole. It is why his legacy endures.

But Micky's telling the truth too. In baseball terms . . . the flip side of Prince hitting creative home runs is that he also hit a lot of singles and doubles commercially.

Sometimes his audiences weren't quite ready to follow him like his core fan base did. That meant that sometimes his second and third singles fell short of the top 40 and his albums didn't sell as well -- even those that are beloved today. You saw the chart fall-off from lead single to second single with Parade and Lovesexy, two of his defining creative achievements.

He compiled an impressive overall legacy, but even some of his best songs were duds on the charts because mass audiences weren't following his lead. Nothing wrong with that.

[Edited 6/10/19 11:28am]

[Edited 6/10/19 13:03pm]