Prince, The #45 Artist of the Rock Era, Part Two

 

(Continued from Part Two)

 

He followed up Purple Rain with the album Around the World in a Day the next year, another #1 album.  A beret is a European hat that is held to the head by a tight band.  "Raspberry Beret" climbed to #2 in the United States and New Zealand and #8 in Canada.    

Prince added three more American Music nominations:  Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist, Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist and Favorite Soul/R&B Male Video Artist.

 

Prince recorded this song about the trappings of a musical superstar before the "Purple Rain" project was finished.  "Pop Life" gave him another Top 10 hit.






 

In 1986, Prince released the album Parade, which was the soundtrack to his second movie, Under the Cherry Moon, which he directed and starred in.  "Kiss" sold over one million singles and went to #1 in the U.S. and the Top 10 in most countries.

The album was certified Platinum in the United States.  "Kiss" was named Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal and was nominated for Best R&B Song at the Grammy Awards and earned an American Music Award nomination for Favorite Soul/R&B Single.

 Prince recorded "Sometimes It Snows In April" on April 21, 1985, as fate would have it, exactly 31 years before his death.

Also that year, Prince wrote "Manic Monday", which the Bangles turned into a #2 smash.

 Prince released the album Sign o' the Times in 1987.  The title song hit #3.  The reference to "the spaceship" is to the U.S. Space Shuttle disaster on January 28, 1986 when The Challenger blew up right after liftoff.

 

Sign o' the Times sold over three million albums in Europe and was nominated for Album of the Year at the Grammy Awards.  "Starfish And Coffee" is a story about Cynthia Rose, a classmate of Melvoin and Wendy of the Revolution.  Rose was ignored by her classmates but Melvoin took a special interest in her.  Melvoin told the story to Diffuser.fm:

     I think Cynthia was dropped off from another world

     filled with extraordinary images. Images only Cynthia

     knew the meanings behind," Melvoin wrote in an                       essay about the song's history. "Her favorite number

     for many years was the number 12. I knew this

     because she’d rock back and forth in her seat asking

     you if you knew what her favorite number was for the 

     day… It was always shocking to her that you knew 

     what her favorite number was I would inevitably say 

     "I think it’s twelve, right Cynthia?" She was amazed 

     and joyous that you guessed it right. Once more I’d

     watch how she would ecstatically experience the

     world.

 "Adore" was never released as a single, but it is a highlight of both his songwriting and vocal abilities.

 Prince wrote "U (sic) Got The Look" for Sheena Easton and sang with her on the #2 hit.  Prince earned Grammy nominations for Best R&B Song and Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, while also being nominated for Album of the Year for Sign o' the Times.  The video received four nominations at the MTV Video Music Awards, including wins for Best Male Video and Best Stage Performance in a Video.

 

"I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man" also landed in the Top 10.  It features two Prince guitar solos--one ambitious and the other bluesy.

Hear Part Three of Prince in our next segment!