Happy Birthday Prince: 10 Autobiographical Tracks From The Purple One
Life statements from the Artist himself.
1 / 11
Princely Gifts - Prince Rogers Nelson was the original elusive singer of our time. Through his four-decade career, little was known about the artist. What we managed to collect were tiny crumbs gathered together through public appearances, sparse press interviews and cryptic lyrics. But like any musician, much of his life would drip into his music. So we bring you 10 autobiographical tracks from the Prince music collection in celebration of his would be 65th birthday. — Jon Reyes(Photo: Mirrorpix / Splash News)
2 / 11
‘When Doves Cry’ (1984) - One thing known for sure about Prince during the beginning of his career? His love interests were vast. It was long rumored that his first No. 1 hit was inspired by Susan Moonsie, a Vanity 6 member.(Photo: Mirrorpix / Splash News)
3 / 11
‘Let’s Go Crazy’ (1984) - While not autobiographical, the intro would become an ominous record of Prince’s views on death: “Electric word, life / It means forever and that's a mighty long time / But I'm here to tell you / There's something else / The afterlife…” (Photo by Richard E. Aaron/Redferns)
4 / 11
‘The Beautiful Ones’ (1984) - Prince’s swag was all over this since it is rumored to have been written as an attempt to get Susannah Melvoin, a frequent collaborator, to leave her boyfriend.(Photo: Photoshot, PacificCoastNews)
5 / 11
‘Scandalous (The Crime)’ (1989) - The track, recorded for the 1989 film Batman, included vocals from his then-girlfriend, actress Kim Basinger. In fact, it was rumored that the orgasmic sounds that came from Basinger were actually real and recorded while the pair had intercourse.(Photo: Photoshot, PacificCoastNews)
ADVERTISEMENT
6 / 11
‘My Name Is Prince’ (1992) - During a time when his namesake was a symbol, he touched on the duality that not many people were aware of at the time – especially years before he became a Jehovah’s witness: “I know from righteous, I know from sin / I got two sides and they both friends…”(Photo: Photoshot, PacificCoastNews)
7 / 11
‘The Most Beautiful Girl in the World’ (1995) - This song, from Prince’s 1995 album, The Gold Experience, is about Mayte Garcia. She would become his first wife and the mother of his child.(Photo: Photoshot, PacificCoastNews)
8 / 11
‘Friend, Lover, Sister, Mother/Wife’ (1996) - After Prince married Mayte, she became pregnant with his first child, which inspired him to write another song about the then-Mrs. Prince.(Photo: Photoshot, PacificCoastNews)
9 / 11
‘Sex in the Summer’ (1996) - This was a special song that included the ultrasound from Prince’s unborn son – who would pass away a week after his birth. In an interview from 1996, Prince said, "What we did was take a microphone and place it on Mayte's stomach and move it around with the gel until we got the right spot. And then you know, you start to hear that and then we put the drums around that. That's the baby."(Photo: Photoshot, PacificCoastNews)
10 / 11
‘Emancipation’ (1996) - After his epic battle with record label Warner Bros., the title track to his 1996 album would be a seminal musical statement about their parting of ways. He was finally free.(Photo: Photoshot, PacificCoastNews)