Deep Cuts Blessed by Prince
Prince humbly played the back on a lot of songs.
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Prince Midas - Prince was always the musician to be and any artist's ultimate #goals included being able to work with him. While not everyone got to work with The Purple One, many did, only adding to Prince’s giant catalog. When you take Prince’s 39 albums in his discography, count the unreleased stuff that’s in a vault somewhere (probably lined in purple velour) and add his endless list of writing, producing and musician credits to the list, you can probably sit through years of tracks that Prince has blessed. Here are just some of our favorite tracks by other artists Prince gently touched. We wonder if he made them all pancakes after the studio sessions. – Jon Reyes (Photo: Gary Gershoff/Getty Images)
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No Doubt, ‘Waiting Room’ - This is a pretty random one, but Prince is featured as an artist and leaves his mark on the band’s third album, Rocksteady. (Photo: Paul Natkin/WireImage)
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Janelle Monae, ‘Give Em What They Love’ - The mutual love between Prince and Janelle was something really beautiful to see – especially at a time when artist camaraderie was lacking. For Janelle’s second album Prince blessed it with a rare artistic feature. (Photo: Ross Marino/Sygma/Corbis)
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Kate Bush, ‘Why Should I Love You’ - The English artist has been heavily influenced by R&B, as shown in this collaboration, and influential in the world of R&B – just check Maxwell’s remake of one of her songs. Prince’s funkdafied sounds make a star appearance on this track from her 1993 album, The Red Shoes. (Photo: Michael Putland/Getty Images)
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Madonna, ‘Love Song’ - These two iconic performers and musicians creatively got together and a hidden gem was born. For Madonna’s 1989 album Like a Prayer, Prince jumped on board for the writing and production of “Love Song” – a track that totally married their two aesthetics. Though it seems that, if Prince had it his way, they would have released a musical and not a record. (Photo: Jim Steinfeldt/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
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Chaka Khan, ‘Journey 2 The Center of My Heart’ - Prince’s touch first graced Chaka in 1984 when she covered his song “I Feel for You” from his debut album. They would officially get together in 1988 for two tracks and finally in 1998 for an album that he would co-write and produce: Come 2 My House. Though on “Journey 2 The Center of my Heart,” Prince’s vocals are so distinct it’s hard not to love this a little bit more than the rest. (Photo: Dave M. Benett/Getty Images)
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Judith Hill, ‘Beautiful Life’ and ‘My People’ - The world was introduced to Judith during Michael Jackson’s memorial, when she took lead vocals during “Heal the World.” Last year, she released her debut album, which was produced by Prince himself. “Beautiful Life” was specifically re-recorded to include him on guitar and bass. (Photo: Paul Natkin/WireImage)
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Common, ‘Star *69’ - This track off Common’s Electric Circus was produced by Questlove, James Poyser and J Dilla. And Prince? He went in to play guitar and keyboards, proving that he didn’t always have to be the one in charge — all for the love of music. (Photo: Ebet Roberts/Redferns)
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Mavis Staples, ‘Time Waits for No One’ - Recently, Mavis has been all over timelines because she performed at Coachella. But Mavis has been hanging with the young generations for years. She and Prince began collaborating in 1989 and generated this nostalgic track. The Purple One was credited as a writer, producer and performer. Peep the background vocals; you totally hear him. (Photo: Mirrorpix / Splash News)
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Stevie Wonder, ‘So What the Fuss?’ - All Prince did was play guitar on this one, no production or writing involved. Obviously Prince “just” playing guitar was an event in itself. For this track off Stevie’s 2005 album, A Time to Love, En Vogue even reunited. Tell us you can’t hear him in that guitar. (Photo: Ramey Photo/Corbis)