Song of the Day #6,683: ‘The Ballad of Dorothy Parker’ – Prince

Continuing a countdown of my favorite albums of 1987…

#9 – Sign O’ the Times – Prince

If I tried to be totally objective, this album would be in the top five of this list, and possibly even at #1. It’s the magnum opus of one of music’s most startlingly original and creative talents — a funk, R&B and art pop masterpiece.

I’m not denying any of that by putting it at #9. It’s just that Prince isn’t a personal favorite of mine. I appreciate the hell out of his work, and love a lot of it, but I’ve never felt the personal connection I do with some other artists.

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Song of the Day #6,489: ‘Kiss’ – Prince and the Revolution

Austrian artist Falco owned the top spot of the Billboard Hot 100 the week of April 12, 1986, with ‘Rock Me Amadeus,’ one of only nine non-English songs to top the chart.

At #2 was Prince with his iconic hit ‘Kiss,’ which would reach #1 the following week and stay there for two weeks. ‘Kiss’ is the third of five chart-topping hits for Prince, all released between 1984 and 1991.

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Song of the Day #6,223: ‘Raspberry Beret’ – Prince

Duran Duran held on to the top spot of the Hot 100 the week of July 20, 1985, with ‘A View to a Kill,’ but hot on their heels was Prince with ‘Raspberry Beret.’ The song peaked there, one of three Prince songs to stall out one slot short of #1 (‘Purple Rain‘ and ‘U Got the Look’ are the other two).

This is one of 18 top ten songs for Prince, and one of 13 in his signature decade. The 80s also accounted for four of his five #1 hits.

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Song of the Day #5,923: ‘Let’s Go Crazy’ – Prince

The week of September 22, 1984, found John Waite atop the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘Missing You.’ A few weeks ago I wrote about that song and mentioned that it was the only 1984 chart-topper to spent just one week at #1. This was that week.

Right on its heels was Prince’s ‘Let’s Go Crazy,’ a week away from its own berth at #1, where it would spend two weeks. This was Prince’s second #1 hit, following ‘When Doves Cry‘ a few weeks earlier.

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Song of the Day #5,903: ‘When Doves Cry (Live)’ – Prince

Top Ten Songs of the Summer
#5 – Prince – ‘When Doves Cry’ (1984)

The 80s is my favorite musical decade, so it follows that it’s also the decade that produced the best Songs of the Summer. Three of my top five SotS came from that great period.

1984 was a particularly good year. I’ll get to Prince in a second, but the runners-up that year included Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Dancing in the Dark,’ Billy Idol’s ‘Eyes Without a Face,’ Lionel Richie’s ‘Stuck On You,’ and Duran Duran’s ‘The Reflex.’ Also in the running were the two songs I blogged about yesterday, Tina Turner’s ‘What’s Love Got to Do With It’ and John Waite’s ‘Missing You.’

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