Prince’s Originals released

Originals Prince

Released: June 7, 2019 Recorded: 1981-1991 Peak: 15 US, 9 RB, 21 UK, 66 CN, 18 AU Sales (in millions): -- US, -- UK, -- world (includes US and UK) Genre: R&B/funk

Tracks: Click on individual song titles for more details, including songwriters, recording and release dates, chart peaks, versions recorded by other artists, and basic information about the song. Sex Shooter [3:06] Jungle Love [3:04] Manic Monday [2:51] Noon Rendezvous [3:00] Make-Up [2:27] 100 MPH [3:30] You’re My Love [4:24] Holly Rock [6:38] Baby, You’re a Trip [5:51] The Glamorous Life [4:12] Gigolos Get Lonely Too [4:41] Love…Thy Will Be Done [4:07] Dear Michaelangelo [5:22] Wouldn’t You Love to Love Me? [5:56] Nothing Compares 2 U [4:40] Total Running Time: 63:49

Rating: 4.342 out of 5.00 (average of 13 ratings)

About the Album: “By the mid-1980s, Prince was dominating the charts” AZ not just as a performer, but “with songs he’d composed and recorded for others.” AZ He “was fiercely protective of his songs – if you ventured to cover his material, it had to be on his terms.” BB “Instead of handing others rough sketches to build on, Prince delivered fully fleshed-out tracks, leaving very little up for interpretation.” BB Sometimes those demos would guide other artists through the recording process, and at other times”Prince’s original demo recordings would be used as master takes on their albums, with only minor alterations to the instrumentation and a replacement of the vocal tracks.” AZ Prince’s posthumous album, Originals, “features his self-recorded versions of 15 songs made famous by others – and startlingly, some of these ‘demos’ sound full-fledged enough to dominate the charts themselves.” BB “Some of these Prince-assisted acts, like Vanity 6, Apollonia 6 and the Time, were curated protégés…Others, like [Sinéad] O’Connor and the Bangles, were formidable artists with or without his songs. But they all share the presence of the fastidious, ultra-prolific Purple One hovering in the background of their legacies.” BB “Originals pulls back the curtain to reveal the origins of these familiar songs, in addition to deeper album cuts such as Vanity 6's Make-Up, Jill Jones’ Baby, You’re a Trip, and Kenny Rogers’ You’re My Love. The album also features Prince's majestic original 1984 version of Nothing Compares 2 U, released in 2018 as a standalone single.” AZ The Songs Here’s a breakdown of each of the individual songs presented in chronological order of when they were recorded.

Make-Up Prince

Writer(s): Prince Recorded: summer 1981 at Kiowa Trail Home Studio in Chanhassen, MN Released: Originals (2019) Covered by: Vanity 6 for Vanity 6 (1982) About the Song: “What’s different? Vocals, instrumentation, arrangement.” BB Prince wrote this song for Vanity 6, “a girl group with Denise Matthews (or ‘Vanity’) at the helm.” BB This “winking list of cosmetic products from blush to base” was what Prince biographer called “the raunchier, female expression of his sensibility.” BB The basic tracking was laid down in the summer of 1981 at Prince’s Kowa Trail Home Studio in Chanhassen, Minnesota. The song was a B-side for the group’s singles “He’s So Dull” and “Drive Me Wild.” PV

Wouldn’t You Love to Love Me? Prince

Writer(s): Prince Recorded: 1976, 1978 at France Avenue Home Studio in Edina, MN; June 1981 at Hollywood Sound Recorders in Los Angeles Released: Originals (2019) Covered by: Taja Sevelle for Taja Sevelle (1987) About the Song: “What’s different? Vocals, production, arrangement.” BB Chronologically, this is the earliest track from this album, PV dating back to 1976, a year before Prince’s debut album For You. BB He made a demo “on a basic cassette recorder, featuring some lyrics that were changed or removed for later recordings.” PV In the summer of 1978, he recorded it twice at his France Avenue Home Studio in Edina, Minnesota – once with himself on vocals and once with Sue Ann Carwell. In June 1981, he recorded the version featured on this album at Hollywood Sound Recorders in Los Angeles, California. PV He started from scratch on the song in April 1982,e ventually submitting it to Michael Jackson to use on his album Bad. PV When it wasn’t used, Prince gave it to Minneapolis singer/songwriter Taja Sevelle. She simply replaced her vocals for his and released it on her 1987 self-titled debut and as a single in early 1988. PV It failed to chart, but Sevelle did have a Hot 100 hit with “Love is Contagious.” BB

Gigolos Get Lonely Too Prince

Writer(s): Prince Recorded: 1/11/1982 at Sunset Sound in Hollywood, CA Released: Originals (2019) Covered by: The Time for What Time Is It? (single charted 10/5/82, 77 RB) About the Song: “What’s different? Vocals.” BB Although this “ballad about a male escort craving true love” BB was solely written by Prince, it was credited to Morris Day when it appeared on The Time’s second album. PV The basic tracking for this completed demo likely occurred at Sunset Sound in Hollywood, California, on January 11, 1982 PV and then Day’s vocals were substituted for Prince’s. BB The Time hit #77 on the R&B chart when the song was released as the third single from What Time Is It?

You’re My Love Prince

Writer(s): Prince Recorded: March 1982 at Kiowa Trail Home Studio in Chanhassen, MN Released: Originals (2019) Covered by: Kenny Rogers for They Don’t Make Them Like They Used To (1986) About the Song: “What’s different? Vocals, production, instrumentation.” BB Country singer Kenny Rogers was looking for material for his new album and Prince gave him this “scrap from his vaults” BB which he’d recorded in March 1982 at his Kiowa Trail Home Studio. PV “While Rogers’ band played it in an adult-contempo style fitting his voice, it hews strongly to Prince’s demo.” BB The song, which was credited to the Prince pseudonym of “Joey Coco,” was released as the B-side of Rogers’ “Make No Mistake, She’s Mine” single with Ronnie Milsap.

Baby, You’re a Trip Prince

Writer(s): Prince Recorded: 7/8/1982 at Sunset Sound in Hollywood, CA Released: Originals (2019) Covered by: Jill Jones for Jill Jones (1987) About the Song: “What’s different? Vocals.” BB Prince recorded the song on July 8, 1982, at Sunset Sound in Hollywood, California. PV When Jill Jones signed to Prince’s label, Paisley Park Records, she added this song to her eponymous album, overdubbing her vocals alongside Prince’s guide vocals. PV It was also released as the B-side of her single “For Love.”

Jungle Love Prince

Writer(s): Prince, Morris Day, Jesse Johnson Recorded: 3/25/1983 at Sunset Sound in Hollywood, CA Released: Originals (2019) Covered by: The Time for Ice Cream Castle (single charted 9/22/84, 20 BB, 21 CB) About the Song: “What’s different? Vocals. The Time, a crack combo of Minneapolis soul, pop and funk musicians, was another Prince-curated band that appeared in Purple Rain.” BB Prince wrote the song with Jesse Johnson, although it is credited to Morris Day, who sang lead. Prince recorded it on March 26, 1983 at Sunset Sound in Hollywood, California. PV Time members’ Jesse Johnson, Jimmy Jam, and Terry Lewis were all in the studio, but it isn’t clear if they contributed to the recording. PV The Time’s “version of ‘Jungle Love,’ a four-on-the-floor joint that hit No. 20” BB and spent a whopping 57 weeks AZ “on the Billboard Hot 100.

Sex Shooter Prince

Writer(s): Prince Recorded: 4/30/1983 at Kiowa Trail Home Studio in Chanhassen, MN Released: Originals (2019) Covered by: Apollonia 6 on the album Apollonia 6 (single charted 8/31/84, 85 BB, 7 RB) About the Song: “What’s different? Vocals. A carnal rocker from the 1984 classic Purple Rain, ‘Sex Shooter’ was recorded almost solely by Prince under the alias The Starr Company.” BB He recorded it on April 30, 1983 at his Kiowa Trail Home Studio in Chanhassen, Minnesota. PV Plans to include it on Vanity 6’s second album were scrapped when Vanity left the Prince party and his Purple Rain co-star Patricia “Apollonia” Kotero stepped in to front the newly-christened Apollonia 6. Prince seems to have recorded all this himself and simply replaced his vocals with hers. BB

The Glamorous Life Prince

Writer(s): Prince Recorded: December 27-28, 1983 and 1/6/1984 at Sunset Sound in Hollywood, CA Released: Originals (2019) Covered by: Sheila E. for The Glamorous Life (single charted 6/2/84, 7 US, 9 CB, 9 RB, 96 UK, 3 CN, 11 AU) About the Song: “What’s different? Vocals, extra instrumentation.” BB Prince recorded it at Sunset Sound in Hollywood, California, on December 27, 1983. PV Like “Manic Monday,” it was intended for Apollonia 6, until Prince “swiped it away – this time, for his lover and collaborator Sheila E. Its two versions begin with a saxophone wail from Larry Williams; the ensuing music is roughly identical, too, except for some extra rimshot percussion from E.” BB She released her version as the lead single for her debut album of the same name and it hit #7 on the Hot 100 and #1 on the dance charts.

Manic Monday Prince

Writer(s): Prince Recorded: February 4-5, 1984 at Sunset Sound in Hollywood, CA Released: Originals (2019), 6/7/2019 as a single Covered by: the Bangles on Different Light (single charted 1/25/86, 2 US, 3 CB, 10 AC, 43 AR, 2 UK, 2 CN, 3 AU) About the Song: “What’s different? Vocals, instrumentation, production.” BB Prince recorded this “gorgeous, ‘60s-tinted pop gem” BB on February 4, 1984 at Sunset Sound in Hollywood, California. It was initially intended for Apollonia 6, but Prince sent it to the Bangles’ Susanna Hoffs after catching them at an early Los Angeles show. PV They stayed close to Prince’s original arrangement, BB but re-recorded most of the song – although Brenda Bennett and Jill Jones’ backing vocals can still be heard on it. PV The Bangles reached #2 on the Hot 100 and its parent album also hit the runner-up slot.

Noon Rendezvous Prince

Writer(s): Prince, Sheila E. Recorded: 2/13/1984 at Sunset Sound in Hollywood, CA Released: Originals (2019) Covered by: Sheila E. for The Glamorous Life (1984) About the Song: “What’s different? Vocals, instrumentation, production. Prince and drum legend Sheila E. co-wrote this song about their relationship at the time.” BB He initially recorded it on February 13, 1984 at Sunset Sound in Hollywood, California. PV Sheila E’s version “is full of squelchy period synths; Prince’s piano-led demo is more intimate and restrained, a ballad for the wee small hours.” BB Her version was released as the third single from her debut album, but didn’t chart.

100 MPH Prince

Writer(s): Prince Recorded: 6/24/1984 at Flying Cloud Drive Warehouse in Eden Prairie, MN Released: Originals (2019) Covered by: Mazarati for Mazarati (single charted 5/17/86, 19 RB) About the Song: “What’s different? Vocals. Led by Prince and the Revolution bassist Brownmark, Mazarati wasn’t a wholesale creation of Prince like others on this list. Still, their sole charting song, ‘100 MPH,’ was written and almost completely recorded by him. Sans lead vocals by Sir Casey Terry and backing vocals by the rest of Mazarati, the two versions are virtually identical.” BB Prince initially recorded it at Flying Cloud Drive Warehouse in Eden Prairie, Minnesota in June 1984. PV

Nothing Compares 2 U Prince

Writer(s): Prince Recorded: 7/15/1984 and 7/18/1984 at the Flying Cloud Drive Warehouse in Eden Prairie, MN; 1984 at Monterey Sound Studios in Glendale, CA; 1/27/1992 at Paisley Park in Chanhassen, MN Released: 1984 version: 4/19/2018 as a single, Originals (2019); 1992 version: 10/4/1993 as the B-side of “Peach,” The Hits 1 (1993) (1993), Ultimate (2006), 4Ever (2016) Covered by: The Family for The Family (1985), Sinéad O’Connor for I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got (single charted 1/20/90, 1 US, 1 UK, 23 AR, 1 MR, sales: 1 million) About the Song: “What’s different? Vocals, production, arrangement. This ode to Prince’s housekeeper had many lives: as an obscurity by the Family, a No. 1 hit by Sinéad O’Connor, and here, the 1984 demo that started it all. Play all three chronologically, and you hear a clear progression: from Prince’s stripped-down ballad to the Family’s warbling, synthesized take to O’Connor’s emotive hit version. After O’Connor made ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ a hit, Prince made an about-face. He introduced it to his live sets for the first time – and performed it over 400 times until his death.” BB He recorded it on July 15, 1984 at the Flying Cloud Drive Warehouse in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. PV A live version with shared lead vocals with Rosie Gaines was released on The Hits 1 in 1993. The original 1984 version that appears on this album was released as a single in April 2018. PV Read more about the song here.

Dear Michaelangelo Prince

Writer(s): Prince, Sheila E. Recorded: January 4-6, 1985 at Master Sound Studios in Atlanta, GA; January 1985 at the Summit (Le Mobile Studio) in Houston, TX Released: Originals (2019) Covered by: Sheila E. for Romance 1600 (1985) About the Song: “What’s different? Vocals, production, arrangement. Recorded in between dates on the 1985 leg of the Purple Rain tour with Prince on all instruments, ‘Dear Michaelangelo’ is a highlight of Sheila E.’s Romance 1600. Prince’s original demo sounds drier and funkier; befitting a song about the gardens of Florence and the colors of dreams.” BB He recorded it in January 1985 at Master Sound in Atlanta Georgia while there for the Purple Rain tour. PV “E.’s version of ‘Dear Michelangelo’ is ethereal and mellow without dampening Prince’s hook.” BB

Holly Rock Prince

Writer(s): Prince, Sheila E. Recorded: April 24-25, 1985 at Sunset Sound in Hollywood, CA Released: Originals (2019), 6/7/2019 as a single Covered by: Sheila E. for the Krush Groove soundtrack (1985) About the Song: “What’s different? Vocals. It doesn’t get more 1985 than this.” BB “Holly Rock” is “a high-energy rap…plucked from an aborted song by the Family” BB (“Feline”) PV “to soundtrack the film Krush Groove, a loose dramatization of the story of Russell Simmons and Def Jam Recordings. Sheila E. was cast in the movie as a love interest for Simmons; in the original scene, the music is identical to Prince’s version, but the lovably dated pep is all her.” BB Prince recorded his version on April 24, 1985 at Sunset Sound in Hollywood, California “amid the highly productive sessions that yielded a lot of songs for Parade. PV

Love…Thy Will Be Done Prince

Writer(s): Prince, Martika Recorded: January 1991 at Paisley Park Studios in Chanhassen, MN Released: Originals (2019) Covered by: Martika for Martika’s Kitchen (single charted 7/25/91, 10 US, 10 CB, 10 RR, 40 AC, 9 UK, 7 CN, 11 AU) About the Song: “What’s different? Vocals. This spare, emotive ballad is a clear highlight of Originals. Besides Martika’s lead vocals, the two versions are about flush with each other.” BB Prince recorded it in January 1991 at Paisley Park Studios in Chanhassen, Minnesota. PV Her version was “a top 10 hit in France, Australia, the UK and the USA.” AZ

References: AZ Amazon review BB Billboard (6/25/2019). “Prince’s Originals Album: Comparing Each Demo With Its Well-Known Cover Version” by Morgan Enos BC Benoit Clerc (2022). Prince: All the Songs – The Story Behind Every Track. Octopus Publishing Group Ltd.: Great Britain PV PrinceVault.com: Originals Related DMDB Pages: First posted 6/28/2019; last updated 7/29/2025.

 

R.I.P. Dave Bartholomew/ His Top 50 songs

Fats Domino with Dave Bartholomew, image from New York Times

Dave Bartholomew Top 50 Songs

R.I.P. to Dave Bartholomew, who died June 23, 2019 at 100 years old. The R&B songwriter and producer was born 12/24/1918 in Edgard, LA. He was best known for his collaborations on the majority of Fats Domino’s hits. Between 1949 and 1963, he co-wrote over a hundred entries on the pop and R&B charts. NPR called him “one of the primary architects of the sound now known as rock and roll.” For a complete list of this act’s DMDB honors, check out the DMDB Music Maker Encyclopedia entry. Click here to see other acts’ best-of lists.

Awards:

Top 50 Songs Dave’s Music Database lists are determined by song’s appearances on best-of lists, appearances on compilations and live albums by the featured act, and songs’ chart success, sales, radio airplay, streaming, and awards. Songs which hit #1 on various charts are noted. (Click for codes to singles charts.) DMDB Top 1%: 1. Ain’t That a Shame (Fats Domino, 1955) #1 RB DMDB Top 5%: 2. One Night (Elvis Presley, 1958) #1 UK, CN 3. My Ding-a-Ling (Chuck Berry, 1972) #1 US, CB, HR, UK, CN 4. I’m Walkin’ (Fats Domino, 1957) #1 RB 5. I’m in Love Again (Fats Domino, 1956) #1 RB 6. Ain’t That a Shame (Pat Boone, 1955) #1 US, HR 7. Walking to New Orleans (Fats Domino, 1960) 8. Blue Monday (Fats Domino, 1956) #1 RB DMDB Top 10%: 9. I Hear You Knocking (Dave Edmunds, 1970) #1 UK 10. The Fat Man (Fats Domino, 1950) 11. Whole Lotta Lovin’ (Fats Domino, 1958) 12. Ain’t That a Shame (Cheap Trick, 1979) DMDB Top 20%: 13. The Big Beat (Fats Domino, 1957) 14. Valley of Tears (Fats Domino, 1957) 15. I’m Gonna Be a Wheel Someday (Fats Domino, 1959) 16. My Girl Josephine (Fats Domino, 1960) 17. Ain’t That a Shame (The Four Seasons, 1963) 18. It Keeps Rainin’ (Fats Domino, 1961) 19. Let the Four Winds Blow (Fats Domino, 1961) 20. It’s You I Love (Fats Domino, 1957) 21. Wait and See (Fats Domino, 1957) 22. Sick and Tired (Fats Domino, 1958) 23. Country Boy (Fats Domino, 1960) 24. So Long (Fats Domino, 1956) 25. Yes, My Darling (Fats Domino, 1958) 26. Natural Born Lover (Fats Domino, 1960) 27. When I See You (Fats Domino, 1957) 28. Poor Me (Fats Domino, 1955) #1 RB 29. I’m Walkin’ (Ricky Nelson, 1957) 30. What a Party (Fats Domino, 1961) 31. I Hear You Knocking (Gale Storm, 1955) 32. Bo Weevil (Fats Domino, 1956) 33. Honey Chile (Fats Domino, 1956) Beyond the DMDB Top 20%: 34. I Want You to Know (Fats Domino, 1957) 35. Tell Me That You Love Me (Fats Domino, 1960) 36. I Still Love You (Fats Domino, 1960) 37. Before I Grow Too Old (Fats Domino, 1960) 38. Bo Weevil (Teresa Brewer, 1956) 39. Let the Four Winds Blow (Roy Brown, 1957) 40. Goin’ to the River (Fats Domino, 1953) 41. Shu Rah (Fats Domino, 1961) 42. Little Mary (Fats Domino, 1958) 43. Don’t Blame It on Me (Fats Domino, 1956) 44. Young School Girl (Fats Domino, 1958) 45. No No (Fats Domino, 1958) 46. Witchcraft (Elvis Presley, 1963) 47. All by Myself (Fats Domino, 1955) #1 RB 48. I Hear You Knocking (Fats Domino, 1961) 49. Nothing New (Same Old Thing) (Fats Domino, 1962) 50. Every Night About This Time (Fats Domino, 1950) Resources and Related Links: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Dave Bartholomew DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Fats Domino Dave’s Music Database: “Acts’ Profile Pages and Best-of Lists” First posted 12/21/2019; last updated 6/5/2022.

Dave's Music Database Hall of Fame: Music Maker Inductees (June 2019)

Originally posted 6/22/2019; last updated 5/21/2021. January 22, 2019 marks the 10-year anniversary of the DMDB blog! To honor that, Dave’s Music Database announces its own Hall of Fame. This month marks the second batch of music maker inductees. The first batch were the top 10 acts of all time, according to Dave’s Music Database. These are the next ten. See the full list of music maker inductees here.

David Bowie (1947-2016) Inducted June 2019 as a “Top 20 All-Time Act.”

Glam-rock singer/songwriter born David Robert Jones 1/8/1947 in Brixton, London, England. Died 1/10/2016 in New York City. Became David Bowie 9/15/65 to avoid confusion with the Monkees’ Davy Jones. (v – Kon-Rads; Reds & Blues; King Bees: 11/63 to 8/64; Manish Boys: 8/64 to 4/65; Davy Jones: 65; Lower Third: 3/65 to 1/66; The Buzz: 2/66 to 12/66; solo: 66-; Tin Machine: 89-92). Produced Mott the Hoople (“All the Young Dudes”) and Lou Reed (Transformer) in 1972. Read more.

Henry Burr (1882-1941) Inducted June 2019 as a “Top 20 All-Time Act.”

Traditional pop tenor singer born Harry H. McClaskey on 1/15/1882 in St. Stephen, Brunswick, Canada. Died 4/6/1941. The #1 ballad singer of recorded music’s 1890-1930 pioneer era. He was performing publicly by the age of 5. He was discovered in 1901 by the Metropolitan Opera baritone Giuseppe Campanari and moved to New York in 1902. The tenor singer used multiple pseudonyms, including Henry Burr and Irving Gillette, to record for various labels. In addition to his work as a soloist (1903-28), he recorded with the Columbia Male Quartet (1904-07), Peerless Quartet (07-28), Columbia Stellar Quartet (15-?), and the Sterling Trio (16-22). He also recorded duets with Albert Campbell. He sang on an estimated 12,000 recordings, far more than any other vocalist in history. Read more.

Ray Charles (1930-2004) Inducted June 2019 as a “Top 20 All-Time Act.”

R&B singer born Ray Charles Robinson on 9/23/1930 in Albany, GA. Died 6/10/2004. Well known for integrating multiple genres into his music. To Greenville, FL while still an infant. Partially blind at age 5, completely blind at age 7 (glaucoma). Studied classical piano and clarinet at State School for Deaf and Blind Children, St. Augustine, FL, 1937-45. With local Florida bands; moved to Seattle in 1948. First recordings were in the King Cole Trio style. Formed own band in 1954. Singer/actor Jamie Foxx won the Academy Award for Best Actor portraying Charles in Ray! Read more.

Arthur Collins (1864-1933) Inducted June 2019 as a “Top 20 All-Time Act.”

Pioneering recording artist known as “The King of the Ragtime Singers.” He was born 2/7/1864 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Died 8/3/1933. This baritone singer specialized in African-American dialect songs performed on vaudeville and in minstrel shows. He worked as a soloist (1898-1920), with the Big Four Quartet (01), with Byron Harlan (01-18), and with the Peerless Quartet (09-18). Read more.

Bob Dylan (1941-) Inducted June 2019 as a “Top 20 All-Time Act.”

Folk-rock singer/songwriter, guitarist, and harmonica player born Robert Allen Zimmerman on 5/24/1941 in Duluth, Minnesota. Took stage name from poet Dylan Thomas. He went to New York City in 1960 and worked in folk clubs in Greenwich Village. He signed to Columbia Records in October 1961. Member of the supergroup The Traveling Wilburys (88-91). Gained a reputation as one of rock music’s greatest lyricists with his political and socially-conscious songs, even winning a Pulitzer Prize in 2008 for his lyrics. Read more.

Byron G. Harlan (1861-1936) Inducted June 2019 as a “Top 20 All-Time Act.”

Tenor singer born Byron George Harlan on 8/29/1861 in Kansas. Died 9/11/1936. Worked as a ragtime and minstrel singer and balladeer, recording as a solo artist (1899-1919), in a duo with Arthur Collins (01-18), and with the Big Four Quartet (01) and Columbia Comedy Trio (07). He was friends and neighbors with Thomas Edison. Read more.

Guy Lombardo (1902-1977) Inducted June 2019 as a “Top 20 All-Time Act.”

Jazz/big band leader and violinist Gaetano Alberto “Guy” Lombardo was born on 6/19/1902 in London, Ontario, Canada. He died 11/5/1977. He and his brothers formed the Royal Canadians in 1924, billing themselves as “the sweetest music this side of heaven.” Led the only dance band ever to sell more than 100 million records. Lombardo was called “Mr. New Year’s Eve” because of nearly a half-century of his band’s radio and television broadcasts to ring in the new year. Read more.

Prince (1958-2016) Inducted June 2019 as a “Top 20 All-Time Act.”

Singer, composer, multi-instrumentalist, and producer born Prince Roger Nelson on 6/7/1958 in Minneapolis, MN. Died 4/21/2016. Self-taught musician. Named for the Prince Roger Trio, led by his father. Own group, Grand Central, in junior high school. Self-produced first album in 1978. Founded own label, Paisley Park, in 1985. Starred in several movies including 1984’s Purple Rain. Formed back-up group The Revolution in 1984 and New Power Generation in 1990. Read more.

Bruce Springsteen (1949-) Inducted June 2019 as a “Top 20 All-Time Act.”

Rock singer/songwriter and guitarist born Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen on 9/23/1949 in Freehold, NJ. Known as “The Boss.” Worked local clubs in New Jersey and Greenwich Village in the mid-60’s. Has recorded and toured solo and with the E Street Band off and on from 1972 forward. Read more.

Stevie Wonder (1950-) Inducted June 2019 as a “Top 20 All-Time Act.”

R&B singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer born Stevland Hardaway Morris né Judkins on 5/13/1950 in Saginaw, Michigan. He was a child prodigy who was blind since shortly after his birth. He signed with Motown at age 11; initially doing backup work. He started recording in 1962 as “Little Stevie Wonder” and became the youngest artist (age 13) to top the Billboard Hot 100 with “Fingertips.” When he turned 21, he reworked his Motown contract for more artistic freedom. He has won 25 Grammys, the most ever by a solo artist. Read more.

Resources and Related Links: See individual song pages for keys to the footnotes. Dave’s Music Database Hall of Fame Dave’s Music Database Hall of Fame: Albums Dave’s Music Database Hall of Fame: Songs The Five-Year Anniversary of Dave’s Music Database Blog

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Today in Music (1969): Captain Beefheart released Trout Mask Replica

Trout Mask Replica Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band

Released: June 16, 1969 Peak: -- US, 21 UK, -- CN, -- AU Sales (in millions): -- Genre: experimental rock

Tracks: Song Title Click for codes to charts. Frownland [1:41] The Dust Blows Forward ‘N the Dust Blows Back [1:53] Dachau Blues [2:21] Ella Guru [2:26] Hair Pie: Bake 1 (instrumental) [4:58] Moonlight in Vermont [3:59] Pachuco Cadaver [4:40] Bills Corpse [1:48] Sweet Sweet Bulbs [2:21] Neon Meate Dream of a Octafish [2:25] China Pig [4:02] My Human Gets Me Blues [2:46] Dali’s Car (instrumental) [1:26] Hair Pie: Bake 2 (instrumental) [2:23] Pena [2:33] Well [2:07] When Big Joan Sets Up [5:18] Fallin’ Ditch [2:08] Sugar ‘N Spikes [2:30] Ant Man Bee [3:57] Orange Claw Hammer [3:34] Wild Life [3:09] She’s Too Much for My Mirror [1:40] Hobo Chang Ba [2:02] The Blimp (Mousetrapreplica) [2:04] Steal Softly Thru Snow [2:18] Old Fart at Play [1:51] Veteran’s Day Poppy [4:31] All tracks written by Don Van Vliet and arranged by John French. Total Running Time: 78:51 The Main Players: Don Van Vliet (aka “Captain Beefheart”) (vocals, multiple instruments) Jeff Cotton (aka “Antennae Jimmy Semens”) (guitar, vocals) Bill Harkleroad (aka “Zoot Horn Rollo”) (guitar, flute on “Hobo Chang Ba”) Mark Boston (aka “Rockette Morton”) (bass, narration on “Dachau Blues and “Fallin’ Ditch”) Victor Hayden (aka “The Mascara Snake”) (bass clarinet, backing vocals on “Ella Guru,” speaking voice on “Pena”) John French (aka “Drumbo”) (drums, percussion)

Rating: 3.820 out of 5.00 (average of 24 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

Art That Hurts Your Head In his 1983 song “Keep Under Cover,” Paul McCartney asked, “What good is art if it hurts your head?” As one of music’s greatest masters of music that dared to push boundaries while simultaneously remaining commercial and accessible, was abundantly qualified to pose the question. And while he wasn’t referring to Captain Beefheart’s Trout Mask Replica specifically, the line is the perfect starting point for analyzing this “extended adventure in surrealism” TM which author Chris Smith called “one of the most disputed works of art in the American musical canon.” CS This “notorious, avant-garde double LP masterwork” PM “sounds like somebody throwing around nails and falling over drums and breaking guitar strings and scratching blackboards - against the sound of random nonsense ranting vocals on a first listen. Even on a fourth of fifth listen.” AD It “seemed to be a stab at the complete deconstruction of music itself.” CS As “one of the most idiosyncratic albums ever released,” TB Trout Mask Replica demands that the listener confront the very definition of art. What role does it have in reaching an audience while also challenging and subverting expectations? Is it art if it alienates more people than it attracts? Is it art if it doesn’t particularly challenge its consumers but simply gives them something palatable and easy to digest? Trout Mask Replica “didn’t make Beefheart a star, but it did establish him as one of rock’s great eccentrics.” TM It is “a fascinating, stunningly imaginative work that still sounds like little else in the rock & roll canon.” AM The “slightly unhinged poetry against rampaging guitar-as-spearchucker backdrops can challenge even the most open-minded listener.” TM The album served as “a territorial marker, indicating the point where conventional notions of rock music end and enchanted Day-Glo electric preposterousness, piled high and served with extra sauce, begin.” TM “Beefheart was absolutely the first of those shattered fractured ‘geniuses’ (save perhaps Syd Barrett) to be appreciated at all…but in certain ways his unabashed deitydom made possible a kind of elite reverse-prejudice…that is, that anything discordant was more desirable than anything even remote tuneful (like the Beatles, for instance).” JSH Don Van Vliet and Frank Zappa Don Van Vliet (Beefheart) was “a free-spirited experimentalist even by the standards of late-1960s rock music.” CS He was just thirteen years old when he won a scholarship to study art in Europe. His parents, however, had “a dim view of the art world, and rather than allowing him to take the scholarship, they moved to Lancaster, California in the sunshine state’s desolate backcountry.” CS There Van Vliet met Frank Zappa, the “man who would become rock’s ultimate freak-out king.” CS As adolescents, they spent their time listening to music but they drifted apart after high school. After a failed effort to become a sculptor, Van Vliet delved into music. The early works from his Magic Band included a handful of blues-based singles followed by the 1967 “comparatively straightforward, blues-based” TB album Safe As Milk and 1968’s “more challenging Strictly Personal.” TB Dismal sales and Van Vliet’s dictatorial style led to a revolving door of members (which included future legendary guitarist Ry Cooder). By chance Van Vliet ran into Zappa at a KFC. Zappa invited Van Vliet to record at his studio CS and signed him to his label, Straight Records. The Making of the Album Beefheart would later dismiss Zappa’s influence on the album, suggesting Zappa just sat in a chair and fell asleep and that he marketed Beefheart as a freak. AD Nonetheless, if it weren’t for Zappa’s “classic inmates-running-the-asylum move [that] gave Beefheart full creative control” TM the album likely would have never happened. “The collaboration would yield one of the most bizarre albums of the decade.” CS Van Vliet reportedly wrote the 28 songs that became Trout Mask Replica in just nine hours. TB He normally wrote on piano, but since he wasn’t really a piano player he could only play short phrases. These “were then translated to the rest of the band onto guitar, drums, etc. Which explains partly the fractured, seemingly cut-up then stitched back together again nature of the music.” AD He spent “the best part of a year perfecting the arrangements of these songs in a rented house in Woodland Hills, California, with what is generally considered to be the seminal line-up of his Magic Band.” TB They were an assemblance of “nonmusicians, friends from the artistic community” CS although “the truth is that Van Vliet was the most amateur musician of the bunch.” CS Reportedly Van Vliet was so controlling that only one band member was allowed to leave the house at a time to go get supplies. AD Band member John French said, “I remember once going for a month and all we had to eat every day was one four ounce cup of soya beans.” AD When they finally recorded the album, they did the whole thing in one four-and-a-half-hour session. TB Musical Soup Beefheart “took avant-garde rock to the extreme” RV revealing “his unique blend of Delta ‘n' Dada in all its quirky sophistication” WR by “combining delta blues, beat poetry, funk jazz and garage rock.” RV “On first listen, Trout Mask Replica sounds like a wild, incomprehensible rampage through the blues.” 500 The Magic Band “parades all sorts of non sequiturs in sound – screeching jazz-gone-awry dissonance followed by Delta blues howls followed by thunkety-thunk cartoon rhythms followed by radio-drama gibberish.” TM “The rustic and trippy imagery and the coarse-cut, earthy performances drew as much on free jazz techniques and beat poetry as well as the blues.” WR Beefheart “growls, rants and recites poetry” 500 along with “atonal, sometimes singsong melodies” AM accompanied by “jagged, intricately constructed dual-guitar parts [and] stuttering, complicated rhythmic interaction.” AM “Instruments rush by in seemingly arbitrary flurries, only to cohere into brief moments of harmonizing clarity, before disintegrating into carefully orchestrated cacophonies once again.” PM It’s “all delivered by characters who sound like they long ago stopped questioning life down this Alice on Wonderland rabbit hole.” TM “All of these elements float out seemingly at random, often without completely interlocking.” AM The result is “some of the most eccentric music of the late 1960s – or, for that matter, ever.” AZ Planned Chaos However, “every note was precisely planned in advance – to construct the songs, the Magic Band rehearsed 12 hours a day for months on end.” 500 When Zappa finally recorded their efforts, he got most of the album down in under five hours. 500 Some of the “disjointedness is perhaps partly unintentional – reportedly, Beefheart’s refusal to wear headphones while recording his vocals caused him to sing in time with studio reverberations, not the actual backing tracks.” AM Nonetheless, “by all accounts, the music and arrangements were carefully scripted and notated by the Captain, which makes the results even more remarkable.” AM For Adventurers Only This is an album “only for the adventurous music listener.” RV It “fully explains the expression ‘far out.’” AZ The album “is so impossible to ever fully grasp that its inscrutability has emerged, over time, as the main reason for why it remains such a marvel decades later. Like that old adage about trying to teach a fish to bike, trying to describe the appeal of Trout Mask Replica is like trying to deliver repair instructions after the fall of the Tower of Babel.” PM “Perhaps, like a deep sea expedition, we may never completely chart Trout Mask Replica’s eccentric depths, but that’s the joy in diving back into its choppy waters time and time again.” PM Inspiration to Other Musicians Trout Mask Replica’s “inspiring reimagining of what was possible in a rock context laid the groundwork for countless future experiments in rock surrealism, especially during the punk/new wave era.” AM It has also “inspired modern primitives from Tom Waits to PJ Harvey.” 500 Author Tom Moon echoes the sentiment that Beefheart has “influenced generations of artists,” TM specifically noting how Waits and Beck “snatched Beefheart’s strategies for nonlinear storytelling, while countless punk and post-punk acts borrowed the abrasive, needling attack of the Magic Band.” TM The Songs Here are thoughts on the album’s individual songs. “Frownland” Frownland features “the sound of a drummer seemingly falling over his drum kit whilst he attempts to play it. You've got two guitars – neither of which sound like they are played by a musician, rather some chubby fingered oaf who only just that minute had picked up the instrument for the first time in his entire life. On top of all of this, we have Beefheart himself, seemingly ignoring completely the music behind him – but still managing to fit on top of it, all the same.” AD “Moonlight on Vermont” His “mind-bending lyrics” AZ “are absurdist gems and the music, especially in” RV “the relatively straightforward onslaught of Moonlight on Vermont,” PM “revels in chaos.” RV The song “is aggressive and scary…the lyrics contain layers and layers and layers of meaning to seemingly be unraveled.” AD “The guitars are biting and aggressive and full of great melodic phrases, the vocals here are just astonishing – and the way the song progresses with so many different sections and short phrases and parts, yet still sounds totally together after repeated listening.” AD “Its spirit can be felt in the punk community, as bands like The Clash include the Captain among their influences.” RV “Ella Guru” This song “showcases the Trout Mask Replica dual guitar sound very well, layers and layers and layers of short melodic phrases played amidst challenging and different time signatures. Does it really sound like each musician is playing a different song? Well, sometimes it does, sometimes it sounds as if everybody is playing in a different studio oblivious to the other musicians and parts. But everything eventually falls together, and during certain phrases or sections, the band are playing together and sounding just so fucking glorious that it beggars belief.” AD “The Dust Blows Forward N’ the Dust Blows Back” This spoken-word track was likely influenced by Zappa, who was known for taping everything. “The crude lo-fi, cut-up nature of ‘The Dust Blows Forwards’ is clearly deliberate, and the words Captain Beefheart sings/speaks out, totally surreal – but the intention of the piece becomes clear with lines such as ‘the wind blowing up, me’ – it's humor, total surreal humor.” AD “Dachau Blues” This “is a total highlight - the sound is very dark and confusing, the way the music moves off in ten directions at once.” AD The “unflinchingly horrifying proto-Tom Waits track” PM “is just scary as…anything. Loud, fractured – then moving off into nearly sensible flowing phrases of graspable melody. Then, a farting trumpet sound arrives. Oh, but of course. And, the good Captain just seemingly ignores everything and does what the hell he damn well pleases over the backing track.” AD “My Human Gets Me Blues” “If at first the irregular rhythms of tunes like ‘Dauchau Blues’ and My Human Gets Me Blues seem intentionally off-putting, give them a second chance. As your ears become accustomed to Magic Band logic, you’ll discover astounding instrumental juxtapositions and delightful melodic ripples beneath the often-impenetrable surface.” TM “Sugar N Spikes” “It’s tough going at times, the relentless assault can dull your ears, but keep listening and something like the very catchy and almost pop melody of ‘Sugar N Spikes’ will pop up. Well, a pop melody broken into a dozen pieces then thrown seemingly randomly back together again, but it sounds like the only way anybody should ever make music once you get used to it.” AD Other Songs “The blues-by-way-of-free-jazz Hair Pie instrumental jam sessions” PM are “a daunting experiment in cacophony.” RV Songs like those and Pachuco Cadaver and Neon Meat Dream of an Octafish “actually sound as unusual as their titles.” AZ “The faux ‘live’ Mirror Man is a pretty impressive rhythmic exercise on the same level as Ornette [Coleman]’s Dancing in Your Head.” JSH “Technically proficient pisstakes like Pena and When Big Joan Sets Up hold just as much muster in the sprawling tracklist.” PM

Resources and Related Links: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Captain Beefheart AM AllMusic.com review by Steve Huey AZ Amazon.com review by Billy Altman JSH Blastitude (2003). “A Loaded Proposition: Joe S. Harrington Picks the All-Time Top 100 Or…Who Pulled the Trigger?” by Joe S. Harrington KC Kevin Courrier (2007). 33 1/3: Trout Mask Replica. Bloomsbury Academic: New York, NY. AD Adrian Denning (3/30/2007). “Adrian’s Top 100 Albums, So Far” TM Tom Moon (2008). 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die. Workman Publishing Company, Inc.: New York, NY. Page 142. PM PasteMagazine.com (6/3/2024). “The 300 Greatest Albums of All Time” RV The Review (Oct./Nov. 2001). “The 100 Greatest Albums of All Time” by Clarke Speicher 500 Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums of All Time CS Chris Smith (2009). 101 Albums That Changed Popular Music. Oxford University Press. Pages 73-6. TB Thunder Bay (2005). Albums: The Stories Behind 50 Years of Great Recordings. Thunder Bay Press; San Diego, CA. Page 111. WR The Wire (June 1992). “The 100 Most Important Records Ever Made” First posted 6/16/2013; last updated 10/18/2024.