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The song itself is extraordinary. Stark, sexy, and searingly introspective. There had literally never been a song that sounded like this on the radio before — because Prince had pushed his drum machines, voice, keyboard skills and guitar well past any of their designed limits in order to produce the song. When I asked him (on this night, 8 years ago) to tell us a story about its recording, he demurred instead with a joke. "YES. WELL, IT WAS A STARRY NIGHT..."

It's not surprising that Prince might have been reticent to talk about the process of creating such an unusually personal song, which goes deep (in its chorus, no less!) into his relationship with his parents and his own insecurities. But as Duane Tudahl notes in his extraordinary book about Prince's studio sessions of the era, Prince was also coming off having been blanked at the Grammys the night before (it would be Michael Jackson's record-breaking night for Thriller). https://amzn.to/49wR8cI

But Prince took that energy and channeled into something that had never been heard before on the radio. Its nearly skeletal structure was due to a now-legendary choice to _remove_ the bass from the final mix. In Prince's own words, as I found in the lost liner notes he penned for his Greatest Hits collection, he credits Jill Jones with inspiring him to turn the song into something "bassless and stark". https://www.anildash.com/2016/05/28/princes_own_liner_notes_on_his_greatest_hits

"When Doves Cry" had a sonic landscape that would change the sound of radio — hit songs today still mimic the sound of its production. And then there's the lyrics, seen here in Prince's own hand (the opening line in purple pen, no less!) which clearly kept their meaning to him as the song remained a staple of his live shows for decades. Though it's perhaps meaningful that, to my knowledge, he never performed the song in its entirety again after the passing of his parents.

And over the years, even as other songs like "Purple Rain" have become more synonymous with Prince's legacy, the impact of "When Doves Cry" is undeniable. Take it from no less an authority on pop music than Madonna, who credits the song with helping her escape from some of the hardest parts of her struggling, pre-fame life.

@anildash surely. I've always thought “Like a Prayer" was an homage to that song

@sayrer @anildash he’s on that track too :)

@anildash shut the front door! link me

@sayrer @anildash this remix is almost entirely made of parts from Prince, including samples from his then-unreleased Black Album, and a couple more guitar and keyboard solos he records for the song. https://youtu.be/kJ0IAT-XK0k?si=2aZi3hldwJG0rbAE

@anildash you can just see the look "whatever, this is easy”

@jaitalking @anildash I love it. Wish it had gotten more play (other than the nod in her “Hung Up”), or that she had played it in tributes to him.

@sayrer @anildash no, he performed on it but didn’t write it.

@anildash mmh, it all sounds like him. maybe he said “play this” uncredited

@anildash you can hear it because he can play low electric guitar against a gospel choir