Prince – Self-titled, still playing every part

Self-titled, still playing every part

On 19 October 1979 Warner Bros. released Prince, the self-titled second album by the Minneapolis musician then still billed simply as Prince. After the costly polish of For You (1978), which he had also written and produced alone, Warner wanted a faster, more radio-ready follow-up. Sessions ran April to June 1979 at Alpha Studios in Burbank; remixes landed at Hollywood Sound Recorders, with mastering at A&M. Prince played nearly every instrument. The front sleeve, shirtless against light blue, name in pink script, became the first widely recognised Prince portrait.

Lead single I Wanna Be Your Lover opens on falsetto hooks and a dry disco-funk rhythm. It topped Billboard’s Hot Soul Singles chart and reached number 11 on the Hot 100, his first real national pop hit, selling over a million copies. Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad? brings a harder guitar edge; Sexy Dancer stays aimed at clubs; Bambi flips into rock; Still Waiting and When We’re Dancing Close and Slow slow the pulse; I Feel for You later became a Chaka Khan smash. The nine-track, forty-minute runtime stays compact.

Promotion included American Bandstand in January 1980, where he performed I Wanna Be Your Lover and Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad? and answered Dick Clark with a deadpan age claim. Chart-wise the album went platinum and sat higher than For You both critically and commercially. Dance and R&B radio locked onto the singles while rock programmers started noticing the guitar solos on Bambi and Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?.