Prince Birth Anniversary: 5 Essential Songs From the Icon You Should Definitely Listen To Now (Watch Videos)

Prince is known as one of the greatest singers of his generation. He is an American singer and songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer, with an estimated range of 500 to 1000 songs written by the late singer himself. During his career, Prince went by many other names like The Artist, The Artist Formerly Known as Prince or TAFKAP, The Kid, Alexander Nevermind, His Royal Badness, Tora Tora, Jamie Starr, Christopher Tracy, Camille, Joey Coco, and even an unpronounceable symbol which was known to his fans as the Love Symbol, his full name was also Prince Rogers Nelson. Prince Birth Anniversary: 7 Inspirational Quotes by the Musician That Will Change Your Lookout Towards Life.

Prince was always known for being talented but he was also well known for his androgynous persona and his far reaching falsettos showcasing his amazing vocals. He also took many risks in his career, ones that not many artists would take, which is not surprising considering he had a flair for danger and mystery. Prince Estate Shares a Powerful Message About Intolerance and Racism on Singer's 62nd Birth Anniversary.

So in honour of the icon's birth anniversary, let's take a look at 5 of his songs that portray just how dangerously good he was.

When You Were Mine (1980)

This song written by Prince was the second track on his album, Dirty Mind. Some people say it's the greatest song written about a bisexual love triangle. It's a great and exciting New Wave funk masterpiece that was covered later by Cyndi Lauper on her studio album She's So Unusual.  There were many artists who delivered multiple versions of the song but none were able to really capture the spirit Prince portrayed in this song.

1999 (1982)

Prince recorded his album 1999 which was lead by this single. According to sources, during his time of recording this album, he would go days without sleeping, eating or any kind of rest. This song was released in 1982 during the time when Cold War tensions were flailing high and the world seemed to be on the verge of a Nuclear War. Prince released into a darkened void, a song so bold, that it laughed in the face of Armageddon.

Let's Go Crazy (1984)

After "When Doves Cry" dominated pop radio, "Let's Go Crazy" with its funk rock in full swing and its subtle references to Jimi Hendrix, was made with the help of the Revolution, the rock band that was formed by Prince in 1979. After the great success of the feature film Purple Rain that got everyone talking about Prince selling out to the AOR crowd, he told MTV in an interview that he always said he would play all kinds of music and that hopefully he would be judged for the quality of his work and not the colour of his skin.

Purple Rain (1984)

In an interview back in 2013, Stevie Nicks said that Prince had given her a demo of "Purple Rain" and asked her to contribute but she refused saying that she wouldn't know where to start and that it was simply epic. "Purple Rain" is the title track of Prince's signature album that is adorned with a gospel chorus and a guitar solo that will make your heart soar. It's a mix of all the influences that had an impact on Prince on his musical journey and rise to fame.

Sign O' The Times (1987)

"Sign O' The Times" was probably considered the most odd one of Prince's lead singles. He was at the height of his success and although his audience knew he could be very unpredictable in a brilliant way, Sign O' the Times was unlike anything he had ever done before. The track was fairly minimalistic with him crooning out lyrics that sounded like he had a serious case of the blues. Susan Rogers who was the engineer who worked on the track, told Billboard that Prince was aware that things were changing and that the audience was changing, he was coming down from the heights of his success and that is why it may have been dark and suited the general aspect of the way he was feeling. Regardless, "Sign O' The Times" placed at Number Three on the Billboard Hot 100 and did exceptionally well, proving that his audience would follow him to even the ends of the earth.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 07, 2022 12:50 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).