Dive into the musical genius of Prince as we uncover the surprising songs he wrote for other artists! From pop icons to R&B legends, discover the hidden musical magic behind tracks you thought you knew.
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00:00It's been seven hours and thirteen days
00:07Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the hit songs you never knew Prince had a hand in crafting.
00:13And my lesson, y'all, said if you wanna have fun, go for it
00:31It's wild to think that the only reason that funk rockers of the time exist is because of a clause in Prince's Warner Brothers contract.
00:39Assembled with the intention of developing and mentoring up-and-coming talent, the Time quickly became Prince's best-known and most successful proteges.
00:46As such, the Purple One was deeply involved with the band's creative process, and his distinctive fingerprints are all over this groovy 1984 jam.
01:01Prince didn't only produce and co-write Jungle Love, but he also played synthesizer and percussion, as well as singing backing vocals.
01:09The first song by the Time to make an impression on the Billboard Hot 100, Jungle Love is more proof that Prince could do it all.
01:31In his two short 57 years on this earthly plane, the man-born Prince Rogers Nelson wrote literally thousands of songs.
01:40Many of them were recorded by him first before being passed off to others, and for others, the inverse was true.
01:46This is one of the latter cases.
01:49Prince's 1999 album The Vault, Old Friends for Sale, was faithful to its name in the sense that it contained songs that had been written as long as 15 years prior to its release.
01:59Some eight years before The Vault, iconic British bluesman Joe Cocker recorded a version of its dusky, sultry, deep-cut Five Women for his 1991 album Night Calls.
02:19Like we mentioned earlier, Prince has an extensive back catalogue that runs real deep.
02:25Case in point, Jerk Out, which became the Time's biggest hit on the Billboard Hot 100, was originally recorded by Prince himself in 1981.
02:49Intended for the Time's 1982 album What Time Is It?, the song changed hands several times over the course of the decade before ultimately being reworked and re-recorded by the Time for their 1990 album Pandemonium.
03:03If you heard this song on the radio, you couldn't be blamed for thinking that it was by Prince himself, given its irresistible groove, playful rapping, and red-hot guitar theatrics.
03:1917. You're My Love, Kenny Rogers
03:30Written by Prince under the hilarious, inexplicable pseudonym Joey Coco, You're My Love demonstrates his musical versatility.
03:37A far cry from the electric funk-pop fusion of the time, this mushy, gushy devotional finds Prince showing off his little scene-sensitive side.
03:48Although Prince doesn't actually play any instruments on the Rogers recording, the song does feature a notable non-Prince guest appearance.
04:00That would be Elle DeBarge, lead singer of the family outfit DeBarge, who contributes backing vocals.
04:06A 2021 interview with DeBarge revealed that Rogers, a self-proclaimed huge Prince fan, had asked him for a song, and was gifted with You're My Love as a result.
04:2816. Love Thy Will Be Done, Martika
04:37Yet another Billboard Hot 100 Top 10 victory for Prince, this 1991 yearning soft rock ballad finds him shifting into an atypically subdued gear.
04:46Love Thy Will Be Done is further proof that Prince could straddle disparate genres with relative ease.
04:56One of four songs that Prince wrote and produced for the Martika's Kitchen album, his contributions led to Martika significantly switching up her sound.
05:04Love Thy Will Be Done is a soul-bearing, slow-burning crescendo with gospel influences that shows off Prince's gift for open-hearted expressions of love and affection.
05:20This was worlds away from his raunchier, more popular solo work. Didn't we say he could do it all?
05:2615. Nasty Girl, Vanity 6
05:30Short-lived girl group Vanity 6 first came into existence as part of a Prince experiment that resembled the formation of the time.
05:39Comprising Canadian model-slash-actress Denise Vanity Matthews, Brenda Bennett, and Susan Moonsey, Vanity 6 fulfilled the musician's vision of creating a hyper-sexualized band of women who sang about topics familiar to Prince fans, but from a female perspective.
05:53Maybe Prince, who plays every instrument on the song, should have been careful as to what he wished for.
06:06Although Nasty Girl has developed a cult following over the years, it was initially shunned by American radio stations for its lyrics that, well, let's just say, didn't leave much to the imagination.
06:1614. Love Song, Madonna
06:29Wait, what? Two of the biggest hitmakers of 80s pop music collaborated for a duet and somehow we're not always talking about this?
06:36A deep cut off of Madonna's hugely influential, critically acclaimed 1989 Like a Prayer album, Love Song predictably subverts its seemingly simplistic title.
06:45Madonna openly declares that Love Song is anything but that, a plea to a wishy-washy lover to either commit or let her go.
06:52The track came about after Prince and Madonna met at the 1985 American Music Awards and came up with several concepts for songs that were abandoned and never materialized.
07:01Eventually, Love Song was formulated by the two superstars over the phone and through tapes sent across the U.S.
07:08Now perhaps best known for being Gwen Stefani's vehicle to solo fame, it should be noted that the two were married for the next six years.
07:16I am gone, this is my last song
07:23Number 13, Waiting Room, No Doubt
07:26A sign in my name, I guess I'll have to wait a while
07:32Now perhaps best known for being Gwen Stefani's vehicle to solo fame,
07:35it should be noted that No Doubt had an enviable selection of 90s hits.
07:39Having typically been grounded in reggae, ska and dancehall sounds for their first four albums,
07:442001's Rocksteady found the band engaging in a wide range of new collaborators.
07:49These included The Neptunes, aka Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo,
07:53The Cars' Ric Ocasek, and of course, Prince.
07:56If we both want the love, then I'll wait long enough
07:59In the ground that we're on might be coming
08:01Do-do-do-do-do-do
08:03Originally written for the band's previous album, 2000's Return of Saturn,
08:07Waiting Room combines the two acts' sensibilities in a satisfying, highly danceable fashion.
08:13I'm all alone in the waiting room
08:17I'm longer than I'm waiting
08:19Number 12, Stand Back, Stevie Nicks
08:22No one looked, I walked by
08:26Just one invitation would have been just fine
08:30This pulsing, prototypically 80s electropop jam doesn't officially bear the mark of the Purple One.
08:35A top five hit for Nicks on the Billboard Hot 100,
08:38the 1983 song finds its roots in Prince's Little Red Corvette.
08:42Little Red Corvette
08:46Baby, you're much too fast
08:49Nicks, listening to the song in her car, was inspired by its synth-rich sound,
08:53and decided to call Prince to let him know of her source of inspiration.
08:57One man did not call
09:00He asked me for my love and I said no
09:05Maybe he was touched, maybe he was just feeling creative, but either way,
09:08Prince ended up, quote, programming it for them,
09:10and pretty much playing most of the song there in about 20 or 30 minutes.
09:14Now that's what we call creative generosity.
09:17Stand back, stand back
09:20Good luck, good luck, I will do my good luck here for you
09:25Number 11, Round and Round, Tevin Campbell
09:28Can you tell me where we're going to?
09:33Released in 1990, R&B teen idol Tevin Campbell was just 13 years old
09:37at the time of the song's release in September.
09:39Recorded the previous December, Prince wrote and produced this funky bop,
09:43which alludes to the new Jack Swing sound that was just about to take over the airwaves.
09:48We can talk all we want to, but the world still goes around and round
09:54Round and Round implores listeners to not let their dreams be dreams,
09:58making its case over a busy, bouncy instrumental.
10:01One day I'll make it in the big city
10:06And I'll be looking for a girl who's pretty
10:09Prince himself can be heard doing the song's backing vocals,
10:12which kind of leads you to wonder, how much further could Campbell hope to go
10:16if on his debut single, he's already collaborated with one of the best to ever do it?
10:21Round and Round and Round
10:25And when you're looking for a city bump
10:29Number 10, When You Were Mine, Cyndi Lauper
10:32When you were mine
10:35I gave you all of my money
10:38Written and recorded by Prince for his 1980 release, Dirty Mind,
10:43this love song takes on an entirely new meaning when sung by a woman.
10:46Oh I know, I know
10:48That your girl will never know
10:53I said I care, I care
10:55Because I love you baby, I love you
10:59So, leave it to Cyndi Lauper to cover When You Were Mine for her provocative 1983 debut,
11:04keeping the original set of lyrics and placing the song between two of her more popular hits.
11:09It's a unique type of love triangle ballad, especially for the pop culture landscape of the early 80s,
11:14and the song ultimately became Cyndi Lauper's seventh and final single off She's So Unusual.
11:19I love you more, I love you more, I love you more, I love you more
11:25Number 9, Sugar Walls, Sheena Easton
11:28Where I come from there's a place called heaven
11:34This time around, Prince opted to use a pen name, adopting the moniker Alexander Nevermind for this top ten hit by Sheena Easton.
11:41As you might have guessed given the author, the walls don't represent those of a traditional home,
11:46but rather something more personal.
11:48And when Sheena Easton notes that blood races to your private spots and offers an invitation within the titular walls,
11:54well, the message becomes that much clearer.
11:56Blood races to your private spots
12:01The song becomes even more interesting when you imagine Prince with a pen in hand,
12:06perhaps anticipating a more PC world, but unwilling to tame down his lyrical content.
12:11Heaven on earth inside my sugar wall
12:16Number 8, How Come You Don't Call Me Anymore, Alicia Keys
12:20I keep your picture beside my bed
12:27Originally released as a b-side on Prince's 1999 single,
12:31this song was picked up by future superstar Alicia Keys for her acclaimed debut album Songs in A Minor.
12:36How come you don't call me anymore
12:45Serving as the third single, How Come You Don't Call Me Anymore conveyed more of a retro feel for Alicia Keys,
12:50fitting as the original came out when she was less than a year old.
12:54With a rich set of lyrics communicating feelings of isolation and confusion,
12:58the musical aesthetic has both a playful and bluesy tone, making the song ideal for live shows.
13:03Number 7, Yo Mister, Patti LaBelle
13:07Kara got hooked up with the wrong kids
13:11Then she started skipping school
13:14Today, a song with a title like this might not exactly work for an R&B artist well into their 40s,
13:19and that's what makes this collaboration so unique.
13:22Yo mister, how's your daughter?
13:26You really ought to know
13:30With a raw message for unassuming fathers, Yo Mister chronicles the plight of young Kara,
13:35as Patti LaBelle so forcefully brings Prince's words to life.
13:38That's what she said
13:41Maybe, maybe, maybe she wouldn't talk so stupid
13:45It's not your typical R&B song of the time, but even so, it still managed to do some damage on the charts.
13:51The street smart lyrics are hard to ignore, especially when paired with the vocals of Patti LaBelle.
13:56How's your daughter tonight?
13:57Yo mister, how's your daughter?
14:01How's your daughter tonight?
14:04With This Tear, Céline Dion
14:14By writing With This Tear specifically for Céline Dion,
14:17Prince demonstrated not only his lyrical proficiency, but also his ability to match his content with the right artist.
14:23It's a gentle, romantic production, and through the formal set of lyrics and accessible structure,
14:28With This Tear evolved into a classic musical document of lost love,
14:32made even better through the intonations of young Céline.
14:43From conceptualization to final product, Prince and Miss Dion nailed it.
14:47And again and again you promised me
14:51That you would never leave
15:05Years after first meeting Prince at a concert,
15:08Sheila E. provided backup vocals for his 1984 album Purple Rain.
15:12Soon after, her debut album was in production,
15:15and the artist penned the ideal pop song to close out the record.
15:25With The Glamorous Life, Prince utilized a formulaic narrative of material excess,
15:30yet he added just the right amount of timely descriptions for Sheila E. to build upon.
15:34She won't believe
15:36The glamorous life without love
15:39It ain't much
15:41As a result, Prince and his protege formed a close bond
15:44as the song paved the way for Grammy nominations and another successful collab
15:48with 1985's A Love Bizarre.
15:51She won't believe
15:53The glamorous life she don't need
15:56A man is just
16:04Chaka Khan
16:09Alright, so one may not equate Prince with late 70s disco,
16:12but he did in fact release a disco-like song on his 1979 sophomore album.
16:24Incidentally, R&B songstress Chaka Khan released an updated version five years later,
16:29complete with an opening verse by hip-hop icon Melly Mel.
16:32Lyrically, I Feel For You is relatively simple,
16:35but when combined with the superstar charisma of a Prince or Chaka Khan,
16:39it takes on a more powerful effect.
16:48The Purple One even took home a Grammy for Best R&B Song,
16:52proving that music is sometimes about the overall experience
16:55rather than a transcendent set of lyrics.
17:03I think I love you
17:16Written by Prince for the time's unreleased Corporate World album
17:19and ultimately released on their 1990 effort Pandemonium,
17:23Donald Trump Black Version helped explore the idea of an Afro-American retelling of Wall Street.
17:33Oozing with all the sexuality you'd expect from Prince such as on tracks like Jerk Out,
17:38the song touches on notions of wealth and power,
17:41and is far more soft-core Cinemax sensual than anything involving Donald Trump should be.
17:52It's hard to imagine how the Donald felt about this R&B shout-out,
17:56but either way, his reaction was bound to be huge.
18:02I Feel For You
18:10In what has to be one of the most bizarre scenarios of mid-80s pop culture,
18:14this track was originally composed for Purple Rainstar's Apollonia 6,
18:18but it just wasn't meant to be.
18:27A fan of their first album, Prince instead offered the song to The Bangles,
18:31which may or may not have been an attempt to woo the band's guitarist Susannah Hoffs.
18:41With writing contributed to Christopher, Prince's character from Under the Cherry Moon,
18:45the song proved to be a massive top-ten hit for the band in ten countries,
18:49and was only prevented from hitting number one by Prince himself,
18:53who was topping the Hot 100 with Kiss.
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19:17Number 1. Nothing Compares To You – Sinead O'Connor
19:29Though the two artists in question didn't meet until after this song's release
19:33and reportedly didn't get along too well when they did,
19:36that doesn't minimize the potency of this 1990 cover.
19:46Originally recorded by the Prince-formed band The Family,
19:49it was picked up by Sinead O'Connor for her sophomore release.
19:52While many even today may not have known who the song's author was,
19:56the abbreviated title, which Prince was known for, should have tipped listeners off.
20:06Kicking off the 90s, this Prince composition has become one of the most easily identifiable
20:11and emotional songs ever recorded.
20:17Were you shocked to learn that these songs were written by the Purple One?
20:21Are there any we missed? Be sure to let us know in the comments below.