Musical Monday - When Doves Cry by Prince

#1 on the Billboard Hot 100: July 7, 1984 through August 4, 1984.

#1 on the Cash Box Top 100: July 14, 1984 through August 4, 1984.

#1 on the U.K. Chart: Never.

Prince's career can be divided into two parts. The first is everything that took place before the release of the Purple Rain album and movie of the same name. The second is everything that came after that. Before Purple Rain, Prince was a successful musician. After Purple Rain, Prince was an icon, launched into the company of the top tier performers in the world. I had been aware of Prince prior to Purple Rain, but he was the guy who had a couple of very successful almost novelty-ish songs like 1999 and Little Red Corvette. He was the sort of musician who could reliably turn out profitable albums and make a high-profile living with his music. After Purple Rain, Prince was the sort of performer who could sell out a giant arena in minutes. And When Doves Cry was the flagship song from Purple Rain.

In the early 1980s, I was kind of out of step with what was the dominant thrust of pop music. I wasn't much of a Michael Jackson fan, and I wasn't particularly enamored of the variety of acts trying to occupy the same post-disco dance friendly territory he had claimed. Although Prince was descended from the same musical heritage as Jackson and other similar artists, the Purple One took the musical style into an entirely different and refreshing direction. Where Jackson's performances were smooth and polished, with every note and movement refined to a high sheen, Prince's were raw and visceral, throbbing with barely contained sexual energy.

When Doves Cry is, in my estimation, one of Prince's best songs. Proving that he was one of the funkiest men around, he managed to produce this song, which is almost the epitome of funk, without a bass line, which is a pretty stunning accomplishment. The only thing I can say is that I, a decidedly non-funky teenager, was drawn into Prince's orbit by this song, which I distinctly remember dancing to with my girlfriend at the time and thinking the world couldn't get any better than that.

Previous Musical Monday: Dancing in the Dark by Bruce Springstein

Subsequent Musical Monday: Ghostbusters by Ray Parker, Jr.

Previous #1 on the Billboard Hot 100: Dancing in the Dark by Bruce Springstein

Subsequent #1 on the Billboard Hot 100: Ghostbusters by Ray Parker, Jr.

Previous #1 on the Cash Box Top 100: The Reflex by Duran Duran

Subsequent #1 on the Cash Box Top 100: Ghostbusters by Ray Parker, Jr.

List of #1 Singles from the Billboard Hot 100 for 1980-1989
List of #1 Singles from the Cash Box Top 100 for 1980-1989
List of #1 Singles on the U.K. Chart for 1980-1989

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