Prince's pop life, song by song, in chronological order.
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The Belle of St. Mark
While “Glamorous” sounded tailor-made for Sheila’s particular talents (even if it wasn’t), “Belle” is well-crafted but faceless, embodying the essentialist cynicism of the publishing imprint Prince used for his female side projects: “Girlsongs.”
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I Would Die 4 U
More, perhaps, than any other song in Prince’s catalogue, “I Would Die 4 U” has transcended its original meaning to become something bigger than all of us.
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Let’s Go Crazy
There are plenty of legitimate claims to make for the precise moment when Prince became a superstar; but by any metric, “Let’s Go Crazy” is close to the top.
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Modernaire
The Modernaires’ screen time in Purple Rain adds up to only about 15 seconds, but it’s a memorable 15 seconds.